Men's basketball this afternoon!

Even though Nebraska has lost the last three games they have showed that they can win this year in the Big 10. They have moved up to 168th in the Pomeroy ratings. They were as low as 216th earlier this year. The trouble today is four fold.

First they have lost Mike Peltz for the year due to surgery to his knee. He provides depth which Nebraska has very little of this year.

Second, the heart of the team is Brandon Ubel. He has a fractured arm and will be out for a "while".  Ubel is a leader. He is one of their top scorers. He leads in rebounding. He is critical to Nebraska. Who will need to step up?? Almeida will get more time, if that is possible, as he wears down because of his size. We will probably see a lineup of no center with three or four guards playing. Maybe Sergei Vucetic will play some.

Third is they play Michigan St. today. They are tough. They are one of the top teams in the nation and rated 16th by Pomeroy. Micigan St. is 13-3 and 2-1 in the conference.

The fourth reason is that the game is in Lansing, Michigan. A really hard place to play.

Nebraska is 9-7. They were improving. Today will be tough and not reflective of the improving Huskers. Look to a score in the neighborhood of:

Michigan St. 65 Nebraska 47. Go Big Red!!!

The Nebraska men's basketball team is third in the Big 10 in graduation rate of its players. Michigan St. is 11th. They graduate 82% compared to MSU's rate of 50%.

Ray Gallegos is ranked 4th in the Big 10 in three-pointers. Andre Almeida is ranked 5th in the Big 10 in blocks.

I loved the article by Dirk Chatelain in the World-Herald today on Shawn Eichorst. It was well written and inspiring. He sounds tough but fair.

Rich Kaipust article on South Dakota recruit Nathan Gerry was also very good. Sounds like he is a talented kid with great character.

Nebraska football will have no players entering the NFL draft this year. That's a huge plus. Michigan St has three players going out early. Ohio St and Illinois has players leaving early. On the national scene the SEC has lots of players leaving early. LSU has nine players leaving for the draft in addition to their normal seniors leaving. The SEC will be hurt by this. Nebraska, with a young team, will be better in 2013. The Big 10 will be better as they have less players entering the draft than most of the other major conferences.