Fred Hoiberg shares what Iowa win says about Nebraska

Nebraska hoops got its first win of Big Ten play over Iowa this season and completed the season sweep over the weekend. After toppling the Hawkeyes by 16 and holding them to their lowest point total of the year in Lincoln, Fred Hoiberg’s club came out and lit them up for 81 points to win by four in Iowa City.

Though they’re well outside the NCAA Tournament picture at this point, Nebraska was still able to put together a very encouraging end to the year. The Huskers began conference play 3-9 but are now winners in six of their last eight, scoring victories over Rutgers, Maryland, Penn State and Iowa in that time. At 16-15 with a league record that wound up close to .500, Nebraska was really only one or two more wins away from seriously contending for a tourney berth.

But for Fred Hoiberg, the win vs. Iowa and this stretch of the season is just about playing good basketball and logging some positive results as the season draws to a close. Here he was after the Iowa game discussing why he still wants to see good performances out of his team this late in the year:

“I guess to answer your question…to still find a way that just shows this team has a lot of resiliency to it. It’s been the thing I’ve been most pleased with this last month of the season. And, you know, whether we were down 17 to Wisconsin and eight to Maryland in the last five minutes and found a way to come back and get wins in overtime. And, you know, just keep our heads up and that’s the one thing.”

Hoiberg then went on to comment on his team’s ability to complete yet another second-half comeback.

“First half, I thought we dropped them (our heads) a little bit when Iowa went up seven and we got the time out and just regrouped, made a nice run and had a good response. I think to cut it back to two and found a way to keep it close, you know, at the half. So, just really proud of how our guys continue to go out there and play and finally made some toughness plays down the stretch.”

Though they’ll miss the tournament, barring a wild run to the Big Ten title this coming weekend, Nebraska needed some signs of life in year four of the Hoiberg era. He has yet to finish above-.500 since taking over and will finish even at worst heading into the Big Ten tourney. Regardless of how the rest plays out, the back half of conference play is a huge step forward for Husker hoops.