For Corn Nation’s Husker fans, the mission was simple this week – do you think we’ll beat Iowa?
And you better believe that Iowa’s upset of Florida made this Thursday’s game something much different. Very much different.
We were playing with house money after grabbing that Troy win. If things fell a little differently against Vanderbilt, of course there would’ve been disappointment, especially if that half-court heave drops. But we’d still wake up knowing the monkey was off the program’s back and it would still be the greatest
single season ever.
The Sweet 16 was just going to be more gravy. If Florida, the defending NCAA Tournament champion, #1 regional seed and #1 seed overall, was the team waiting for the Huskers in Houston, it would pretty much have been a no-lose situation expectations-wise. Nebraska would have been a solid underdog with the roof blowing off on an upset victory, and no one thinking worse of the Huskers if they lost.
But then Iowa won and now there’s a different edge, isn’t there?
The 4th-seed Huskers are suddenly the slight favorites over the 9th-seed Hawkeyes. We all know how things have gone in football the last 10 meetings or so. Well, it’s not much different in hoops where Nebraska is 3-8 in their last 11 meetings with Iowa, although they did win the regular season finale.
But name one team you would less want to see ending this NCAA run than Iowa. Maybe that should have been a poll as well, but I see Iowa topping it if it ran. I believe the Huskers will win, but if Iowa sends the Huskers packing, there will be much more bile in my throat bile in my throat and it’s why I expected this wouldn’t be one of those optimistic “95% Huskers!” results. (I’m not kidding. We win, I’m going bananas. We lose, I’m seething for…I don’t know, but I doubt I’ll be fine in the morning which is the norm.)
The Spring Game poll below? I wasn’t at all surprised by those results either. Football interest seems much lower this spring but maybe that’s because of this hoops run, yes?
- 79% believe the Huskers will take Iowa in the 2025-6 rubber match for their 2nd straight win over the Squawks. But this is a poll of Husker fans with their team as a favorite.
- The fact it isn’t higher likely shows fans know this won’t be a walkover. Hopefully, it’s closer to the higher scoring OT thriller in Lincoln than the sloppy Iowa City clankfest.
- The results of those two games probably give away what Iowa will be trying to turn the game into.
- And just so you know, this poll of Iowa fans shows they’re thinking along similar lines about their own team.
- A check of Spring Game interest reflects where fan interest is for Saturday morning’s game. The poll question asked fans to assess their interest on a scale of 1 (highest) to 4 (lowest). The results ran in the opposite direction, 4 to 1.
- The highest vote-getter was zero interest in football – 38% said they were all-in on basketball this Saturday. Football isn’t the biggest spring draw anymore.
- 31% said they’d like to check the new faces out, but a final practice scrimmage isn’t a huge deal.
- 16% also don’t thing the game is a huge deal – but are very ready for a football fix.
- And 15% are still all in on Big Red football and will have their grills and coolers out in force Saturday morning.
And Just For Fun, Here’s Who the Nation Thinks Is Headed from Houston to the Final 4
- Nothing shocking here – nationally, it pretty got voted seed-wise.
