Was the win over MSU in East Lansing a "Great" win?

[Paramus]

I do not think there is a clear definition of what constitutes a "great" win. Each person probably has their own definition. Many of us have been debating whether the Men's BB win over MSU was a great win, a big (but not great) win, or just a good win.

Let's see how the Husker fans view it.

Factors against greatness:

1. MSU lost their starting forward Brandon Dawson before the game. They were 18-1 with him in the line up, they are now 4-5 without him. How good is MSU without Dawson?

2. After the game Izzo said they he did not have his team ready to play. The MSU players said likewise.

3. Neither team played great baskeball. For the casual fan it was a boring game to watch. The outstanding plays in that game were non-existent or at best, minimal. NU shot 36%, MSU shot 34%. Perhaps it was great defense that won the game, but great defense is a difficult thing to discern.

Factors Supporting Greatness:

1. NU has a weak BB reputation, MSU has a very strong one. NU rarely beats teams from programs the caliber of MSU's. It is a rare happening, therefore it is a great win.

2. MSU has recruited many top players. They have many blue chip guys on their roster. Even without Dawson, they probably have much more talent and depth than DONU therefore it is a great win.

3. NU is typically a bad team on the road. To win on the road at East Lansing is special.

4. Izzo said the Huskers played like junkyard dogs. They hit MSU in the mouth and MSU did not respond very well. Credit the Huskers for that.

 

[Ackos]

After the steaming pile they dropped at PsU, of course it was a great win.

 

[windycityred]

I say great. The PG missing is a legit factor against greatness, but a school like MSU should have enough dept to beat the old Nebraska without their best PG. Factor #2 against greatness can't really be quantified objectively, and just sounds like excuses meant to quell fan concerns over the performance of the team against lowly Nebraska. There is no way to objectively verify whether they were prepared or not.

 

[Huskerborn]

I don't understand the obsession of this one game? NU is improving regardless of what one of us thinks about the MSU game. Maybe it is the need to be right, I don't know, but I find this whole rather silly.

 

[CombatTargeteer]

A win is in the eye of the beholder.

:cheer2:

 

[HuskerRedDread]

It's time to move on to something else. You are trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill...and that's wacko.

You quote this yesterday yet, you create another thread just to see if someone else would agree with you in the poll....:lol:

You started that quote off with this:

Same Ol Same Ol. HRD you never give up do you? You would carry this conversation on for weeks if I allowed it. That's your MO.

So, what I have to say to you is your own words........

You have presented your reasons but you are not going to sway me. Why can't you just accept that?

 

[The Impaler]

Great win because it shows continued improvement of this NU team. NU teams the past 15 years wouldn't have won that game. It's a momentum builder and got the national media's eye. Great win.

 

[bilsker]

I'll answer at the end of the regular season.

 

[Paramus]

You quote this yesterday yet, you create another thread just to see if someone else would agree with you in the poll....:lol:

You started that quote off with this:



So, what I have to say to you is your own words........

HRD, you need to change your handle to the "Blogger Stalker"

I am not trying to sway anyone to my opinion. I am trying to be fair...especially to you...by providing a forum where eveyone can voice their opinion. By doing this poll, if the majority of fans agree with your position, then I have in effect supported your cause.

It appears most people feel that it is a great win, I can understand why, and I think that is cool. I have helped you win your disagreement with me. Aren't you grateful?

 

[bilsker]

Semantics. Good win. Great win. Very good win. Whatever.

"great" is a word that gets used to often IMO so that's been part of my reluctance to use it but whatever.

 

[ColoREDo]

A win is in the eye of the beholder.

:cheer2:

I think this is the best answer. To a Michigan, beating MSU in E Lansing would be good but not out of the expectation level. To a Ohio State, a team who isn't at a level they have been in the past but still a very good team in their own right, it is definitely a good win. To a team like Nebraska, who hasn't really seen any success for over a decade and its debatable whether they have ever seen success as a program, its a great win. We only had 1 real road win coming into this game and we were picked to finish last in conference. Every win on the road is a good one for the Huskers. A win against a top 10 team is a great one, despite the injuries.

That said, it would not compare to many other wins I could think of but as for as our program is right now, I think its a great win.

 

[wheat]

For this team at this time, yeah, it was a great win.

 

[HuskerRedDread]

HRD, you need to change your handle to the "Blogger Stalker"

I am not trying to sway anyone to my opinion. I am trying to be fair...especially to you...by providing a forum where eveyone can voice their opinion. By doing this poll, if the majority of fans agree with your position, then I have in effect supported your cause.

It appears most people feel that it is a great win, I can understand why, and I think that is cool. I have helped you win your disagreement with me. Aren't you grateful?

Man, you are doing too much. I don't care to win any argument. My passion is just discussing it. I don't need help to find anyone agree with me. I honestly don't care of the entire world disagreed with me. I don't even have an issue with you thinking it's not a great win. The only thing that caused me to even respond to you is when you tried to make it seem like you were the only person who was realistic about what happened in the game. As if the rest of us didn't understand what we saw or the status of both teams that played that evening. That's what continued the conversation. If you would have expressed your opinion while respecting others, I would have had no choice but to just allow you to enjoy your position. But you compared it to a different sport and team that didn't really mirror the situation and ignored the facts about the two teams that I presented during our argument.

This board is fun and a good way to discuss views about our favorite teams. I'm not sure how you can call me a "Blogger Stalker" when you posted a thread in the Basketball section of a public forum that happens to be on the exact same something that you and I were discussing in the just below it, that you told me I need to "move on" from....

Don't be so emotional buddy. It's all good.

And thanks for the attempt at helping me "win the disagreement with you"....but that's not my intent when discussing things on these board with you or anyone else. I don't know it all and will never claim I do.

 

[Paramus]

I think this is the best answer. To a Michigan, beating MSU in E Lansing would be good but not out of the expectation level. To a Ohio State, a team who isn't at a level they have been in the past but still a very good team in their own right, it is definitely a good win. To a team like Nebraska, who hasn't really seen any success for over a decade and its debatable whether they have ever seen success as a program, its a great win. We only had 1 real road win coming into this game and we were picked to finish last in conference. Every win on the road is a good one for the Huskers. A win against a top 10 team is a great one, despite the injuries.

That said, it would not compare to many other wins I could think of but as for as our program is right now, I think its a great win.

On another thread I cited an example that parallels what you (and others) are saying

"1962 was Bob Devaney's 1st year as the Husker HC. He went to the Big House in Ann Arbor and beat mighty Michigan. Michigan's reputation in football at that time was as good or better than MSU's reputation in men's BB now. When NU won that football game, Husker Land was ecstatic. The lowly Huskers had beaten mighty Michigan! Everyone certainly viewed it as a great win. Well, the 1962 Michigan football team finished last in the Big Ten that year. Their season record ended up being 2 wins and 7 losses. Was it really a great win? From an NU perspective, I guess it was."

The NU mens basketball is in a similar position to where NU football football team was in 1962. The Men's BB win over MSU is actually much better than the 1962 footbal team's win over Michigan. So if the 1962 win can be viewed as great (and it sure was at the time) then certainly the MSU win can be given the same status.

I suppose when Minnesota beat us in football last year, their fans viewed it as a great win as well. Nebraska fans certainly did not look at it that way....we had a handicapped QB, a young inexperienced defense and we played poorly...that is why Minnesota won......but we are the mighty "BIG RED" and to the fans of the long dormant Minnesota program, it was probably viewed as a great win.

So, like Combat said, what defines a great win is in the eye of the beholder. Whenever we secured a win over our big rival Oklahoma, it was always sweeter (greater) than beating a UCLA or an Okie State.

 

[HuskerRedDread]

On another thread I cited an example that parallels what you (and others) are saying

"1962 was Bob Devaney's 1st year as the Husker HC. He went to the Big House in Ann Arbor and beat mighty Michigan. Michigan's reputation in football at that time was as good or better than MSU's reputation in men's BB now. When NU won that football game, Husker Land was ecstatic. The lowly Huskers had beaten mighty Michigan! Everyone certainly viewed it as a great win. Well, the 1962 Michigan football team finished last in the Big Ten that year. Their season record ended up being 2 wins and 7 losses. Was it really a great win? From an NU perspective, I guess it was."

The NU mens basketball is in a similar position to where NU football football team was in 1962. Both teams and their fans have ample reason to view their wins over the Michgan teams as "great".

I suppose when Minnesota beat us in football last year, their fans viewed it as a great win as well. Nebraska fans certainly did not look at it that way....we had a handicapped QB, a young inexperienced defense and we played poorly...that is why Minnesta won......but we are the mighty "BIG RED" and to the fans of the long dormant Minnesota program, it was probably viewed as a great win.

You certainly provided more detail in this post than in the other thread. I see and understand your view, but it isn't an exact parallel.

As you stated that Michigan team finished last in the Big Ten that season. So, hindsight, that win doesn't look all that glorious today. But what these Huskers did was beat the leading program in the Big Ten this season. Obviously we have to wait to see how the season plays out, but they aren't going to finish at the bottom or anywhere close to it, which is where NU was predicted to be.

Dawson not being apart of the starting lineup effects their production overall, but he is not an end all player. We are talking about a player who is averaging 10.2 pts a game, 8.7 rebounds. Good production but not great by far. He's not the go to guy on offense and he's not the defensive anchor either. He's an important piece but far from replaceable. So, his injury did not bring the team's value down as much as you are playing it out to be. Each of the teams that have beat them this past month are playing better ball and/or are more efficient a this point in the season than they were earlier in the season. And it's not like any of those teams have run MSU off the court. The largest margin in those losses were by 9 points from NU & MU.

Minnesota's W vs the Huskers was considered great given their position in CFB history vs ours. So their fan base was more than proud of that game and the way they won. The physically out played the Huskers. We can try to down play it, which we as a fan base have, due to the injuries and such, claim that Bo didn't have those boys ready to play, etc....but fact is, the Gophers came in that game and did what they had to do to get the W, and they weren't "given" the W. They took it, regardless of what we made mistakes on. Same with the Michigan St game. Beating that team was an accent on the decent to good season the Huskers are currently having. We went into their house and took that W. It wasn't given to us. NO ONE saw this win as a fluke due to the Spartans missing an abundance of open shots. The coach of the Spartans labelled those Huskers some "Junkyard Dogs". That is a reflect of what they did to rattle the more talented Spartan team. You can choose to disagree that it was a "Great" win....that's fine, but trying to down play what happened makes it seem like you don't understand the sport or the teams whom were on the court that night. And I'm sure you aren't willing to say that about yourself.