On the final day of February, both Nebraska's men's and women's basketball teams staged blowout wins. Since the calendar switched to March, both teams have suffered their worst or at least most frustrating losses of the season.
Fred Hoiberg's squad traveled to UCLA (which is admittedly a juggernaut on its home court) and played as badly as they have all season in a 72-52 loss to the Bruins on Tuesday night. On Wednesday afternoon, Amy Williams' squad opened its Big Ten Tournament by holding a 45-28 lead at the half.
"Collapse" doesn't seem to really correctly encapsulate what Nebraska did in the second half of its first-round game against 13th-seeded Indiana. The Huskers scored a total of 24 points while allowing 44 en route to a 72-69 defeat.
Nebraska basketball postseason outlook shifts after costly early‑March setbacks
Both losses were costly to each program. For Williams' squad, it likely means NU lost its final chance at an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. They'll find out for sure on Sunday, but Nebraska has lost seven of its last nine and is just 18-12 on the season.
The men's team loss isn't as damaging. Even if they lost the rest of their games in the regular season and Big Ten Tournament, they're getting an NCAA Tournament bid. However, had the Huskers won on Tuesday night, they'd be in the running for a 2-seed in both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament. Most bracketologists now have NU dropping all the way to a 4-seed in the Big Dance.
The Nebraska men's basketball team will have a chance to turn around its luck and still have a very good month. It's less likely Williams' squad will get the same opportunity.