It Has Finally Happened: Nebrasketball's Curse is Lifted

It has finally happened for Nebraska.

In another marvelous and memorable contest in the NCAA Tournament, they've finally done it.

Nine times now, a Nebrasketball coach has brought a team to this game. Again, their reputation for losing here, ringing in their ears. Now they're trying to get the water out of their ears.

Fred Hoiberg has borne all of this throughout the years with a dignified, self-effacing manner, and now, his great coaching résumé is nearly complete.

While those of us in the media aren't supposed to root, I think we can allow ourselves a chance to smile, and some words of appreciation for a man who has studiously avoided self-aggrandizement in an age all to devoted to style over substance.

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Older fans will likely recognize those words as an homage to the soliloquy Bob Costas gave at the end of the 1995 Orange Bowl when Tom Osborne won his first national championship - Nebraska's first in a generation after a series of painful near misses.

I know, I know. It is absolutely ridiculous to compare winning a first-round game to a national championship. And yet, if you've been a true fan of this program, you get it. It doesn't matter if your fandom dates back to the Joe Cipriano era or the Keisei Tominaga teams, being a Nebrasketball fan has never been easy. Easy would be checking out from January to the start of spring football. Easy would have been defecting to one of the more successful bird teams to the south or north.

Nothing about getting to this point has been easy.

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This is a moment we dared not dream about. Winning a game in the NCAA Tournament.

For blue bloods like Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky, winning tournament games is as hard as stepping over a crack in the sidewalk. Heck, even schools like Bucknell, Norfolk State, and Florida Gulf Coast have managed to clear that obstacle multiple times. But for Nebraska, it often felt like jumping across the Grand Canyon.*

*And I'm not talking about Grand Canyon University, who won a game in 2024.

You undoubtedly know that Nebraska was the last power conference school to win a tournament game, a fact that has continued to endure even as "power conference" membership became as exclusive as being an Amazon Prime member.

No more.

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The "never won a tournament game" label has been an 800-pound gorilla on the program's back for decades, dragging it down and holding it back.

Many coaches tried to slay the beast. But all were turned away.

Moe Iba was the first. He got Nebraska to the Big Dance for the very first time in 1986. The 9-seed Huskers lost to Western Kentucky by 17. As he walked off the court, Iba pulled an envelope out of his sport coat pocket and gave it to assistant athletic director Don Bryant.

It was his letter of resignation.

Fred Hoiberg and Braden Frager — Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg celebrates with forward Braden Frager after the Huskers' win Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The legendary Danny Nee got "Nee-brasketball" into the tournament five times, including four straight seasons (1991-1994). Until this year, the 1990-91 team was the gold standard for Nebraska basketball success in the tournament era. Those Huskers went 26-8 and earned a 3-seed. But they lost 89-84 to 14-seed Xavier, making them just the seventh team ever to lose to a 14 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams.

Sadly, that five-point loss was as close as Nebraska had ever come to a tournament victory. Losses to UConn (by 21), New Mexico State (by 14), Penn (by 10), and Arkansas (by 9) were all agonizingly painful ends to promising seasons. Nee did lead Nebrasketball to their first postseason tournament championship - the 1996 NIT title. But the unofficial title of "65th best team in the nation" can't erase the stigma of never winning a tournament game.

Barry Collier made just two NIT appearances in his six seasons. Doc Sadler promised "baseline to baseline" play, but only one of his teams scored more than 67 points per game. He never got off the tournament bubble.

In his second season at Nebraska (2014-15), Tim Miles caught lighting in a bottle, riding a late season surge and "No Sit Sunday" to an 11-seed. But his hustling Huskers were no match for Baylor's length and athleticism. The 2017-18 team had 22 wins but was left out of the dance. A season later, Miles was fired.

Nebraska fans cheering — It amounted to a home game in Oklahoma City for the Huskers as Nebraska fans packed the arena. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

When Fred Hoiberg was hired, he was hailed as a can't-miss coach. But his first three seasons were a disaster that had him on the brink of being fired. Hoiberg managed to turn the program around, winning 23 games in 2023-24. Nebraska earned a 9-seed, and the Committee thought it would be hilarious to match NU up with Texas A&M, who had just hired former Blackshirt turned AD Trev Alberts away from Nebraska.

The A&M game felt like NU's moment.* The 2023-24 team had a talented lineup, a clear identity, and the X factor of Japanese sharpshoot Keisei Tominaga. Keisei was more than capable of going on a heater and carrying the team to the Sweet 16 or beyond. But on that night, it was the Aggies who could not miss. A&M won by 15, Nebraska's fifth tournament loss by double digits.

*Full disclosure: The first draft of this piece was written prior to the 2024 tournament.

And that's it. A few burst bubbles, 19 NIT appearances, and a ton of 11th place finishes where the season ended on the first day of the conference tournament. The 2024-25 team won the inaugural College Basketball Crown title, which was viewed by Nebraska fans as equal parts accomplishment and inside joke.

That, my friends, is Nebrasketball.

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Nebraska is undoubtedly a football school.

From the football team's very first game in 1890, football has been the undisputed king in Lincoln. It has driven much of Nebraska's athletics success - both in championships and the revenue that supports other programs. For many fans, basketball has been nothing more than a diversion to bridge the gap between the bowl game and the spring scrimmage. For others, it is merely a thing that takes focus (and resources) away from King Football. The true Nebrasketball sickos don't fall into either category.

From administration to facilities to expectations and everything in between, basketball has always been - at best - second fiddle. This undeniable fact is a big reason why it took Nebraska so dadgum long to win their first tournament game.

And it is the key reason why the first victory happened now.

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Let's face it: We would not be here without Scott Frost.

There was a moment in time where Fred Hoiberg's Huskers were empathically, historically, irrevocably bad. The Huskers were 24-67 (and 9-50 in conference play) under Hoiberg. At any other self-respecting school in the country, Hoiberg would have been fired and 99% of the fans would have said "good riddance".

But not at Nebraska.

Because, at the time, the football team was also empathically, historically, irrevocably bad. Both Frost and Hoiberg had contract buyouts in excess of $15 million. Only one could be fixed at the time, and (then) Athletic Director Trev Alberts made the obvious (and correct) decision. Call it prioritization, patience, fiscal conservatism, or another example of apathy towards the basketball program. The bottom line was Fred stayed while Frost was fired.

Hoiberg made the most of his second chance.

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There is common bond among the long-suffering Nebrasketball diehards. A long, tortured history of shared pain and frustration will do that to people.

Nebraska football fans thought the 2021 season was bad as Frost's Huskers seemingly invented new and increasingly more painful ways to lose every week. Meanwhile, the Nebrasketball diehards were hanging out of windows like Bruce Willis in "Die Hard", shouting "Welcome to the party, pal!"

I was a big Nebraska basketball fan in college during the Nee era. We showed up at least 90 minutes before each game to snag prime seats behind the opposing team's bench. By my senior year, one of the ushers was saving seats for us. My buddies and I centered multiple guys' trips around games in Ames, Manhattan, and the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.

Surrounded by a swarm of Huskers, Troy forward Thomas Dowd has his shot blocked. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But I'll admit it: I checked out during large parts of the Collier and Sadler years. Those teams were so hopelessly mediocre - and about as exciting as watching grass grow in January - that they were no longer a priority to me. I was aware of their games, but made little effort to watch, listen, or attend.

If I had a dollar for every time I've seen "that was the most Nebrasketball (loss/moment/failure) of all time", I could fill a roster with 5-star talent. But in true Nebraska basketball fashion, every player on that all-star roster would somehow manage to get hurt, transfer, hit an enrollment snag, gain 30 pounds, or completely lose the ability to shoot the ball through the hoop.

Until now.

That's why long time Nebraska basketball fans are going to celebrate this first round win like we won the whole damn thing. I've had a bottle of champagne in my fridge since December for this very moment. Fans of other schools* will laugh and joke, but I suspect those people can easily relate to teams at their school who have been perennial failures.

*Hello, Creighton and Iowa trolls! Thanks for reading! While you're here, can I interest you in a collection of postgame memes?

Regardless, I don't care what they think.

We did it.

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Can we take a moment to talk about Kent Pavelka?

Kent is the heart and soul of Nebraska basketball. A Lincoln native, he started calling hoops in 1974 (the year I was born). With the exception of a ten-year stretch (1996 through 2005) he has been broadcasting NU hoops for the majority of most of our lives. He has been behind the mic for over 1,100 basketball games - many of them stinkers, failures, and/or complete trainwrecks.

Nobody - and I absolutely guarantee NOBODY - has witnessed more Nebrasketball pain and suffering than Kent Pavelka.

Nobody in the building deserves this more. pic.twitter.com/b4QkkRpKtC
— Robin Washut (@RobinWashut) March 19, 2026

Yet, even in the darkest years, when nobody would have blamed him for channeling Bob Uecker's character in Major League, he still called games with a cadence of confidence.

His trademark excitement and signature "GOT IT!" call have brought so much joy to Husker fans who dared to dream what might be possible.

One of the highlights of this season was been listening to Kent get choked up as he talked about this team prior to the Senior Day win over Iowa. He knew early on that this group - including "Sammy my boy" Hoiberg - was special.

As ecstatic as I am to have finally witnessed this moment, I am even happier for the man who I will always consider THE voice of the Huskers.

Enjoy it, KP!

Now, let's bring that trophy back to Lincoln!

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To close, let's once again revisit that Bob Costas monologue from the 1995 Orange Bowl. Here's how he would likely close it out today:

As we leave you now, try to imagine what it must be like, right now, in Nebraska - where there are no major professional sports teams, and no other major university within its borders.

And in Lincoln now, and all across the Nebraska plains, this first tournament win in school history is a wonderful way to start a new era, and a wonderful crowning moment in the career of Fred Hoiberg.

Nebraska, first-round winners, 76-47.

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