Notable quotes from Nebraska’s 82-66 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Tim Miles on the pace of the game and his second half mindset:
“I thought the last eight minutes, (you) try not to get too paranoid. We had such good pace the whole game and I thought our guys were fairly locked in on the defensive game plan. Early we allowed way too many points but I thought we were much better in the second half, of course. I thought it was important to go out and get a good start at the rim with Mike Watkins. He’s so good (and) one of the top ten shot blockers in the country so I thought let’s just go at him and see what happens. Jordy (Tshimanga) established himself and some other guys did some damage and I think eventually we got them – what? – 46-28 in the paint, which is good. That’s our M.O. We need to be good in there.”
On what it means for the team when Tshimanga gets going offensively:
“I always say a low post guy that can score anchors your offense. It’s like a good running game in football. You have the ball to some guy and he gets you six yards, it’s second and four and every option is open. It’s the same way.”
On playing tough:
“There’s no doubt you need a shot of confidence and a game like this can do that for you. I think these guys understand the hard work that goes into preparation and how to put that into work. We have a saying that the toughest team sets the rules. Tonight, I added and the most discipline team wins the game. We need both. Tonight, we were pretty good that way.”
Jack McVeigh on tonight’s offense:
“We’ve been really emphasizing ball movement and stuff like that and when you get everyone working real well together and everyone clicking, the offense becomes a lot easier. I don’t know what the assists were tonight but I bet they were decent. It was good when we have inside presence as well, like getting some easy buckets in there. Everything was just working. It was just one of those nights.”
On his half-court shot to end the first half:
“That was pretty cool. Once I released it, I could tell it had a chance. I was like, ‘That would be nice.’ It gave Tai (Webster) the assist so it was good. It was a momentum (builder) going into the second half. It was a good three points and we needed it, putting us up by seven or eight at the half.”
Tai Webster on Tshimanga’s improvement:
“He’s starting to click. Guys are finding him in spots where he can really be effective. We’re finally seeing what Coach Miles brought him here to do. He’s been playing well and staying out of foul trouble. Obviously, that has been a big emphasis for him because he brings such a defensive presence for us. When he’s on the court, he’s our best-five (lineup) when we need defense. Just staying away from those fouls is where we need him because he can get in there and play more minutes and be more productive for us. Plus it takes a lot of pressure off of me and (Glynn Watson Jr.) to have a big guy be in there to just throw it up to.”
On opponents adjusting to Tshimanga:
“That’s the big thing. They have to respect him. They have to send two or they have to do a good job of forcing him to shoot what they think is a bad shot.”
On whether the team thought this might be their night after the first half:
“No game is ever won in the first half.”
On if the win boosted morale:
“Huge, I think. Obviously you can see it in us. The locker room is excited and we’re all jumping around and stuff like that but we know we have a long next five games. These next five games are really important for us, or whatever it is. This is time now to buckle down and do something if we want to play post-season and stuff like that.”
Jordy Tshimanga on his game:
“I felt like I’ve been scoring more and not missing as many shots as I was missing earlier in the season. I think that was good. The guys in front of me more … I have to cut down on my turnovers though. I have too many these days. I have to cut those down.”
On talking to the referees about his fouls:
“Before the game I went to the refs and asked them a few questions about what they consider fouls and stuff. They just told me how it works and I followed by what he told me.”
