Nebraska downs Midland in Exhibition play

The loud noise you heard as the seconds ticked off the clock in tonight's exhibition vs. Midland University was the sound of discontent. Nebraska fans booed Tim Miles in his first ever game as a head coach as Nebraska. Nebraska took over posession with 16 seconds remaining. The Red Zone and fans alike all urging the team on to score the final two points necessary to send the Husker faithful home knowing they could get a free Runza sandwich on their lunch break tomorrow. That's when it happened. Coach Tim Miles called off the dogs. Signialing to his team to not attempt to score and run the clock out. The fans booed. Miles laughed and plugged his ears. It was all in good fun, probably, but I learned long ago to never with a man and his Runza.

It's probably good for Miles that this will be the story of the game because the team that took the court didn't exactly inspire confidence. Brandon Ubel found early foul trouble. Nebraska looked out of sync and had trouble scoring, something all Nebraska hoops fans are all to familiar with.

Nebraska did get a glimpse of the future, however in G Deverell Biggs. In 18 minutes of action, Biggs only tallies four points, but he showed the flashes of being the explosive player most Husker fans hope he can be. He played more of a distributor role but he showed an ability to get to into the lane and either attack the rim or find the teammate for the open look. He's an explosive player that could certainly help Nebraska win games this season.

The Huskers faced an early deficit trailing early 15-14, which forced Nebraska to have to fight a little bit in this game. Miles used some unorthodox lineups like four guards at one time. That's not something that will be seen often during games that count. Nebraska had some issues rebounding and getting into their offense. Guys weren't quite on the same page. All of that is to be expected as the learning process continues for the players with a new coach.

One pleasant suprise might have been that of David Rivers. The sophomore forward had nine points on 2/5 shooting including a three pointer. He also went 4/4 from the free throw line in 19 minutes of action. If Rivers emerges as a consistent contributor, that will be a significant boost to a team that will need to find new sources of offense.

All in all, there's not a lot that can be learned from this game. Nebraska still has a long way to go to improve and be competitive in the Big Ten. That's not news. This was a game to work on ironing out some kinds and seeing a few different faces beyond what they see in practice. They had some things thrown at them they weren't probably expecting, so to have to make adjustments and respond to a little adversity will be good for this team in the long run. There's still much work to do, coach Miles and the team will be the first to admit that, but that's why they play these games. This team will get better. They're gonna have to.