INDIANAPOLIS — Creep. Crawl. Walk. Run.
That's Tim Miles lingo for the steps to take in repairing a broken basketball program. It's apt symbolism for a Nebraska outfit that had fallen 15 years ago and couldn't get up.
Most figured this was the “crawl” season, at best, after “creeping” to 10th place last year in the Big Ten at 5-13 and 15-18 overall. Miles entered Year Two picked last in preseason for a reason — only four of NU's 12 scholarship players had Big Ten experience.
But after Nebraska crawled through November, December and much of January, Miles found himself with a team that resembled a precocious child.
It got off all fours, skipped the walking stage and started running farther and faster than anyone could have imagined, especially considering the eight-man playing rotation includes just one senior.
As any parent or coach knows, though, a young 'un who roams too far too fast eventually tumbles.
Going down face-first is likely, and Nebraska went full fat lip Friday by letting an 18-point second-half lead get away in a 71-67 loss to No. 24 Ohio State.
After a week of national media attention and pats on the back for 10 wins in 12 games to get into NCAA tournament consideration, the Huskers (19-12) got wobbly legs against the Buckeyes.
“The second half, we didn't stay together,” point guard Benny Parker said. “We let frustration get in the way. It's been a while since that happened. It's just a different stage, I guess. It got to us.”
Ah, the stage.
It got a lot bigger in a hurry for the fourth-seeded Huskers by going to sold-out Bankers Life Fieldhouse as one of the hunted instead of a hunter.
“There's no doubt the guys were hyped up,” Miles said. “Like in the locker room, they were going, 'This is great.' I don't know if it was unexpected or what.”
The takeaway from this: Nebraska “swallowed the bubble” for a day. The inexperience took a toll when the heat came on.
It didn't help that the opponent was Ohio State, which has won 13 of its past 14 Big Ten tourney games and is the defending champion. That's as close to grizzled-veteran status as you can get, while Nebraska is a tourney-pressure novice.
Even Miles, whose NCAA experience consists of one game at Colorado State, admitted he made a few coaching errors in the moment. Again, none of this should be a surprise.
“When you've never been there,” he said, “all you can do is go through it and learn from it. In fact, you have to learn from it.”
We've warned before about jumping off this bandwagon. After the last tumble — an uninspired loss at Illinois — Nebraska responded with wins over Indiana and No. 9 Wisconsin.
Fans can take heart in knowing that the Huskers relearned a hard lesson one week before the NCAA tournament instead of one week in.
Other things to note from the Big Ten basketball family feud:
» Officiating: Two disclaimers before I go here.
One, I used to umpire Legion baseball and officiate city-league basketball. I have a basic understanding of how hard it is and utterly respect those who do it. Two, Nebraska can't blame the officials for giving up an 18-point lead to Ohio State.
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That said, the officiating crew of Noah, Moses and Methuselah did the profession no favors Friday. Those three were slow and out of position too many times, both ways.
Watching Nebraska's Parker nearly get dismembered on a layup attempt with no call was the most egregious error, although Miles also had issues with the hand-to-hand combat employed by Ohio State guards Shannon Scott and Aaron Craft.
“The fact that Scott and Craft got so physical out front was really advantageous for Ohio State,” said Miles, who then loudly cleared his throat, rolled his eyes and stood on the sarcasm button. “I didn't think we handled that very well.”
Those are opinions. Here are some facts about official Jim Burr:
He is a senior citizen. He is rotund. According to my friends at the Big East tournament, he worked a game in New York on Thursday night. He had a 1:40 p.m. tipoff Friday in Indianapolis. He was hobbling during the NU-OSU game and couldn't finish. He left with 4:37 to go, limping off with an apparent right leg injury.
The Big Ten coach scouting in the seat next to me watched Burr depart and deadpanned, “That's the best news out of this tournament yet.”
Finding good officials is difficult. Coaches, on one hand, say they want the best and most experienced. On the other hand, they complain about guys who work too many nights in a row and miss calls because of fatigue.
The answer? I don't have one. I do know that folks making as much as $3,000 a game — yes, per game — deserve the same public scrutiny that players, coaches and sportswriters endure.
» Point guard recruiting: As badly as Nebraska needs a ready-to-go big man for next season, finding a point guard has become just as critical.
Parker has done marvelous work, earning an important role for his next two seasons. But at 5-foot-9 and 166 pounds, he can't play 32 minutes a night for 32 games. He has been overworked lately because of the continued struggles of freshman Tai Webster.
Though Webster continues to start, he has dropped back into the developmental category on the roster with fellow freshmen Nathan Hawkins and Nick Fuller.
Webster's statistical line against Ohio State: 13 minutes, zero points, zero rebounds, one assist, one turnover, three fouls. In Nebraska's recent 13-game run to prominence, Webster is at 16 percent from the field and 16.7 percent on 3s. He also has more turnovers (22) than assists (21).
The Huskers have offered St. Anthony's (N.J.) High point guard Tarin Smith. Now, will they make a run at Brewster Academy's Devonte Graham?
The 6-1, 177-pounder from Raleigh, N.C., scored 22 points in Brewster's victory in the National Prep School championship game. It was the latest in a run of strong performances that has drawn the attention of Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Wichita State, Creighton, Providence and Butler.
But Graham is in limbo.
He signed a letter of intent in November 2012 with Appalachian State. After improving greatly during his senior high school season, Graham asked for a release. Appalachian State coach Jason Capel refused, claiming North Carolina State was tampering with Graham, which NCSU denied.
So Graham had to sit out or go to prep school or junior college.
Last week, Appalachian State fired Capel. But Graham still doesn't have a release to talk to or visit other Division I schools. He can't do that until May, when school at Brewster finishes.
» Eastward, Ho? The Big Ten tournament goes back to Chicago next year, then returns to Indianapolis in 2016.
After that? Don't be shocked if some East Coast sites get into the rotation with Rutgers and Maryland coming aboard in July, and Commissioner Jim Delany more than happy to show off in a new venue.
Sources in the Big Ten said they expect to explore and solicit bids from Madison Square Garden in New York, Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
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