Kent Pavelka’s 1000th Game Does Not Disappoint As Nebraska Beats Illinois 75-60

Huge shoutout to the best broadcaster in sports, along with Gus Johnson, Kent Pavelka, as he broadcasted his 1000th game tonight. Something really cool that the team did after they took care of business, was going up to Kent after the game to congratulate him. What a career it’s been for Pavelka.

Miles Jacket Tracker: I think he took it off during the U16 Media Timeout. This is the first time he’s kept it on past the first minute of the game.

The opening to the conference season couldn't have gone better for the Huskers, jumping out to a 12-2 lead after a Glynn Watson Jr. three at the 18 minute mark. Their first miss came at the 16 minute mark, when Watson got blocked in the paint.

However Nebraska would go on another classic scoring drought coming out of the U16 Media Timeout, not scoring until right after the U12 Media Timeout courtesy of Isaac Copeland free throws.

Part of the reason for that is I believe a lineup Miles had out there, Copeland, Thomas Allen, Tanner Borchardt, Amir Harris, and Nana Akenten. At this point in the season, Miles will need at least one out of James Palmer Jr., Isaiah Roby, and Watson on the court for offensive rhythm.

When those three came back in, the offense picked up, stretching its lead to 25-13. Amir Harris also had this thunderdunk:

Watson then got his second foul however, so the offense went a little stagnant until a highlight reel burst in the final three minutes. Palmer made a last second shot clock three, Copeland had a breakaway and-one layup, and Roby had an alley-oop layup. Nebraska went into the half leading 39-23.

After such a great end to the first half, Nebraska looked horrible to begin the second. The offense went stagnant, and Palmer took some questionable, contested shots early in the shot clock. Illinois ran out to a 9-2 run in those first four minutes, cutting the lead down to nine.

Miles called a timeout and settled down the team, but Watson picked up his fourth foul with 15 minutes left. While Watson was dealing with foul trouble, so was Illinois, with Nebraska going into the bonus around the 13 minute mark.

The rest of the time without Watson was a slow, grueling, sloppy game. Credit to Illinois head coach Brad Underwood for implementing his strategy so well into his players, defensive and aggressiveness. If Illinois had some offensive playmakers, the outcome of this game could’ve been much different.

However around the four minute mark, Watson made a three, Copeland made a three, then Roby gave Pavelka his second thunderdunk of the night:

Half of this game looked really good, the other half was hard to watch. But the Huskers got the job done, winning 75-60. The Big 3 played well per usual, Palmer scored 23, twelve of which came from the line, Watson had 14 in just 24 minutes, and Cope dropped 16. The Huskers travel to THE BARN this upcoming Wednesday at 9 PM ET, should be a good one.