A Season to Remember for Nebraska Hoops Fans

Figure 1 It has been a good year for Nebraska basketball

Nebraska is known across the nation for its sports programs. Its teams are the pride of the state and have won numerous championships over the years. But its NCAA men’s basketball team has not enjoyed the same kind of success as some of the other representative teams.

It is not as if Cornhuskers hoops is bad. As a Power Five school and one of the Big Ten, there are always going to be some elite players turning out for Nebraska. But there has never been success at March Madness and not many of the top betting sites will have Nebraska favorites for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

But after ten years of watching from the sidelines, Nebraska made it back to the Big Dance. It has been a year to remember for everyone associated with the program. This could be the starting point for a whole new era for Nebraska basketball and the team is already making plenty of national headlines.

History at the Elite Level

The main reason that Nebraska has been gaining that media attention is the rarity of the hoops program making it this far. Before this year, Nebraska had only made it to the NCAA Tournament seven times. It had never won a game after getting there and not even been within five points of making it to the third round.

Before coming up against Texas A&M, the last March Madness game for the Cornhuskers was against Baylor in 2014. Seeded 11, Nebraska didn’t really stand a chance and lost by 14 points. Another chance to finally pick up a tournament game had been a long time coming.

This Season

Nebraska’s success this year has been down to its scoring efficiency. Reliable shooters have seen the team go 23-10 overall this season – that’s the most the program has enjoyed since Danny Nee was the coach in 1993-94. That’s a coach who had four consecutive years of tournament appearances.

Seven wins from seven at the beginning of the season showed that the Cornhuskers meant business and the arrival of a whole new bunch of players in the offseason certainly helped with that. Demolishing number six Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament was a particular highlight and even though the loss to Illinois in the next game hurt, a place in the March Madness bracket made it all worth it.

Standout Players

When it comes to the secret of Nebraska’s success, you can’t look much further than “the Japanese Steph Curry” himself, Keisei Tominaga. Arriving from Ranger College two years ago, Tominaga has already played for the Japan national team and his joyous celebrations after making three-pointers have made him a cult figure in college hoops.

But it is not just Tominaga that has turned the program around. Three midmajor transfers joined in the offseason and all of them now hold a starting line-up position. Brice Williams, Josiah Allick, and Rienk Mast have proved to be priceless additions – and Juwan Gary’s skills at both ends of the floor have helped make this Nebraska starting five one of the best in living memory.

Coach Hoiberg

Fred Hoiberg came to the head coach role at Nebraska with a good record. In five years at Iowa State, he had enjoyed four winning records and four consecutive years at the Big Dance. His Cyclones had won at least one game every year they made the tournament and went as far as the Sweet Sixteen in 2014.

That’s why it was something of a surprise that he led the Cornhuskers to just seven wins in each of his first two years in the job – and a record of 24-67 in his first three seasons. The five-out motion offense is still in full effect but there has been a vast improvement on defense this year and it is that that has turned Nebraska from an also-ran to an NCAA tournament team.

Navigating the Bracket

Although just making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament is an achievement in itself, this Cornhuskers team will have wanted to go as far as possible – and claim that first-ever win for the program. Texas A&M was up first, before a potential match-up with number-one seed Houston.

The task before Nebraska was always going to be daunting. But winning the tournament from its starting point does have a precedent. Four number eight seeds have made the championship game and Villanova is the only one to actually win the game when it triumphed in 1985.

Figure 2 The Cornhuskers made it to the Big Dance for just the eighth time

What This Season Means for Cornhuskers Basketball

The way Coach Hoiberg had revamped how he thought about recruiting in the offseason has had an immediate effect and meant that Keisei Tominaga has been able to shine. Although a first Conference championship since 1994 was ultimately elusive, the number of wins is a sign that there is a bright future for Nebraska.

With so many memorable players over the years, it is something of a surprise to see just one former Cornhusker playing in the NBA. Bryce McGowens is in his second year as a Charlotte Hornet but now it would seem as though further Nebraska alumni may join him in the coming years.

Tominaga may be making the leap at the end of this year – and Mast and Williams could be joining him in 2025. But Hoiberg has shown that his new methods have begun to work and if he can carry on recruiting to the level of this year, he could end up developing a team that is consistently making it to the NCAA tournament – and maybe even winning a few games in the process.