LINCOLN, Neb. — Is this hoops heaven? No, it’s Nebraska.
On Sunday morning in the second full week of March, Nebraska basketball, the men and the women, captured the attention of this state in a way that we’ve rarely seen. The women battled No. 2-seed Iowa back and forth into overtime on CBS in the Big Ten tournament final. Meanwhile, the men raced past Michigan on the Big Ten Network.
The games intertwined, tipping off in the same 10-minute window. At halftime in Ann Arbor, Keisei Tominaga had scored 23 of the Huskers’ 50 points. In Minneapolis, the women, playing a fourth game in four days, led Iowa by double digits. Caitlin Clark, the Hawkeyes’ superstar, started 0 for 9 from 3-point range.
Dual-screen TV arrangements flourished. Sports bars served basketball for brunch.
After the men won 85-70 to secure their 22nd victory and a double-bye this week in the conference tourney, Fred Hoiberg blurted a question to announcers Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen as the coach began his postgame interview on the Huskers Radio Network.
“What’s the score of the women’s game?”
Nebraska trailed by two points late, reported Muhleisen, a former three-year captain of the Huskers.
The women lost 94-89 as Clark exploded for 30 of her 34 points after halftime.
GO DEEPER
Caitlin Clark,…
