Iowa
Nebraska Men’s Basketball’s Week Ahead: Crucial Games at UCLA and Home vs. Iowa
Nebraska men’s basketball faces a critical week that will determine its Big Ten Conference and NCAA Tournament seeding.
The Huskers play at UCLA on Tuesday night and finish the regular season next Sunday at home vs. Iowa.
The Huskers are currently tied for second place in the Big Ten with Michigan State. Both teams have four conference losses. They are one game in the loss column ahead of Illinois and Purdue, with five losses. Wisconsin has six losses.
The top four teams earn the coveted triple bye for the Big Ten Tournament. Regular-season champion Michigan has one spot locked up.
Here are the remaining schedules of the contenders for the triple bye, with conference record in parentheses:
Nebraska (14-4)
* Tuesday: at UCLA
* Sunday: vs. Iowa
Michigan State (13-4)
* Sunday: at Indiana
* Thursday: vs. Rutgers
* Sunday, March 8: at Michigan
Illinois (13-5)
* Tuesday: vs. Oregon
* Sunday, March 8: at Maryland
Purdue (12-5)
* Sunday: at Ohio State
* Wednesday: at Northwestern
* Saturday: vs. Wisconsin
Wisconsin (12-6)
* Wednesday: vs. Maryland
* Saturday: at Purdue
Maintaining an NCAA seed no worse than 3 should benefit the Huskers, who wouldn’t have to play, theoretically, the No. 1 seed until the Elite Eight game.
It’s a ton to play for in the final week of a historic regular season for Nebraska. But that’s what March is all about.
Nebraska at UCLA
When: Tuesday, 10 p.m. CT
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
Records: Nebraska, 25-4, 14-4 in Big Ten; UCLA, 19-10, 11-7 in Big Ten
TV: FS1
Rankings updated based on games through Saturday.
UCLA rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: Not ranked
* NCAA Net Ratings: 40
* USA Today Coaches Poll: Not ranked
* Kenpom.com: 41
* ESPN Power Index: 34
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 41
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, UCLA is a 9-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament. The next Bracketology will be released Tuesday.
Nebraska rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: 12
* NCAA Net Ratings: 12
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 10
* Kenpom.com: 11
* ESPN Power Index: 15
* Top 25 and 1: 8
* Team Rankings.com: 11
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Nebraska is a 3-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska-UCLA analysis
The Bruins are coming off a strange week. They crushed visiting rival USC, 81-62, on Tuesday, then lost at Minnesota, 78-73, on Saturday.
UCLA is 16-1 at home, its only loss to Indiana, 98-97, in double overtime on Jan. 31.
The game will be a homecoming for Huskers forward Berke Buyuktuncel, who played at UCLA in 2023-24, his freshman season. Buyuktuncel has started 27 games and averages 6.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season for the Huskers and frequently earns praise from coach Fred Hoiberg.
Nebraska thoroughly dispatched USC on Saturday, 82-67, an impressive performance on the road against a Trojans team desperate for a statement win to help — or save — their NCAA hopes.
Pryce Sandfort scored 32 points — one short of his career high — as the Huskers won their 14th conference game, a school record. Nebraska is 7-2 on the road in conference games.
This should be a great matchup — UCLA a strong team playing at home vs. a Nebraska team playing well and full of confidence. This feels like a one-possession game.
Iowa at Nebraska
When: Sunday, March 8, 4 p.m. CT
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena
Records: Nebraska, 25-4, 14-4 in Big Ten; Iowa, 20-9, 10-8 in Big Ten
TV: Fox
Rankings updated based on games through Saturday.
Iowa rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: 33
* NCAA Net Ratings: 28
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 30
* Kenpom.com: 24
* ESPN Power Index: 35
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 31
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Iowa is an 8-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: 12
* NCAA Net Ratings: 12
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 10
* Kenpom.com: 11
* ESPN Power Index: 15
* Top 25 and 1: 8
* Team Rankings.com: 11
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Nebraska is a 3-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska-Iowa analysis
The Hawkeyes are coming off a puzzling, 71-69 loss at Penn State on Saturday. Iowa led 67-62 with 3:49 to play, and then scored only one more basket. Iowa plays host to Michigan on Thursday.
Nebraska will get a final curtain call at Pinnacle Bank Arena, where the Huskers are 15-2.
Nebraska should have revenge on its mind after losing at Iowa, 57-52, on Feb. 17, in Sandfort’s return to Iowa City, where he played for two seasons.
Whatever Nebraska nerves were a factor at Iowa shouldn’t be in play at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska shot only 21 percent from distance in Iowa City. Sandfort scored 13 points, his lowest total since Jan. 10, when he scored 12 at Indiana.
Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz scored 25 points. That won’t happen in this game. Neither will Nebraska’s ice-cold shooting from distance, especially if the game could determine the triple bye for the Huskers.
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An Iowa women’s basketball transfer portal visitor committed to one of the Hawkeyes’ conference foes instead. Former Iowa State guard Kenzie Hare took a visit to Iowa during her transfer portal recruitment, but the 5-foot-9 guard committed to Indiana on Sunday night.
Hare had several visits throughout her transfer portal recruiting process, including trips to Michigan and Illinois State, but the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow reported that Hare also visited Iowa.
On3’s Talia Goodman reported Hare’s commitment to the Hoosiers.
Hare has one year of eligibility remaining. This past season with the Cyclones, in 32 games played and 31 starts, Hare averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 40.5% field goal shooting and 40% from 3-point range. A hip injury limited Hare to just 10 games during her first year with the Cyclones in the 2024-25 season.
The soon-to-be redshirt senior transferred to Iowa State before the 2024-25 campaign after spending two seasons at Marquette from 2022-24. Hare averaged a career-best 14 points per game on 45.5% field goal shooting and 42.5% 3-point shooting during the 2023-24 season with the Golden Eagles.
Had Iowa been able to lure the Naperville, Ill., native to Iowa City, Hare would have been another valuable addition to the Hawkeyes’ backcourt depth. But, Iowa has landed other backcourt reinforcements throughout this transfer portal cycle.
The Hawkeyes inked both Dani Carnegie and Amari Whiting.
Carnegie was a first-team All-SEC selection this past season at Georgia, averaging 17.8 points per game on 42.7% field goal shooting, 35.4% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free-throw line. Whiting averaged 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 42.5% field goal shooting, 32.1% 3-point accuracy, and 71.6% free-throw shooting.
As Hare joins a promising core of players in Bloomington, the Hawkeyes will once again face the former Cyclone at least once this upcoming season as part of their Big Ten regular-season slate.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Senator Chuck Grassley said he’s recovering from a gallstone removal procedure.
His media team shared that he is working in Iowa “in good spirits and looks forward to returning to Washington soon.”
“I’m gr8ful [sic] for the excellent care from local health care providers,” he shared on X.
Over the weekend in Iowa I had a procedure to remove gallstones I’m gr8ful for the excellent care from local health care providers Be back to capitol ASAP
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) April 20, 2026
Grassley, 92, is the oldest senator currently in office and the sixth-longest-serving senator in U.S. history.
The Senate is in session this week.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Former Iowa State center Audi Crooks has committed to Oklahoma State via the NCAA Transfer Portal. She has one season of eligibility remaining.
Crooks made 99 appearances and 95 starts during her three seasons at Iowa State. She averaged 25.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game this past season, while shooting 64.9% from the field. Additionally, the 6-foot-3 star shot 1-11 from 3-point range.
Crooks played a leading role for the Cyclones from the moment she stepped on campus. She is a three-time All-Big 12 First-Team selection and two-time All-American. On April 2, Crooks announced her intention to enter the transfer portal.
“Cyclone Nation, thank you all for embracing me and showing up to Hilton every single game day. I’ve met so many of you out in the community, and I will cherish all of the genuine connections that I’ve built during my time at Iowa State,” Crooks wrote. “Words cannot fully express how grateful I feel to have called this place home.
“I want to thank my teammates for their friendship and all the great memories. … I still believe the grass is greener where you water it, and I’ve done that here.”
Now, Audi Crooks will aim to thrive in her new environment. Oklahoma finished the 2025-26 season with a 24-10 overall record.
The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opened on April 6 and closes on April 20. The new 15-day window was enacted following a recommendation by the women’s basketball oversight committee. Athletes don’t have to commit to a new school by the April 21 deadline.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.
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