Coach Tim Miles on what he sees in his team:
“That is obviously not the team we envisioned. I think our guys … We talked about it after the last game having a crisis of confidence but this is beyond that. There is a defeat-ism almost and some of the guys have talked about it that as soon as the first thing goes wrong, we expect the worst to happen. That’s not competitive. That’s not a competitive mindset. That’s really got to be our job and our M.O. here between now and when we get to the Big Ten tournament.”
On his worries after four straight double-digit losses:
“I’m not worried about my job. I’m worried about coaching these guys and getting us better. My administrators have supported me the whole time and been there to support us at the game or practice and I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about getting this team and getting their butts in gear and that’s really what we have to do.”
On fixing the team’s problems:
“They haven’t tried hard enough. That’s all I have to say. They have not tried hard enough because what was out there was not a team that was competitive and trying hard enough. They need to keep working on it. We’re going to go back to the drawing board and we’re going to all meet and we’re all going to figure it out. I’m going to start by texting guys tonight and we’re going to meet tomorrow and we’re going to figure this out. Part of this is you have to put your big boy pants on. It’s a big boy league.”
Michigan head coach John Beilein on Nebraska:
“Being in the Big Ten with Nebraska right now, it’s just a matter of time right now. I think that there’s some programs in the Big Ten that it’s going to be secular and you’re just not going to be the Kentucky, Duke that you’re just going to role in. You look at Purdue, [who] finished in last place four years ago, last place. They had finished in first place eight years ago. I think those are pretty accurate terms, right? That’s they way it’s going to be with some programs. You’re going to be up and you’re going to be down and you’re going to have to rebuild. You’re going to be up and you’re going to be down and you’re going to have to rebuild. And that’s the way it is. There are very few teams … There’s Wisconsin, right? There’s Michigan State, who has been able to do it. That’s about the only one right now that hasn’t had some type of cycle that they went through where all of a sudden they’re not in the NCAA tournament or they’re not in the top half, but then they’ll cycle back through. Everybody’s just got to be patient, keep working at it, keep working at it and it’ll end up being good. They have everything they need here, including a great coach.”
Tai Webster on predicting this outcome for Nebraska:
“I wouldn’t say I would have seen it coming. That was kind of our identity and something the coaches preached to us all year and still preach to us. I don’t know. It’s kind of disappointing but it is what it is. It’s no one’s fault but our own.”
On the wisdom he hopes to leave behind for the team:
“Probably just the work aspect, whether it’s team [or] whether it’s individual. It’s important to get the work done, first and foremost. You can just look at where I’ve come from and see the results. It happens if you do the work. It’s just that working mentality, especially because you can only get so much better in team practices. You’ve got to take it upon yourself to get that individual work in when you can.”
Isaiah Roby on what he’s currently feeling:
“Personally, I won’t forget this. This feeling sucks. I didn’t want to have this feeling at all this year and to have it at the end is even worse. I know everyone in the locker room feels the same. Yeah, we’re young but this isn’t acceptable at all like coach said. So if it’s not fueling our team, I’m not sure what can.”
