Berke Buyuktuncel's departure from the Nebraska basketball team was rather surprising to fans who watched him seemingly fall in love with the culture in Lincoln. Where the big man ended up in the Transfer Portal isn't just surprising, but is oozing with irony considering he'll play next season with Vanderbilt.
It would be one thing if the irony were simply that the power forward picked a school the Huskers beat in the NCAA Tournament, which he did. But it's the tattoo Buyunktuncel got just a few days before he transferred out of Lincoln that is the real kicker.
Berke Buyunktencel leaves Nebraska for surprising SEC power
Berke Buyuktuncel has a new tattoo!#Huskers
— Jake Bartecki NCN-TV (@bartecki_jake) April 7, 2026
(📸berkebuyuktuncel/IG) pic.twitter.com/4hHfV7eiII
The former Nebraska fan favorite will have an interesting time explaining what the 28-7 tattoo means to his new teammates. The rather simple ink is the Huskers' record this season, the best in the school's history. That 28th win he had inscribed on his arm came by way of beating the Commodores.
It's not even that the Huskers beat Vandy in order to advance to the Sweet 16. It's how they beat them. Nebraska led for most of the game, but Vanderbilt managed to storm back in the second half and make it a back-and-forth affair.
Former Nebraska star has some explaining to do with his new teammates
With just seconds left, Braden Frager hit a layup that gave Nebraska a slim lead late enough that it was the winning shot. However, it was Tyler Tanner, who heaved the ball more than halfway down the court at the buzzer, that almost supplanted Frager's accomplishment.
Tanner's shot looked like it was on its way down and through the hoop before it reversed course and was spit back out. The game was over, Tanner missed the winning shot just barely, and Berke Buyunktencel and the rest of his teammates got to celebrate a hard fought trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
When the former Nebraska star's new teammates ask him about the art, it would be fun to be a fly on the wall when he explains it.
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