Nebraska's Dream Season May Be the Start of Something Much Bigger

There are "Cinderella" stories, then there is what's happened throughout the first half of Nebraska's 2025-26 season. Now, the historic season is making the experts ask if it's built to last.

After another monumental men's basketball win this season, it could be argued that something bigger than a good season is building in Lincoln. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Winning is contagious.

It can be a nice win streak in the middle of a season or catching fire late in the year to make an improbable run through the postseason. It can even be earning a win to snap a long losing streak that leads to a few more wins to wrap up a down year.

It comes in many shapes, sizes and emotions, but if you do just enough of it, it can also lead to something much bigger – a culture shift.

Are we seeing a culture shift taking place for the men's basketball team in Lincoln? | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

At Nebraska, you can see the various forms of winning across all of the university’s programs. Football set the standard early in Lincoln, not only with the national championships of the 70s, but of course, the historic run of three national titles in four years in the mid-to-late 90s.

Then you see what’s been done with the volleyball team over the last two decades. Terry Pettit and John Cook built a dynasty that still hasn’t really ended, but as evidenced by this season, it still doesn’t always end in a championship, even if you only lose once all year.

The "gold standard" in Lincoln has been the Nebraska volleyball team for the good part of the past decade. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

On campus, each team has really had its time in the sun. The Nebraska women’s basketball team has been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, while football, volleyball, bowling, men’s gymnastics and women’s track and field have all brought home the ultimate prize of a national championship.

All of those Husker programs at one time or another have built a culture of winning. It’s expected, even during seasons when it’s not delivered (see football team). For better or worse, there’s one program in Lincoln that’s never had its time in the sun – the men’s basketball team.

Nebraska is the only Power Four conference team to have never won a men’s NCAA Tournament game. It was down to Northwestern and Nebraska before the Wildcats knocked off Vanderbilt 68-66 to advance to the Round of 32 in 2017, leaving the Huskers as the lone outsider looking in.

Nebraska is the only Power Four conference men's basketball team to have never won an NCAA Tournament game. | Soobum Im-Imagn Images

This season, that “lone outsider” is now possibly on the cusp of a top-10 ranking nationally.

Nebraska’s a perfect 14-0 and has won 18-straight games dating back to last year’s College Basketball Crown postseason tournament in Las Vegas. It’s the nation’s longest winning streak for the most unlikely team in the country. Calling them “Cinderella” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

“We’ve done something that hasn’t been done in this program ever,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said after his team’s 58-56 upset of No. 9 Michigan State this past Friday night. “Running the table in non-conference hasn’t been done in almost 100 years, so there’s a lot of things that these guys can be proud of. At the same time, the most impressive thing to me about this group is how they’ve handled it. They haven’t gotten big-headed. A lot of things have been written, and if it flips, it’s going to go the other way. They’ve got to handle that well. It’s been a fun ride with this team.”

After many called for his firing years ago, Fred Hoiberg has taken Nebraska men's basketball to new heights this season. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

That brings us to the ultimate question, though. Is this just a fun ride, or can Nebraska basketball fans actually come around on the idea that seeing is believing? They are seeing a Nebraska men’s basketball team with an unblemished record in early January that includes wins over Creighton, Illinois and Michigan State. If you ask the teams they’re beating, it appears they’re sold on the fact that Nebraska might be a team to deal with for a while.

“Everything’s better,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said after his team’s loss in Lincoln. “I mean, it starts with Sandfort and Mast. That’s a 1 and 1AA, and those two guys are really good. They weren’t here last year. Lawrence is a big addition to them. Then I think the Frager kid is going to be a hell of a player. That’s a hell of a freshman, and he’s going to be a hell of a player. He seems to be getting better and better.”

What’s interesting about the historical season is the fact that the team isn’t getting wrapped up in it as they may have in previous years. After fans rushed the court Friday night, star senior forward Rienk Mast said he loves the excitement, but he’s hoping for more from the fan base going forward.

Fans rushed the court following Friday's win over #9 Michigan State, but it sparked an interesting reply from Rienk Mast. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“If you are No. 13 against No. 9 and you’re at home, you’re supposed to win that game,” Mast said in his postgame press conference. “(I) don’t blame the fans at all that they got excited for that win, but I think from here on out, we’ve proven that we belong in these games, and that we’re supposed to win these types of games, but I get it.”

Ultimately, that’s where the verdict is still out. It’s hard to trust a program that is the only power-four conference team to have never won a men’s NCAA Tournament game, even if they’re undefeated and now making moves toward the top-10. The coaches and players know that too, which is why when they take the court on the road at Ohio State on Monday, they’ll be trying (once again) to prove that they are not a fluke.

“It was fun to see our guys celebrate, but once we got in the locker room, they’re ready to move past it,” Hoiberg said of the team’s demeanor following the MSU win. “We’ve got to bounce back with a good mental day. Now you go on the road for two, so it’s a great win for us. I’m not going to discount that – huge win for our program, but we’ve got to get past it and move on to Ohio State.”

Despite being 14-0, the Huskers haven’t even secured themselves a .500 record yet this season due to there being 17 games left in the regular season. NU’s nearing the midpoint of what could be a magical year, but the key words in the statement are "could be."

Nebraska returns to Ohio State on Monday to continue their season of trying to prove the doubters wrong. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The dream’s been building amidst 18-straight wins, and it’s unlikely the Huskers will run the table to a perfect 31-0 record – even the best teams in the country drop a few games along the way. An encouraging sign, though, if you’re a Husker fan, is that the team is well aware of the fact that they haven’t accomplished anything yet.

“We have a long season to go, and we’ve got to keep that mentality,” Mast said. “Every single game, we’ve got to prove it, that this isn’t a fluke, that we’re not just a hot streak and that we can go cold. We’ve just got to stay poised and keep proving people wrong.”

It’s that mentality that’s signaling something much bigger in Lincoln this season. The team has already made history, and they’re playing as if they haven’t won a game all year. That’s more than a winning streak – that’s culture. That’s a program that doesn’t want this season to be a flash in the pan. Instead, they want it to be a jumping-off point for the team's five and 10 years down the line.

This season is shaping up to be a program-building year.

Nebraska guard Jamarques Lawrence feels this season is more than a "flash in the pan" year for the Huskers. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“No doubt,” Nebraska senior guard Jamarques Lawrence said following NU’s win over the Spartans. “I think the key thing is we’re all good guys with good character. We want to see each other succeed. There’s no hate on this team, and I just love it. This team – we’re experienced. We’re just trying to calm the guys down and we’re just starting to understand it even when we go on highs and runs, we just try to stay even keel.”

Next up is a showdown with an Ohio State team that doesn’t plan on rolling out the red carpet for the Huskers. The Buckeyes are 10-3 and 7-1 at home, making a visit from Nebraska all the more enticing.

Over the last 48 hours, Nebraska has come off its recent high, and they plan to be ready for another fight on Monday in Ohio.

“It’s pretty good,” Mast said of the feeling of being 14-0 this season. “You’ve got to be in the moment and enjoy it, but I think we have a group that’s old and knows that if you ride that high, you can fall flat on your face. You’ve got to stay even.”

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