Well, both Husker basketball teams lost to ranked squads this weekend. The road doesn’t get any easier as the Big Ten has more ranked teams yet to be played. The men played a decent game against Illinois, but the height of the Illini and their zone defense kept the Huskers off balance. The ladies were right in it toward the end, coming within four, but then Ohio State hit the gas and distanced themselves again.

Now that football has ended and it is too early to start gardening, I need a TV series or two to fill my “spare” time. I have a wide range of interests, so give me your recommendations in the comments!

Illinois vs Nebraska basketball: Keaton Wagler, Illini pull away from the Huskers
Behind a game-high 28 points from star freshman Keaton Wagler, No. 10 Illinois overcame a six-point halftime deficit to knock off No. 5 Nebraska 78-69 on Sunday, February 1 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.

No. 11 Ohio State women survive late run by Nebraska, win 90-71
For six weeks this season, the Nebraska Cornhuskers saw their name in the top-25 Associated Press rankings, until this week. Even so, Big Red brought a two-game winning streak with them to Columbus for a matchup with No. 11 Ohio State women’s basketball in a matchup of two star sophomore point guards in Buckeye Jaloni Cambridge and Cornhusker Britt Prince.

Husker wrestling outmatched by Penn State
Nebraska wrestling failed to seize the moment against top-ranked Penn State on Friday night, losing its third straight bout and falling to the Nittany Lions 26-12.

Huskers make 2028 quarterback offer in New Jersey
Hun School (N.J.) quarterback Lukas Prock reported an offer from the Big Red on Thursday following Rhule’s visit.

Nebraska extends offer to top-20 Florida defensive end
Nebraska has dipped back into Florida for one of the 2027 class’s most intriguing young defenders, extending an offer to rising edge rusher Kaiden Robinson‑Vickers.

Alcaraz beats Djokovic to become the youngest man ever to complete a Grand Slam
MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz is the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam after securing the Australian Open title against Novak Djokovic, who had never lost in his 10 previous finals at Melbourne Park.

Lindsey Vonn sits out final race after crash, but remains on track for the Olympics
“No she is not racing today but preparing for Cortina as usual,” Chris Knight, Vonn’s personal head coach, said in a text message to The AP.

Test event shows Milan Cortina hockey arena still unfinished
Concerns about the ice hockey arena being built for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, continued after a test event confirmed the venue remains unfinished amid ongoing construction less than four weeks from the first game

LeBron James earns streak-extending 22nd All-Star berth
The NBA announced its reserves for the Feb. 15 midseason showcase Sunday night on NBC before James and his Los Angeles Lakers faced the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

AI agents have their own Reddit-style social network, and it’s getting weird fast
On Friday, a Reddit-style social network called Moltbook reportedly crossed 32,000 registered AI agent users, creating what may be the largest-scale experiment in machine-to-machine social interaction yet devised. It arrives complete with security nightmares and a huge dose of surreal weirdness.

This young Australian says he is the president of his own European country
At just half a square kilometre in size, the territory is tiny — but still larger than Vatican City, Daniel is quick to point out.

Renaissance readers left chemical clues inside these medical manuals. Were they using feces and tortoise shells to treat diseases?
In the 16th century, a German doctor published recipe books featuring cures for ailments like bad breath, mouth ulcers and hair loss. Now scientists have analyzed traces of proteins found inside these medical manuals, and they’ve identified evidence of plants, animals, and human sweat and feces.

LINCOLN, Neb — Revenge!

In a crucial conference matchup with potential Big Ten title implications, it was the visiting Illini that came out on top over the gritty Huskers. With the win, Illinois moves into a tie for first place in the Big Ten.

For the first time in program history Illinois has beaten top-5 teams on the road in back-to-back games. The 78-69 Illinois win over Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon marks Illinois’ 11th straight win. The win streak fittingly started immediately after Nebraska upset Illinois in Champaign in mid-December.

“I think we’ve got some toughness,” said Illinois head coach Brad Underwood after the win. “I think we’ve got some connectivity…I think this team has tremendous problem-solving ability. I think our basketball IQ is pretty high. I think our toughness is growing. I think we’ve got a little of that, but I think we’ve got still some room to improve.”

Flawless ball movement on the offensive end was critical for the Illini given the team’s shots were not falling all night. A stifling Illinois defensive effort in the second half particularly frustrated Nebraska’s stars as well.

Freshman Keaton Wagler continued his unbelievable stretch of basketball for Illinois (19-3, 10-1 Big Ten), looking completely unfazed for 40 minutes. The star guard was able to consistently break down the Nebraska (20-2, 9-2 Big Ten) defense, whether man or zone, en route to a 28 point, five rebound, five assist game.

The first half featured both teams working their way through slow-paced, methodical offensive possessions. That was until Nebraska erupted and went on a 14-2 run over the final 3:08 of the half, giving them a 39-33 lead at the break.

“I think we’re resilient,” Underwood said. “I think we’re holding our poise. I think our purpose has been growing. I think our connectivity has been growing.”

The Huskers, who received four made three-pointers from both Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager, shot an impressive 11-for-20 from beyond the arc in the opening half. The Ivisic twins, Tomislav and Zvonimir, combined for 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the way for the Illini.

A Wagler-led 14-5 run completely changed the feel of the game early in the second half. Another 10-0 run in the final 10 minutes took the life out of the building. Illinois seemingly had an answer for every shot Nebraska made in the final 15 minutes of the contest.

Wagler came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders. 23 of his 28 points came in the second half — a half in which Illinois outscored Nebraska 45-30.

“I didn’t think he [Wagler] forced anything,” said Underwood. “He just settled in in the second half. Again, just took what the defense gave him. When he was open, he seemed to make it. When he wasn’t, he got fouled. Any time you get fouled 12 times, it’s a pretty good sign.”

An absurd pass from Tomislav Ivisic.

A beautiful find from Mirkovic leads to a powerful slam from Ivisic.

Illinois and Northwestern meet for a second time in three weeks. This time around, Illinois gets to host the in-state rival Wildcats. It’s an “Orange Out” at the State Farm Center at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday.