Steven Branscombe photo-USA TODAY Sports
Huskers Snap and Extend Streaks
In this story:
Don't look now, but several Husker sports teams recently got to celebrate big wins for their respective programs.
Husker Men’s Basketball
One of the biggest victories happened yesterday (Sunday) as the Husker men's basketball team did something it hadn't done since March 16, 2004: beat Creighton at the CHI Center in Omaha. That's a drought of over 6,000 days. (It was called the Qwest Center back then.) Going into the game, the Huskers were 20 point underdogs, but despite that, Nebraska led most of the way. The Huskers left Omaha with an unexpected 63-53 win over the 7th-ranked Bluejays. It might be premature to make too much of the Nebraska win - there is a ton of basketball yet to be played. But kudos to Fred Hoiberg and the Huskers for going into a hostile road environment and coming out with a win.
Husker Women’s Basketball
There must be something about yesterday, Sunday, December 4th. Amy Williams' team also ended a long-standing 15-game losing streak to Maryland by upsetting the 20th-ranked Terrapins 90-67. Nebraska now stands at 6-3 and 1-0 in the B1G. BTW, both Nebraska basketball teams have identical overall 6-3 records. With yesterday's loss to Nebraska, Creighton men's team also has an overall record of 6-3.
Husker Football
Because of all the news coming out of Lincoln over the past week or so (Matt Rhule's hiring and Mickey Joseph's arrest) most of the air had been taken out of the room. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that the Huskers stopped a 7-game losing streak to Iowa. The Huskers beat the Hawkeyes 24-17 at Iowa City on Black Friday. The win didn't put 4-8 Nebraska in position to be bowl eligible, but nonetheless it was a sweet victory over Nebraska's biggest rival. With the help of Casey Thompson and Trey Palmer, NU jumped out to a 24-0 third-quarter lead. Nebraska had to hang on for a 24-17 win. What made the win even sweeter was that it kept the Hawkeyes out of the B1G championship game. Nice job, Huskers!
(One streak the Huskers weren't able to snap this season was its string of 6 consecutive losing seasons. Perhaps Matt Rhule and his staff can end that streak next year.)
Husker Volleyball
Last, but certainly not least, the Husker volleyball team continued its streak of 23 consecutive appearances in the NCAA volleyball tournament. How deep will the Huskers go in this year? I don't know, but I wouldn't bet against Husker head coach John Cook. After home wins last week over Delaware State and Kansas, Nebraska will take on #3 regional seed Oregon Ducks (25-5) this Thursday morning (10 a.m. CST) in Louisville, Kentucky. The other two teams in the regional are #4 seed Baylor vs. #1 seed Louisville. The regional championship game will be played this Saturday at 3:00 pm CST. How much will losing Kenzie Knuckles for the tournament affect the Huskers? Let's just hope the Huskers find a way to get to Omaha for the finals at the CHI Health Center December 15-17.
How ’Bout Them Huskers
This week's episode, Will and I discuss the latest in Husker sports and offer our opinions about what the future holds for Mickey Joseph. Don't miss it.
Get your Huskers tickets from SI Tickets here.
