Nebraska
Matt Rhule comments on handshake controversy in Nebraska-Iowa game
Head coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Wednesday in Lincoln inside the Hawks Championship Center to discuss Nebraska’s 2025 recruiting class that officially became Husker football players on the first day of the early signing period.
But before Rhule talked about the future of his program, he wanted to clear the air about something in the past: handshakes.
Or more more accurately, the lack of handshakes in Iowa City that Hawkeye players said motivated them.
During the coin toss just before kickoff in last week’s Black Friday rivalry game against Iowa, the Husker captains for the tilt — Elliott Brown, Emmett Johnson, DeShon Singleton and MJ Sherman — refused to shake the hands of Iowa’s captains.
“That’s not what we want to do. That’s not the right way to handle it,” said Rhule, who noted he didn’t know the captains didn’t shake the hands of Iowa’s players until well after the game.
When Nebraska’s players entered Kinnick Stadium for the first time a few hours before kickoff, the players made their way to the 50-yard line for their usual pregame prayer. However, there were armed police officers standing on the 50-yard line, keeping them from doing so.
The Nebraska players and coaches instead kept walking and prayed in one of the end zones.
“I do want to say, we showed up at the game and, really, for 12 years now, we show up to an away game and we always kind of go to the 50-yard line,” Rhule said. “Some guys will say a prayer for safety. Some guys will just break it down. Never really had any problems. We had a problem last year at Colorado for a few minutes. We had a problem this year at USC. But for the most part, we kind of go and do it.”
Rhule believes the presence of police officers had something to do with his players not shaking hands.
“When we came out to walk to the end zone, there were seven armed state troopers standing on the logo. And I think our players felt some type of way about police in pregame,” Rhule said. “They felt that. Wasn’t maybe channeled the right way. We’ve got great guys. We’ve got great leadership. Not the right decision, not what we wanted.”
Rivalry week in college football produced multiple fights between teams, including in the contests between Michigan-Ohio State, Florida-Florida State and North Carolina-North Carolina State, among others.
Knowing what happened in other rivalry games, Rhule was proud of how the Huskers and Hawkeyes handled business.
“I think when you watch that game, credit to both teams, it was between the lines,” Rhule said. “No unsportsmanlike fouls, no trash talking, no taunting. And watching college football, even after the game, I think both teams handled themselves in a way that a lot of people, lot of games, didn’t. So we’ll grow from that. We’ll learn from that.”
Nebraska
IU dominated but then ‘it was just turnovers’ to blow 16-point lead vs Nebraska
Indiana basketball starting lineups, introductions video
The Hoosiers met undefeated Nebraska on Jan. 10. Here are the starting lineups from Assembly Hall.
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries thought his team played well for about 28 minutes Saturday afternoon.
In those 28 minutes, IU built up as much as a 16-point lead against undefeated Nebraska. The Hoosiers went on a 12-2 run to end the first half, then extended that lead early in the second half.
Then, the defense started crumbling. Tucker DeVries picked up two fouls in the course of 21 seconds, forcing him to the bench. The Hoosiers started turning the ball over.
And Indiana’s upset bid fell apart, as the Hoosiers dropped an 83-77 decision to the Cornhuskers (16-0, 5-0 Big Ten).
“It’s disappointing, for sure,” Darian DeVries said. “We played well for a good 25, 27, 28 minutes, whatever, and then just had a bad stretch in there, and the game flipped. That’s why the turnovers are a big piece of that. We had, (a 16-point lead) and Tucker picked up his third and fourth foul on back-to-back possessions. Then they went on a 10-0 run right after that. That was a big turning point in the game, I thought, when he picked those two up.”
It seemed like the coaching staff (and fans) didn’t agree with those fouls, either.
Tucker DeVries’ third foul came as he fell on the ground while trying to defend Berke Buyuktuncel’s shot. Buyuktuncel continued to attempt a shot after the fall, and he got tangled in DeVries’ legs, falling himself, and officials called a foul on DeVries. Both Tucker and Darian DeVries, along with the crowd of 13,000 fans, didn’t agree with that foul.
Tucker DeVries’ fourth foul, which forced him to the bench for eight minutes, came just 21 seconds after his third. On the Hoosiers’ next offensive possession, DeVries attempted to shoulder his defender to get more space, and got called for the offensive foul and the turnover.
Indiana (12-4, 3-2) turned the ball over on four of its next five possessions, Darian DeVries said, and Nebraska capitalized for a 12-2 run to tie the game.
“I just think we didn’t have the type of possessions we needed after (Tucker DeVries) went out again, and most of them, it was just turnovers,” Darian DeVries said. “We didn’t get shots at the goal. I thought there might’ve been one or two in there where I think Lamar (Wilkerson) drove it hard and tried going through contact, and we didn’t get one there, but outside of that, we just didn’t get very good possessions. Our movement wasn’t as good.”
After Nebraska went on that run, all the momentum shifted to the Cornhuskers. In ways, the Hoosiers couldn’t get out of their own head, and the mistakes kept coming.
“We’ve talked to them a lot about that next play mentality,” Darian DeVries said. “Win that next play, and not compound mistakes. I thought tonight, again, for a stretch there was a period where we let one mistake turn into two. Then, instead of digging in and really making sure we get a quality possession the next time, we compounded it with another turnover. It led to back-to-back-to-back. All of a sudden your lead is gone, and momentum is real. It shifted pretty quickly there.”
This game, especially taking into account the 16-point lead Indiana once had, was a crucial opportunity for the Hoosiers to get their first Quad 1 win of the season.
But the Hoosiers, sitting at No. 30 in the NET rankings, still have three straight Quad 1 opportunities coming up in two road tilts at Michigan State and Michigan and a home game against Iowa in the next two weeks.
Those games, much like Nebraska, will be tall tasks. But, DeVries said, if the Hoosiers can execute for a full game like they did in those 28 minutes on Saturday, they’ll have a chance at them.
“When they’re executing the way that they did the first 25 minutes, it looks really good,” DeVries said. “And they’re doing a great job, and they’re defending and getting movement and things.”
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
Nebraska
$3,125 Nebraska Pick 4 winning ticket sold in York
LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) – One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 4 ticket for the Thursday drawing is holding a ticket worth $3,125.
The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry #16, 109 Lincoln Avenue, in York. The winning numbers from Thursday’s Nebraska Pick 4 draw were 09, 06, 01, 02.
Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Tickets with total prize amounts of $501 to $19,999 must be claimed by mail or at a Regional Lottery Claim Center. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website, nelottery.com, or by calling 800-587-5200.
Nebraska Pick 4 is a daily Lotto game from the Nebraska Lottery. Players select four numbers, each from a separate set of digits 0 through 9, for a chance to win up to $6,000. Players decide what type of play style and potential prizes to play for by choosing from one of six bet types. The odds of winning the $3,125 prize in Nebraska Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000.
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Nebraska
How Nebraska men’s basketball’s historic start to the season could end its NCAA tournament drought
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