Fred Hoiberg endorses Nebraska's effort in loss to USC

Nebraska was hoping to snap a four-game losing streak at home against the USC Trojans on Wednesday, but Fred Hoiberg and the Cornhuskers squandered their two-point halftime lead, eventually falling by five to drop their record to 12-7.

As Hoiberg searches for answers, one thing he’s not questioning is his team’s toughness and effort. Speaking with the media after the loss, Hoiberg praised those two qualities in his team, believing Nebraska will be back to their winning-ways in no time.

“It comes down to toughness plays. We play hard. We’re playing hard. I mean, there’s no doubt about that. We are giving effort right now,” Hoiberg told the media, following the disappointing loss. “I thought offense, when you look at our percentages, we didn’t shoot the three well, but we were unbelievably efficient inside the arc tonight. Juwan’s [Gray] attack, when he played off two feet, when he played under control. I didn’t like the turnovers early. I thought that led to some pick-six baskets for them. I think they got three of them, and that gives the team confidence.

“And you know, for us, we’ve got to be perfect. We’ve got to come out. We’ve got to play under control. We’ve got to get a shot up on the glass, whether it goes in or not, so we can get our defense set. When you give them free baskets on the other end, you know, it just does so much for a team’s confidence. You know, we guarded the three really well in the first half. I think they were 0-for-9. You know, [Rashaun] Agee came in, and he got it going a little bit for them.

“But, you know, there’s — I’ll go back and watch it tonight, and there’s going to be some positives on there. But the thing that really stings, is, you know, what I know I’ll see is — we had a chance to finish possessions that we didn’t get.”

While the aforementioned Gray played well for Nebraska, scoring 27 points in the loss, it still wasn’t enough to pin down a conference victory. Hoiberg will be looking to correct the little things for his team moving forward, as there’s still plenty of time to get this ship going in the right direction.

It’ll have to be sooner rather than later though. Fred Hoiberg’s Cornhuskers will be taking on No. 18 Wisconsin on Sunday, with that one tipping-off at 1:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network inside the Kohl Center.