There's a big game Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Even so, we have time for a drive.
1. Although Tim Miles' crew is 10-1 at PBA this season, Michigan is a 4.5-point favorite.
Let us explain.
Rather, let's let ex-Nebraska shooting guard Cary Cochran explain.
“Nebraska’s playing a team that has 100-percent belief in its offense,” Cochran said earlier this week during “Early Break” on 93.7 FM. “My opinion is this is going to be a tough one (for the Huskers).
“The reason is this is not a team that Nebraska traditionally has matched up well with. I believe the reason is Michigan is so committed to what they do. They’re so well-coached. They’re so well-drilled. They’re like tactical surgeons, and then they shoot it well.”
This isn’t a vintage Michigan team, though. The 23rd-ranked Wolverines (16-4, 5-2 Big Ten) rank sixth in the conference with their 47.8-percent field-goal shooting accuracy, while the Huskers (13-7, 4-3) are 13th at 42.5.
Michigan shoots 37.6 percent from three-point range (fifth in the Big Ten), while Nebraska shoots 35.4 (10th).
“They’ve gotten better and better all year,” Cochran, who had assistant coaching stints at Wyoming and James Madison, said of the Wolverines. “This is going to be a good test for Nebraska to see – is there really magic in that building?"
He said there’s good news for Nebraska in that it tends to play to the level of its competition.
“So I’d be shocked if it wasn’t close,” said Cochran, the school's all-time leading three-point shooter with 268 makes. “That building is probably going to be rocking.”
Even so, I have a hard time picking Nebraska to win because it hasn’t played particularly well since the second half of a 70-55 triumph Jan. 2 at Northwestern. The Huskers’ lack of offensive identity has grown increasingly apparent in the past four games -- they're 2-2 in that span -- and they really don’t have a lot of depth, Cochran said.
“I don’t see the kids having a ton of confidence,” Cochran said. “There’s too much indecision.”
Meanwhile, Michigan understands exactly what it wants offensively.
So, Wolverines 77, Huskers 75.
The good news is Nebraska will get another chance Monday for a much-needed signature victory when it plays at No. 22 Ohio State.
At least I think that’s good news.
2. The Jake Peetz story just keeps getting better.
The former Nebraska walk-on from O’Neill, who attended St. Mary's High School, has enjoyed an impressive run in the coaching business, having already worked for the likes of Nick Saban, Norm Chow, Jay Gruden, Sean McVay and Jack Del Rio.
Now, according to the Indianapolis Star, the 34-year-old is being widely mentioned as the next offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts.
I wrote about Peetz’s rise in his profession last spring (click here).
In pondering Peetz's career, don't get hung up on the fact he never played a down at Nebraska. He thought he was on track to play on special teams as a senior, but about a week before the 2005 opener, his brother Jesse Peetz became ill, acquiring a disease so serious that he would soon become a quadriplegic. Jake stayed by his brother's side, away from the football complex, most of the time.
Jesse Peetz died in 2014 at age 29.
I'm guessing he would be awfully proud of his older brother.
3. Let’s stay in the NFL for a moment.
Tanner Lee raised eyebrows Wednesday when he told Jim Rome he feels his skill level is “very comparable” to three of the top quarterbacks available for the NFL Draft -- Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.
In terms of statistics, Lee doesn’t stack up particularly well with the three gunslingers.
* Rosen’s passing stats: 282-for-451 (62.5 percent) for 3,717 yards and 26 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions. Passer rating: 146.3. UCLA finished 6-7 overall and 4-5 in the Pac-12.
* Mayfield’s: 285- for-404 (70.5) for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns, with six picks. Passer rating: 198.9! Oklahoma was 12-2 and 8-1.
* Darnold’s: 303-for-480 (63.1) for 4,143 yards and 26 touchdowns, with 13 picks. Passer rating: 148.1 USC was 11-3 and 9-1.
* Lee’s: 246-for-428 (57.5) for 3,143 yards and 23 touchdowns, with 16 picks – most in the Big Ten. Passer rating: 129.4. Nebraska 4-8 and 3-6.
For his college career, including two seasons at Tulane, Lee threw for 46 touchdowns versus 37 interceptions. He’s started for teams that are a combined 10-26.
If I were an NFL general manager, I would look hard at Lee’s won-loss record. That has to matter to a certain extent, but how much?
4. A bit more on Lee.
He sounds like he had an excellent experience at Nebraska. He’s all class.
“It’s the premier college football place in the country,” he told Rome.
And, man, Lee has high regard for Mike Riley, saying he thinks the former Nebraska head coach “is the greatest man in sports.”
“He’s literally the most genuine, honest man I’ve ever had the pleasure to know and play for,” Lee said. “A locker room that’s run by coach Riley, the guys want to play well for him because everyone respects him so much.”
5. Terry Pettit, the iconic former Nebraska volleyball coach, is an interesting follow on Twitter because he often weighs in on (surprise) coaching matters.
He weighed in on the Jordy Tshimanga situation, tweeting, “Glad to see Jordy Tshimanga back with the Huskers. As a freshman he was asked to do one or two things. Sophomores are given more information and they can perceive it as judgement. Once they get past that barrier, development can happen fast.”
We’ll see if Tshimanga develops his game quickly. My concern is he played only three years of basketball before college. In other words, he didn’t grow up playing the sport, didn’t learn its nuances, didn’t learn, at least not fully, all the small things he can do to help a team when he’s not scoring, rebounding or blocking shots.
He still plays like someone relatively new to the game.
In that sense, he has no choice but to develop rapidly.
6. The line was long ...
Once a month, Larry Bird would take confessions from those who had sinned against the game of basketball. pic.twitter.com/WgdfJvMDgB
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) January 8, 2018