Husker hoops seeks correct response to Northwestern loss after ‘healthy competition’ in practice | Men’s Basketball

Fred Hoiberg knows the danger in saying it.

Another well-known coach of a prominent men’s sport at Nebraska has said it plenty, with results often not coming later in the week.

But as the Husker men’s basketball team tries to figure out just how in the world to move past the embarrassment of Saturday’s blowout home loss to Northwestern, Hoiberg insisted he has seen some positive signs.

“I’m a little hesitant even saying this, but we did have two really good days (of practice),” Hoiberg said Tuesday. “But again, that doesn’t mean anything unless it carries over to the game tomorrow.”

Nebraska is set to host Minnesota at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Much like Scott Frost’s football team, NU men’s hoops has followed good days of practice with decidedly not-good performances in games. The latest came Saturday when, after a crisp walk-through that morning, the Huskers promptly went out and played a noncompetitive game while trailing Northwestern by as many as 35 points in the second half. 

A portion of the fans who did attend booed NU off its home court at halftime. Those few who remained to the bitter end were largely silent when the final buzzer sounded.

A mandated off-day from practice followed on Sunday before Nebraska was able to get back in the gym on Monday. On Monday night, a large part of Hoiberg’s monthly radio appearance involved the coach listening to disgruntled fans call into his show to air their grievances.

Hoiberg is as frustrated as anyone, he said.

“Certainly there’s a frustration level with everybody in this program,” the coach said. “And until we get some positive momentum, it’s going to stay that way, and it’s just the way it is right now.”

Hoiberg was ready to make lineup changes, he said. He was looking for players coming into practice pouting, or with the wrong attitude, or not playing hard once they got on the floor.

He didn’t see any of that, he said.

“Yesterday (Monday) was a really good, healthy competition day. And it got a little heated out there, which is what I was looking for,” Hoiberg said. “I wanted the guys to go out there and play with an edge. You have to have some of that over the course of the year, and that’s what competition is all about, as long as it doesn’t cross the line.”

Nebraska normally would have started putting in its game plan for Minnesota during Monday’s practice. That plan got pushed back one day.

“It was all about us yesterday,” Hoiberg said. “We needed to fix us, and the competitive spirit that our guys showed is what we were looking for.”

NU revamps late-season schedule: Nebraska will play at Ohio State on March 1 as part of a revamped schedule to end the season, the school announced Tuesday.

The March 1 game against the Buckeyes is the makeup date for the Jan. 22 game between the teams that was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols in the Buckeyes’ program.

Nebraska will now play three games in five days near the end of the season to squeeze the OSU game in.

The Huskers will host Iowa on Friday, Feb. 25, then play at Penn State on Sunday, Feb. 27 before the Ohio State game. 

The regular season wraps up March 6 with a road game at Wisconsin, with the Big Ten Tournament beginning March 9 in Indianapolis.