Big Ten Notebook: Tim Miles Knows That Nebraska Is Up Against It

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https://theathletic.com/239203/2018/02/13/big-ten-notebook-tim-miles-nebraska-ncaa-bid-indiana-hoosiers-ohio-state-purdue/

 

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There may be no more candid coach in college basketball than Tim Miles. He’ll tell you exactly what he’s thinking at all times, just like when C.J. Moore interviewed him earlier this year.

 

Given that, it’s been interesting to watch Miles discuss his team and its chances at the NCAA Tournament this year. Nebraska is unquestionably one of the most interesting teams on the bubble. In most years, a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten would have you easily in the Big Dance, as the league would allow you to rack up the quality wins necessary to feel comfortable with your resume.

 

But the 2018 iteration of the Big Ten is not a particularly representative year. The league is worse than it’s been in a decade, and that’s left precious few chances for Nebraska to buttress its resume with the type of quality wins it needs.

 

The Huskers are 0-6 in “Quadrant 1” games, defined as top-30 home games, top-50 neutral games and top-75 road games. Additionally, they’re only 3-2 in Quadrant 2 games, defined as home games against teams ranked 31-75, neutral games against teams ranked 51-100 and road games against teams ranked 76-135.

 

So despite the fact that the Huskers are sitting at 19-8 with a 10-4 record in a power conference, there’s really just not quite enough meat on the bones to put them in the NCAA Tournament. And Miles understands that, saying Monday, “If Quadrant 1 is the holy grail and the only place that matters, then we got a real problem.”

 

But with the change in how the Tournament committee looks at wins, how does Miles impart this knowledge to his team to let them know what they have to do to get to the next level?

 

“Here’s what I tell them,” Miles said. “I say ‘I’ve looked at the numbers, and right now you’re an NIT 2-seed. There’s eight teams still in front of you. And that’s just to get to the First Four.’ Then they look at it and say, ‘Coach, we beat Michigan by 20, and they’re a six seed.’ But that’s just the way it goes. We haven’t won enough big games.”