Bring Back “The Vault”
During Nebrasketball’s magical 2013-2014 season, Pinnacle Bank Arena became known as “The Vault” as the Huskers piled up 15 wins on the strength of a deafening home crowd.
Since then, the Huskers have lost a ghastly 17 times at home.
Even more troubling, Nebraska has now been upset at home by a nonconference cupcake three years in a row. Incarnate Word exposed what was supposed to be a tournament team in 2014-2015. The next season it was Samford who pulled the upset. Fans were stunned when it happened yet again this season against Gardner-Webb.
The Gardner-Webb debacle may sting the most in light of how the Huskers have played lately. Were it not for that defeat, Nebraska would be sitting at 10-6 with one of the nation’s toughest schedules — and without a single “bad” loss.
Now, Nebraska is under more pressure to win a lot of Big Ten games to make up for that RPI-killer of a defeat. If the Huskers barely miss out on a NCAA or NIT berth, we might be pointing back to Gardner-Webb saying, “What if?”
Look no further than the ’13-’14 team to see how imperative it is to protect home court. That squad won only four games away from home, meaning they made the postseason primarily on the strength of home victories.
The Huskers have been road warriors so far in ’16-‘17, but nobody will be overlooking them from here on out. It won’t be easy to continue racking up road wins.
At 1-1 in home Big Ten play, Nebraska is at a crossroads. Great opportunities await with Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin all traveling to Lincoln. If the Huskers win most of their home games, it will undoubtedly have a postseason resume that’s hard to ignore. If they don’t, Big Red basketball fans will be saying “maybe next year” all over again.