The Taste of (Semi) Sweet Revenge

Who would’ve thought that this was how the Nebraska Cornhuskers would finally get payback on the hated Texas Longhorns?

Despite the Huskers doing everything they could do to blow the game in a 34 second time span (have you ever seen a team blow a lead like that so quick?) Nebraska blew an 11 point lead in that timespan. It included the fouling of a 3-point shooter (not the last time we’d see that), missing three of four free throws, a turnover forced by a slip on an inbounds pass, and allowing two offensive rebounds off of free throws. All in 34 seconds!!

Thankfully, Texas finally fouled Brandon Richardson, who went 4-4 at the free throw line down the stretch. The Cornhuskers showed amazing composure after what looked to be the meltdown of the College Basketball season.

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t think Nebraska had it in them to pull of this upset.

There’s two ways I wanna break down this historic Nebrasketball victory. First, can Nebraska now make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998? Second, where does this victory over Texas rank on the revenge scale?

Given that this type of victory can’t approach the meaning of defeating the Burnt Orange on the gridiron, but we’ll take anything we can get at this point in this wanna-be rivalry.

This loss wasn’t easy to foresee. Texas seemed poised to complete the first undefeated season in Big 12 play since 2001-02 without any games against ranked teams left on their schedule. Not to mention how dominating they had been in their previous 11 conference victories (winning every game by double digits).

The victory did come in perhaps the last game between the two schools in a major sport (unless people out there still consider baseball a sport?).

In conclusion, I would say this upset does register on the revenge scale, but won’t ease Herbie’s heartburn anytime soon.

Now can Nebraska make its first appearance in the Big Dance in 13 years, and maybe, even win a game in the Tournament for the first time ever?

By my account, the Huskers should find themselves squarely on the cut line after that signature victory. Games don’t come much bigger than the Kansas St-Nebraska tilt on Wednesday.

The way I figure, if Nebraska wins 3 of their final 4 games, and then wins a game in the conference tournament, they will be in. Win two and things get iffy. Only win one and I don’t like their chances.

Winning three of the remaining four will be no easy task. Here’s a look at their remaining games…

• Feb. 23 vs. Kansas St.
• Feb. 26 @ Iowa St.
• Mar. 1 vs. Missouri
• Mar. 5 @ Colorado

With the better two teams coming to Lincoln, all four of those games could easily be considered toss-ups. I wouldn’t be surprised to see anything from a 4-0 record to an 0-4 record.

This is a very exciting time to be a Nebraska basketball fan right now (when was the last time you could say that?). I harp back to my preseason goals for my Kansas City Chiefs, which was to play meaningful games come December. Well, the same logic applies here, with Nebraska playing meaningful basketball come March.

Go Huskers and Tuck Fexas