Welcome to another edition of the Hoops HQ Fast Break, where Seth Davis and Andy Katz discuss the biggest games, issues and open questions in college basketball. Today, they sit down for an interview with Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, whose Huskers are undefeated and claim the longest win streak in the nation. Lace ’em up and let’s roll.
Q: How have you been able to maintain Nebraska’s winning streak on the road?
Fred Hoiberg: This team is prepared really well. That’s been the most impressive thing to me about this group. And the week that I think really this team believed that we had a chance to do something special this year was when we played our rival. We played Creighton in a really good game and ended up with a 20-point win. We had two days to prepare for a conference opener — the first home opener we’ve had in seven years, by the way. And we did an unbelievable job — maybe played our best, most complete game of the season against Wisconsin with short prep time.
And then we had another short prep, two days to prepare for our first road game in-league to go on the road at Illinois.Obviously it was a great finish for us, Jamarcus hitting a huge shot. But to me, the start we got off to was the reason that we won that game, building the double digit lead early.
And I think that speaks to the maturity, how they’ve been able to get past big emotional wins like that. When you beat a big rival like Creighton, and to be able to bounce back and prepare the way we did. The other one was Michigan State — we beat Michigan State. And I kind of compare playing Michigan State to playing Kansas when I was in the Big 12. Whether you win or lose, you have a hangover the next game because of the physicality of the game. And same thing with Michigan State. You find a way to win a rock fight.
And then we get two days to prepare to go on the road at Ohio State. And again, got off to a great start. So, you know, our guys have done a great job and I tell them enjoy the process. You know, really be proud of yourselves for everything we got going. But as soon as we get comfortable and complacent, this thing’s over.
Q: Are there any updates on Braden Frager’s injury
Andy Katz: Four minutes in, he turns that ankle, then he comes out with a boot on. You’re up at Minnesota, and then Michigan next week. Since I last saw you, what’s the update on Frager?
Hoiberg: Yeah, we’ll know a lot more tomorrow. A lot of times, that’s how it goes. He’s got an ankle sprain, but the good thing is it’s not a high one. So it’s a low ankle sprain. It did swell up on him, but we’re going to know a lot more in the morning. We’ll get a precautionary X-ray. Our trainer’s confident that it won’t show anything, but we’ll know a lot more after to see how he responds after a night of sleep.
Q: How has Nebraska developed such a strong defensive identity?
Seth Davis: Fred, you’ve always been known as a really great offensive coach. You’re a great offensive player — and that includes your time with the Chicago Bulls. Right now on KenPom, Nebraska is 12th in the country in defensive efficiency. This is by far the best defensive team you’ve coached in college. It might be a better defensive team than some of your Bulls teams. How much of that is your evolution as a coach, and how much of that is just the team that you’re coaching and the personnel that you have.
Hoiberg: My assistant coach, Nate Loenser, deserves a lot of credit for what we’ve done on the defensive end of the floor. And I’ve really kind of modeled my staff more. I’ve got a son, Jack, who played for coaches out of Michigan State that’s with the San Antonio Spurs. And they kind of changed the way they did things this year, bringing in some new guys. They split the room. So I’m almost more like a football staffer. I’ve got a defensive room and an offensive room.
Nate does an unbelievable job of putting a game plan together. And I’ll put an offensive plan together with Ernie Ziegler and with Pat Monaghan. And then Nate and I will get together and we’ll put the final touches on the game plan and what it’s gonna be. But he’s done a phenomenal job has so much passion and energy. You see him over there on the sidelines calling out what plays are being run. And it takes a lot off my plate as well.
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Q: How is your son, Sam, a part of this success story?
Andy: Fred, we’re all three dads here. You’ve got an incredible family. Danny Sprinkle said to us on Wednesday that (Sam) is not just a glue guy. He thinks that Sam should be First Team All-Big Ten. That’s how important he is. And I think that opinion is shared. As a dad and as a coach, how did this happen?
Fred: Well, it’s his mom. His mom gets all the credit. He’s just such a scrappy player. And it’s been good to see him get going and get some confidence on the offensive end. He always made hustle plays for us. He’s always the guy that’s gonna come out of a scrum with the ball. He’s leading our team in defensive rebounding currently at 5-foot-11.
Greg McDermott said some really nice things. Coach Izzo said he was one of his favorite players in the league. Greg Garth said some good things. It’s been good to see Sam get it because he does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box for him. He’s been doing that for three years really since he was put into the rotation when we lost Juwan Gary and Emmanuel Bandoumel in season-ending injuries a couple years ago. So I’m really proud of him.
It’s gonna be very emotional on senior night for our whole family. It’s nice to have his twin brother Charlie in our program now. He’s been a big reason that Sam’s playing with more confidence this year.
Seth: Well, the three of us are dads. We’re also husbands, so we’re not stupid. We’ve been married this long, we give all credit to the wives.
Q: What challenges lie ahead for Nebraska?
Seth: The running joke is that no matter what the situation is, it’s a problem. That’s how coaches think. So you’re undefeated. You’re having a dream season. What is this team’s biggest problem right now? And how are you gonna try to solve it?
Hoiberg: I still think we can be more physical. You saw some of that in the game tonight against Washington. We just have to continue to battle. We’re not the most athletic team. We’re not the fastest team. I do think we’re very well connected and that’s one of the reasons I think we’ve had success on both ends of the court. Those guys have been very disciplined on the defensive end. They follow a game plan and offensively they share the ball. We’ve got one of the best assists-to-turnover ratios in the country and they play with incredible unselfishness. So to me, the physicality is where we need to continue to grow. The Oregon game is probably the best. That’s a top 25 offensive rebounding team. We didn’t give them one in the first half and did a great job out-rebounding them tonight. You know, we got beat up a little bit, so we’ll have a good film session tomorrow. We’ll learn. It’s always better to learn from a win and need to continue to get better. Like I said, as soon as you get comfortable and complacent, you know, we’re going to be in trouble.
Seth: That target on your back is only going to get bigger. It’s not only fun watching you guys win, it’s fun watching you guys play. You’re so connected. You know, the individual parts are great, but the whole is greater than the sum. And it’s a great story for college basketball.
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