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Go Iowa Awesome – BTT Preview: No. 3 Iowa WBB vs. Nebraska

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Go Iowa Awesome  –  BTT Preview: No. 3 Iowa WBB vs. Nebraska


WHO: Nebraska Cornhuskers (22-10 overall, 11-7 Big Ten)
WHEN: 11:00 AM CT (Sunday, March 10)
WHERE: Target Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
TV: CBS
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network
ONLINE: https://www.cbs.com/
MOBILE: https://www.cbs.com/
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN

The Big Ten Tournament seemed like it would be all about rubber matches for Iowa. If everything went to plan, the Hawks would face Indiana in the semifinal and Ohio State in the final. The Hawkeyes, Hoosiers, and Buckeyes were the class of the Big Ten in the regular season, and Iowa had split regular seasons matchups with both. The Big Ten Tournament seemed destined to give the teams one more chance to find out who was truly better.

Then fate intervened. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers fell in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, and suddenly Iowa went from needing to beat both to claim a third consecutive Big Ten Tournament title to not having to beat either one. Instead, Iowa beat Penn State and Michigan, two teams the Hawkwyes had only played once in the regular season (both Iowa wins), to advance to the Big Ten Tournament final.

Now Iowa does get a rubber match — just not against the team it expected. It was 5-seed Nebraska that emerged from the top half of the bracket amidst the chaos of this year’s tournament.

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Iowa knows the Huskers well. Just over a month ago, the Huskers defeated Iowa at Nebraska in a game that Iowa dominated for three quarters. The defeat was a big blow to Iowa’s NCAA Tournament resume, knocking Iowa off the 1-seed line for the remainder of February and early March.

Thanks in part to upsets around the country, Iowa is again positioned as a 1-seed according to ESPN’s latest Bracketology. If Iowa can get revenge against Nebraska, the Hawkwyes should earn a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992.

Nebraska guard Sam Haiby (4) gets fouled by Iowa guard Sydney Affolter (3) during a NCAA Big Ten Conference women’s basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (© Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Top Players

6’3″ forward Alexis Markowski is Nebraska’s leading scorer. She’s averaging 15.8 ppg and 10.7 rpg, while shooting 50.7% on two-point attempts and 29.7% from behind the arc.

5’9″ point guard Jaz Shelley is Nebraska’s emotional leader. She’s averaging 13.7 ppg, 5.4 apg, 4.2 rpg, and 1.7 spg. She’s shot 47.7% on two-point attempts and 35.1% on three-point tries this season. Shelley had 30 points and shot 6-of-12 from deep in Nebraska’s 78-68 win over Maryland in the semifinal game. She’s shot well from outside all tournament, going 13-of-30 (43%) in three games thus far.

6’2″ freshman forward Natalie Potts was voted the Big Ten Freshman of the Year for her play in the regular season. She’s averaging 10.3 ppg and 5.5 rpg, while shooting 58.9% inside the arc and 26.7% from deep.

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Play Style

Nebraska averages 70.5 possessions per 40 minutes, which ranks 164th nationally.

Offensively, Nebraska averages 72.9 points per game, which ranks 54th nationally. The Huskers shoot 48.9% on two-point attempts (71st) and 33.4% on three-point tries (80th). The Huskers are a strong offensive rebounding team. They average 13.3 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks 47th. They also share the basketball well, as their 16.5 assists per game ranks 32nd.

Defensively, Nebraska has been surrendering 63.5 points per game, which ranks 149th. Nebraska has allowed opponents to shoot 46.6% on two-point attempts, which ranks 233rd. The Huskers are much better at guarding the three-point line, allowing teams to shoot 29.7% from deep, which ranks 107th. The Huskers don’t generate many steals (6.3 per game, 287th) or blocks (2.0 per game, 319th).

Iowa's Hannah Stuelke takes a shot to bring Iowa within one point late in the fourth quarter Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke takes a shot to bring Iowa within one point late in the fourth quarter Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. (© Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Iowa-Nebraska Rounds I and II

Iowa beat Nebraska 92-73 in Carver on January 27th. The game wasn’t as easy as the large margin of victory might suggest. With 1:54 to go until halftime, Iowa trailed 31-27. The offense looked as out of sorts as it had all season for most of that first half.

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Then Iowa put together a 9-0 run to end the half, and largely controlled the second half. Caitlin Clark was the catalyst of Iowa’s offensive outbreak, scoring 31 of her 38 points in the game in the final 20 minutes and change.

Nebraska got its revenge on February 11 in Lincoln. Iowa took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter, and the game looked all but over. Then Nebraska went on a massive run, taking the lead with 30 seconds left and holding on for an 82-79 win.

Iowa’s big issue in the fourth quarter was Nebraska’s box-and-one defense. The Huskers held Clark scoreless in the fourth quarter, and her teammates were unable to step up and hit enough shots. Nebraska outscored Iowa in the fourth quarter 27-10.

The good news for Iowa is that the Hawkeye role players are firing on all cylinders in the Big Ten Tournament. If Nebraska sells out to take Clark away, they might do so at their peril.

X-Factor

Slow down Jaz Shelley. Shelley is the straw that stirs the drink for Nebraska. In Iowa’s loss at Nebraska, she had 23 points, including the key three-pointer that gave Nebraska the lead with 30 seconds left. In Nebraska’s semifinal win over Maryland, she had 30 points and 9 assists.

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If Iowa can keep Shelley somewhat in check, the Hawkeye offense has a great chance to simply outscore the Cornhuskers on their way to a third consecutive Big Ten Tournament title. If Shelley gets going again, Nebraska will rightly believe it can pull another upset and capture its first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2014.





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Pillen: Nebraska senator tears down historical exhibits by PragerU from Capitol walls

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Pillen: Nebraska senator tears down historical exhibits by PragerU from Capitol walls


LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Parts of a temporary historical exhibit inside the Nebraska State Capitol were torn down by a state senator, Gov. Pillen alleges.

Gov. Pillen said Wednesday on social media that several displays of historical figures, key events in the American Revolution and portraits of those who signed the Declaration of Independence were “ripped off the walls” by state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha.

A 40-second video shared by Pillen appears to show Sen. Cavanaugh taking down several displays and a photo showed the items on the floor of her office.

A 40-second video shared by Gov. Jim Pillen shows Sen. Cavanaugh taking down several displays and a photo showed the items on the floor of her office.(Governor Jim Pillen’s office)

The displays featuring material made by the controversial conservative group PragerU were put up in the state Capitol as part of the United States’ 250th anniversary.

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“Celebrating America during our 250th year should be a moment of unity and patriotism, not divisiveness and destructive partisanship. I am disappointed in this shameful and selfish bad example,” Pillen wrote.

Cavanaugh told 10/11 that senators are prohibited from putting items on the walls in the hallway outside their offices. She said the posters line the entire hallway around the first floor, but she only took down the ones outside her office.

“When I walked in this morning and saw these poster boards lining the hallway of my office, I thought well I’m not allowed to have things lining the hall of my office… I tried to take them down as gently as I could and not damage any of them, and I stacked them inside of my office and I let the state patrol know that they were there,” Cavanaugh said.

PragerU has previously faced criticism for making content that historians, researchers and scholars have considered inaccurate or misleading. Some parents and educators have also spoken out against the nonprofit, saying its content spreads misinformation and is being used for “indoctrinating children.”

The Founders Museum exhibit in particular has been criticized by The American Historical Association for blurring the line between reality and fiction, according to NPR.

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The exhibit is supposed to remain on display during public building hours through the summer.

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Oregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska

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Oregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska


Nebraska has picked up a third linebacker commitment from Oregon State transfer Dexter Foster, a sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining, including a redshirt year. 

The 6-foot-3, 236lb linebacker started in seven games this fall for the Beavers, totaling 52 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. As a true freshman in 2024, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 43 tackles with two tackles for loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries. 

Foster held just two offers coming out of high school prior to committing to Oregon State, but was at one point a target for new Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, when Aurich was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Idaho in 2022-2023. 

The sophomore joins a linebacker room that has seen a bit of a facelift through transfer portal additions. San Diego State linebacker Owen Chambliss led the Aztecs in tackles this season and has now signed with the Huskers, following Rob Aurich to Lincoln. Iowa State freshman linebacker Will Hawthorne committed to the Huskers on Tuesday. Nebraska fell just short of Iowa State when Hawthorne was coming out of Gilbert (Ia.) in the 2025 cycle. 

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Foster is the seventh transfer portal addition for the Huskers this cycle and the fourth defensive addition. The Huskers are expected to be done with linebacker portal recruiting at this point and will turn attention to needs up front, both at defensive tackle and edge rusher. 

Quick look at what Nebraska is getting in Foster

Standing 6-foot-3, and north of 235lbs, Foster is rangy and athletic in space. Has the versatility to play true strong-side or weak-side linebacker and could even spin down to edge rusher if needed. Possesses the athletic and physical range to track down ball-carriers in space, arm length to keep would-be-blockers at bay. Shows good eye discipline working through traffic, quick to react and trigger downhill, with the fluidity to change directions quickly. Still more read-and-react than anticipatory at this point in his development, but gets to his spots quickly. Has the athleticism to stick in coverage against running backs, tight ends and even slot receivers. 

Has the experience, size and play-style to factor into Nebraska’s linebacker rotation immediately, and could even push to start alongside San Diego State linebacker transfer Owen Chambliss. Has the versatility to be a chess piece of sorts for Aurich and stick on the field regardless of personnel.



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Nebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek

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Nebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek


QUEEN CREEK, AZ — A slice of the Midwest is coming to the East Valley! Godfather’s Pizza from Omaha, Nebraska, is set to open a new location this month in Queen Creek.

Bruce Cannon, who owns and operates two Godfather’s Pizza locations in Lincoln and Norfolk, Nebraska, will also own and operate the new Queen Creek restaurant.

“This marks the brand’s first traditional Godfather’s Pizza restaurant in Arizona since 2009, signaling an exciting return to the Phoenix metro area,” read the news release sent to ABC15.

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The restaurant will open near Queen Creek Rd and Signal Butte Rd.

The restaurant will provide dine-in, carryout, and third-party delivery options, featuring its classic pizza lineup alongside favorites like breadsticks, streusels, and specialty pies.

IF YOU GO

  • Opening date: January 19, 2026.
  • Address: 22485 Queen Creek Road, Suite 101

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