Nebrasketball: Now What?

On a recent road trip, the kids played the Pixar classic “Finding Nemo” on the DVD player.

One of the side stories is the struggle of the fish in the dentist’s office aquarium. They are trapped in the endless purgatory of their tank. They yearn to break free, but everything they try ends in spectacular failure.

At the end of the movie, their intricate escape plan finally works! They’ve finally managed to work their way into the same ocean waters as rest of their peers.

There’s just one problem: All of the fish are bobbing on top of the water in plastic bags. The movie ends with one of them saying, “Now what?”

That moment made me think of where Nebraska basketball is at after their historic breakthrough in the 2025-26 season.

An unprecedented winning streak, ranked as high as No. 5, and most importantly – their first two wins in the NCAA Tournament. It was a magical season to be treasured forever.

But as the college basketball season ends, it is time to look at the big picture of what this team accomplished and address the big question: Now what?

We’ll start with one final look back.

There’s no shame in the loss (or who they lost to).

Did it hurt losing a Sweet Sixteen game to the border rival who seemingly takes delight in dishing out Husker heartache?

Absolutely.

But the reality is that the ending was never going to be easy, regardless of who it was against. This wonderful, beautiful, historic season will always be bigger than one game. 68 teams start out on this journey, but only one is left standing in the end. For everybody else, their season ends suddenly, shockingly, and with a ton of heartache.

This was – without question – the greatest season in school history.*

*If you want to push up your “Well, actually…” glasses, I will concede that Paul Schissler’s 1919-20 team did go 22-2 (an impressive .917 winning percentage). Ewald “Jumbo” Stiehm – yes, the former Nebraska football coach – had a 14-1 season (.933) where he went undefeated in conference play, as well as two other seasons with a higher winning percentage than the 2025-26 team’s .800.

That said, when Woodrow Wilson was president, Nebraska was regularly playing opponents like Cotner College, Nebraska Wesleyan, and the Omaha Athletic Club and scoring about 30 points per game. The only two contenders for “greatest” in the last century are the 1965-66 team (20-5, .800, did not make the 22-team tournament) and the 1990-91 squad (26-8, .765, lost to 14-seed Xavier in the first round). But no Nebraska basketball squad tasted as much success as the 2025-26 team.

The number of things we witnessed that were the “best” or “most” or “first” in school history is too long to list. One game cannot change that.

The program’s embarrassing asterisk is now gone.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve read “Yeah, but how many tournament games has Nebraska won?” I could help Nebraska fund an all-star team of transfer portal talent (and have enough left over to get an elite running back for the football team). Rival fans and critics have not been shy about using NU’s lack of success as the ultimate trump card – one that Nebraska fans were powerless to refute.

NU’s status as the only power conference school without a tournament win is dead and gone. For good measure, the Huskers made the Sweet 16, leaving Northwestern, UCF, and TCU* as the only power conference teams to not make the Sweet 16 in the 64/68-team era.

*TCU has been one of the final 16 teams three times, most recently in the 1958-59 season. The tournament had only 23 teams in that era. TCU considers them Sweet Sixteen appearances. Others put an asterisk on it.

Fan holds Husker History sign as Nebraska celebrates win over Troy — The program's first NCAA Tournament win got a monkey off the Huskers' backs. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Speaking of asterisks, I cannot begin to explain how happy I am that we do not have to endure an endless debate on if the “First Four” counts as a tournament win. Or – could you imagine – what would have happened if Nebraska’s first win came after the tournament expands to 76 teams?

There is no debate. Nebraska earned its high seed and won its first game convincingly.

To be clear: Nebraska’s tournament history (2-9) isn’t going to be confused with Duke, Kansas, or UCLA. Their two wins ties them for 169th most in tournament history with 30 other schools like Little Rock, UNC Asheville, and Vermont. Nebraska still has the fourth fewest tournament appearances (9) of all power conference teams, edging out basketball powerhouses Rutgers (8), UCF (6), and Northwestern (3). Nebraska’s nine appearances ties them with teams like Middle Tennessee State, Robert Morris, Morehead State, and Pacific.

There’s plenty of room for growth. But the asterisk is gone.

Nebraska’s profile has been raised.

How many people – including potential recruits – saw their first Nebraska basketball game ever during this tournament?

NU’s championship in the 2025 College Basketball Crown was a cute novelty. The 20-0 start to the 2025-26 raised some eyebrows. But winning multiple games in March is what earns respect in the basketball community.

Tournament success opens doors in recruiting. Fred Hoiberg – or his predecessors – never acknowledged it, but NU’s lack of resume hurt them in recruiting. How many times did coaches from other schools told a potential recruit, “Why would you want to go to Nebraska? They’ve never even won a tournament game.” Now, Hoiberg can point to Nebraska’s recent success, his contract extension, and a visually pleasing style of ball that emphasizes passing, shooting, and defensive intensity.

Fans cheer during Vanderbilt game in OKC — Oklahoma City's Paycom Center became PBA South as Husker fans packed the venue for Nebraska's first- and second-round games. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The profile of Husker fans was also raised during the tournament. Ever since Nebraska’s very first football game in 1890, Nebraskans have had a reputation for traveling to support their team. Big Red takeovers at dozens of football and volleyball venues over the years are the stuff of legend.

But what Nebraska fans did in Oklahoma City might be in a separate category. Husker fans took over OKC, drank bars out of beer, set noise records in an NBA arena, and then partied into the wee hours of the morning. A week later, many travelled to Houston to do it all over again. If you made the trip, take a bow. Know that those of us who stayed behind were extremely jealous that you got to see it in person.

Nebrasketball fans may have to put away their “lovable losers” card.

It’s hard to describe, but there was a shared misery in being fans of the only power conference team without a tournament win. It was kind of like being a fan of the Chicago Cubs prior to their World Series win in 2016. The legacy of painful failure and disappointment was worn like a badge of honor for diehard fans. Nothing a rival fan might say could hurt worse than our collective disappointment, year after agonizing year.

But after the Cubbies broke their 108-year drought, something changed. The Cubs shed their “loveable losers” mystique. They’ve evolved into a more accurate representation of where the club is in the sport: one of MLB’s big-market teams fully capable of buying their way into the playoffs. That’s still an enviable position (especially to a fan of a small market team), but it was a seismic change in perception. Boston Red Sox fans went through something similar.

Nebraska’s breakthrough moment in Oklahoma City is a memory that fans will cherish for the rest of their lives. But now that it has been done, perceptions and expectations change. Now that Nebraska has open the door to tournament success, fans will want more and more… just like the fans of the other 78 power conference teams and several mid-major programs. Fans rarely say “I don’t care if we ever get back to our previous level of success.”

Conference and national pundits aren’t likely to look at Nebraska as a school where winning is impossible. They’ll see a program with a number of advantages (coaching, facilities, fan interest, conference, etc.) over many of their peers.

This is a good thing. I know the program was neglected and/or given second fiddle status for decades, but the harsh truth is Nebrasketball has been a chronic underachiever. It’s okay to shed the lovable loser status and not expect regression back to a program that struggles to get on the bubble.

Secure the roster for 2026-27, and fill in the gaps.

The college basketball transfer portal opens on Tuesday, April 7. Very little is officially official, but the rumors regarding the return of Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager are very positive. Conor Essegian has previously said he will return. Ugnius Jarusevicius has said he is coming back (hopefully, with a healthy back). I expect Cale Jacobsen and Berke Büyüktuncel will return as well.

That’s a solid core to build upon, especially with the returning bench players, redshirts, and incoming freshmen.

Jamarques Lawrence during Nebraska's win at Illinois — Jamarques Lawrence is one of the key players whose eligibility has now expired. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

The next order of business will be filling in the gaps on the roster. Losing Rienk Mast, Sam Hoiberg, and Jamarques Lawrence leaves some key roles open. There are – and will be – a million different transfer portal rumors. I won’t dare to speculate on who Nebraska might pursue.

Personally, I’d like to see Nebraska add some size and physicality. A common theme in Nebraska’s losses – especially against Final Four teams Illinois and Michigan – was a severe size discrepancy. When Hoiberg’s Huskers lost, they often got pushed around, or looked up at larger bodies grabbing offensive rebounds above their heads.

The Huskers will also need people who can run the offense – preferably, a point guard and a passing big man for Fred’s offense. Finally, in NU’s system you cannot have enough good shooters and active defenders.

Prove it wasn’t a fluke.

Nebraska was one of the great stories in college basketball in the 2025-26 season. The 20-game winning streak. Nearly beating the eventual national champion on their home court (without two key players). The tournament run in front of boisterous crowds.

In 2025-26, Nebraska exceeded .500 in conference play for just the fourth time this century. Can Nebraska prove that they intend to be a force in the best conference in the country? Or will their superb season be seen as a statistical aberration? Heck, even after that magical year Hoiberg is still three games under .500 at Nebraska (and 35 games below in conference play).

Loose ball, Nebraska at Michigan in January 2026 — A short-handed Nebraska team came close to knocking off the eventual national champions when the Huskers and Michigan played in Ann Arbor in late January. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So, now what?

As we discussed earlier, the program résumé of Nebraska basketball does not have a lot of bullet points. That cannot and will not change in a single season. It will take multiple years of success, tournament bids / wins, and a level of consistency Nebraska hasn’t approached since the peak of the Danny Nee era 35 year ago. The 2025-26 season was a big step in that process.

Unless Fred Hoiberg works some transfer portal magic, I believe the loss of Rienk Mast and Sam Hoiberg – both in production and leadership – will be hard to replace. I don’t expect the 2026-27 Huskers to have another 28-7 season. But I don’t see Nebrasketball regressing back to a 14th-place finish in the league either. On paper – written in pre-portal pencil – this looks like a tournament team.

For my entire life, basketball was something to help fill the time until football season. But this might be the first time where football is something to help fill the time until basketball starts.

Until then, I’ll be like those aquarium fish bobbing on top of the ocean wondering “now what?”

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