The biggest question of Thursday night’s game inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln between Nebraska and Rutgers was this: Could the Huskers defend their home court against two likely NBA lottery picks in freshmen guards Dylan Harper and Airious “Ace” Bailey?

As the final buzzer sounded, the answer became clear: Not tonight.

Behind a combined 45 points from Bailey (24) and Harper (21), Rutgers left PBA with an 85-82 win over the Huskers, who drop to 12-5 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. Steve Pikiell’s Scarlet Knights, who started four freshmen, improve to 10-8, 3-4.

The loss was Nebraska’s first at home in more than a year — not since losing to Creighton on Dec. 3, 2023. It’s the first loss to a Big Ten team since Michigan State on Feb. 28, 2023.

“This hurts. We hadn’t lost in this building in a long time, and we got to respond,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said after the game. “We got to find a way to go out and reverse what’s going on on the road right now with our team and give ourselves a chance to win this weekend, hopefully by playing consistent. That’s the biggest thing. We got to be more consistent across the board.”

During this three-game losing streak, the Huskers’ once-stingy defense has given up 97, 104 and 85 points. And then the 3-pointers — there have been many. The Huskers allowed Iowa to make 17 and Purdue 19, which set a record for most treys made by an opponent. And Rutgers? The Knights made 12 on Thursday night. Bailey made four of them while Harper made three.

Hoiberg said he and his staff have charted every one of those 3s from Iowa and Purdue, and will do the same for tonight’s loss.

“A lot of them are happening in transition. Ten of them in conference have happened in transition,” Hoiberg said. “Miscues, soft close-outs, soft double-teams on the post. When we do it right, we’re pretty good. And again, it just goes down to consistency, that’s the biggest thing. We have to find a way to be a more consistent team and have better hands. Deflections, I think they had eight turnovers tonight. We’re better than that, we normally force more with hand activity. You got to find a way to force looping passes to buy your rotations time. But we’ll address it the film session tomorrow, and hopefully grow from it.”

Nebraska won the rebounding battle 42-40 and grabbed 19 offensive boards, which it turned into 25 second-chance points. But Rutgers also did damage in the offensive glass with 17 of them for 19 points.

“I thought our inability to finish possessions was the difference tonight,” Hoiberg said. “We got 19 of them, that’s a good sign. But we gave them 17. You find a way to get a couple of those defensive rebounds, I think we find a way to win that game. Just too many second chance opportunities. When they did miss, you got to find a way to get that thing.

“To me, it was toughness. Wasn’t an effort thing,” Hoiberg added. “We played hard. But just because you play hard doesn’t mean you’re tough. You got to find a way to finish off those possessions.”

A key stat that will stand out to many: free throws. Nebraska didn’t do well in that department, hitting just 17-of-27. And in a tight game in the second half where those freebies are crucial, the Huskers went just 6-of-12.

Under the microscope will be Braxton Meah, the 7-foot-1 senior who went 0-of-3 at the line in a stretch of a minute-and-a-half with his team up 76-72.

Another stat that tells a story: the shots near the rim. Like it did in the loss at Iowa, Nebraska struggled to make shots in the paint and ended the game going 9-of-18. Connect on a few more of those, and the win streak inside PBA could’ve been extended to 21 instead of ending at 20.

Nebraska heads to the East Coast to take on the Maryland Terrapins (13-5, 3-4) on Sunday at 11 a.m.

After consecutive road losses at Washington and Oregon, Maryland responded well by beating UCLA and Minnesota at home. The Terrapins were on the road at Northwestern on Thursday night and fell in overtime.

The Terrapins are 11-1 at home this season.

“We got a big game coming up on a short turnaround. And as I said to the guys in the locker room, I like the short turnaround to hopefully get this bad taste out of our mouths, to get back on the floor and compete again,” Hoiberg said. “Tomorrow is going to be a mental day, a lot of film, and put the game plan in. And then we’ll go a little bit harder on Saturday with the early game on Sunday.”

LINCOLN — Nebraska lawmakers unveiled a multi-step plan Thursday to cut red tape, periodically review or update state rules and regulations and, ultimately, save taxpayers money.

The legislative package coined as “GOAT” — Government Oversight, Accountability, and Transparency — is similar to the advisory Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) that President-elect Donald Trump has proposed to advise members of Congress on how to shrink the federal government and find efficiencies. 

Several other states have set up similar advisory boards.

State Sens. Bob Andersen of Omaha, Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, Dan McKeon of Amherst, Dan Quick of Grand Island, Merv Riepe of Ralston and Tanya Storer of Whitman are leading the efforts with the Platte Institute, a nonprofit think tank, and Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska.

“The senators introducing legislation in this package have decided not to wait on an advisory body to make recommendations and instead are taking the ‘goat’ by the horns and starting the conversation in the elected body closest to the citizens: the Legislature,” said former State Sen. Laura Ebke, senior policy fellow at the Platte Institute.

‘Legislative eyes and ears’

Among a half-dozen proposals is Legislative Bill 29, from Conrad, to require executive agencies to review the necessity of existing regulations every three years.

The proposal mirrors a 2017 executive order from former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, now a U.S. senator, that paused all new rulemaking for about six months. Ricketts had said the pause would allow time to review more than 7.5 million words in the administrative code, with more than 100,000 regulatory restrictions on the books.

Among the questions that Ricketts required state agencies to review were:

• Is the regulation essential to the health, safety or welfare of Nebraskans?
• Do the costs of the regulation outweigh the benefits?
• Does a process exist to measure the effectiveness of the regulation?
• Has a less restrictive alternative been considered?
• Was the regulation solely created due to state law?
• Was the regulation created as a result of a federal mandate?

Conrad noted those efforts have, as of 2023, reduced nearly 25% of state regulations from 2017, which was “an excellent first start, but we can’t rest on those laurels.”

She said the proposals, if enacted, could save money and “fight back against the ever-growing administrative state that has really entangled into far too many aspects of our lives.”

“We will ensure that there will be legislative eyes and ears on every rule and regulation that emanates from the bureaucracy on a periodic basis,” Conrad said, checking for if something is outdated, antiquated or cost-prohibitive.

Millions, possibly billions in savings

Another of the proposals already introduced, LB 366, from Riepe and Conrad, would create the Legislative Economic Analysis Unit led by a chief economist for the Legislature.

It would require periodic review of major rules or regulations that could result in, or are likely to result in, an economic impact of more than $1 million over five years or that could have significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity or innovation, including such effects on individual industries or regions.

Another proposal from McKeon would create an executive branch office to ensure cost-benefit analysis of regulations and to make progress toward streamlining existing rules.

Ebke said a new office “sounds scary,” but thanks to efforts in other states, such as Virginia, “an office of four people has saved many millions of dollars, maybe billions.”

Former State Sen. Nicole Fox, director of government relations for the Platte Institute, said staff from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s staff joined the nonprofit at an event in December. She noted that in two years, Virginia realized more than $1 billion in savings, $300 million in housing alone.

Fox said regulations like updates to the electrical code can seem necessary from an efficiency perspective but do end up passing on costs to taxpayers.

Ebke said the effort is designed to create an atmosphere where regulatory agencies do economic analyses considering costs to Nebraskans, rather than just costs to the state.

The other proposals have yet to be introduced, but would include: an inventory and examination of nearly all federal funds the state receives (Andersen); a measure to allow businesses to challenge regulations in local courts rather than courts in Lincoln (Storer), a measure to prevent agencies from issuing “binding” regulatory advisories (Quick).

‘Cornerstone of decision-making’

State Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue, the chair of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee that would likely consider most parts of the regulatory package, said excessive rules can impede progress and hinder entrepreneurs or businesses from getting off the ground.

She said regulations should be crafted in the Legislature, “the cornerstone of decision-making.”

Speaker John Arch of La Vista, who endorsed the regulatory package, said the “good government bills” would lead to a better process and improve the function of government.

LB 346, introduced by Arch on behalf of Gov. Jim Pillen, would terminate or reassign the duties of more than 40 state boards, commissions, committees or councils. While it’s not part of the official Platte package, Arch said it helps accomplish the same goal.

Conrad said the combined efforts with Arch — “The Magnificent Seven” — will not eliminate every single rule or regulation, but she said they will ensure proper delegation of authority to stand up for Nebraskans, including consumer safety, public health and welfare.

“When we work together to remove the regulatory burden, it benefits all Nebraskans,” Conrad said. “It unleashes economic freedom and it ensures we have more opportunities for personal liberty.”

A young cancer patient who inspired millions of college football fans in 2013 with a 69-yard springtime sprint in Nebraska has died of the disease, officials said Wednesday.

Jack Hoffman, a freshman at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and an aspiring attorney, was 19.

“Jack may no longer be with us in person, but his legacy lives on in the work of the Team Jack Foundation, in the lives of the children and families we’ve helped, and in the hope he gave to so many,” said a statement from Team Jack, a foundation that raises money for cancer research in the young man’s honor. “Jack Hoffman, you will always be our hero.”

Hoffman was just 5 when he was diagnosed with brain cancer, and his treatment for the ultimately fatal disease took center stage in 2013 during the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ spring football game.

At the end of the extended practice, the Huskers ran Hoffman out on the field in full uniform. Longtime Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez took a shotgun snap, handed the ball to 7-year-old Jack and helped direct the boy to run downfield at Memorial Stadium.

The little boy sprinted 69 yards to the end zone, with an escort of Huskers joyously running alongside the young cancer patient.

His lead blocker, fullback C.J. Zimmerer, hoisted Jack in celebration as soon as they crossed the goal line.

Footage of the TD run has gained more than 9 million views on the athletic department’s YouTube channel since it first dropped nearly 12 years ago.

The University of Nebraska said it is “heartbroken by his loss” but forever inspired by the youngster’s “courage, fight, and inspiration.”

“Small in stature, but not in heart,” the university’s statement said. “Your legacy will live on forever Jack.”

The young man was preceded in death by his father, attorney Andy Hoffman, who died of brain cancer in 2021.