Nebraska
Nebraska men’s basketball team falls to No. 21 Wisconsin
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Keisei Tominaga had a team-high 17 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, but No. 11 Wisconsin hit a season-high 13 3-pointers in an 88-72 victory Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
Tominaga hit 7-of-10 shots from the field, including a trio 3-pointers, while Rienk Mast added xx points and six rebounds as Nebraska (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) saw its five-game win streak snapped.
Tyler Wahl led five Badgers in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds, as Wisconsin (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) remained the only unbeaten team in Big Ten play.
Nebraska shot nearly 50 percent from the field, including 12-of-26 from 3-point range, but the Badgers, who have won 10 of their last 11, shot 55 percent from the field, including nearly 60 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
In the first half, Nebraska shot 53 percent from the field, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, but Wisconsin shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes in taking a 51-38 halftime lead.
Nebraska, which struggled with foul trouble for a good portion of the half was within 14-12 after a Juwan Gary basket, but the Badgers went on an 8-0 run to build a 22-12 lea after an A.J. Storr basket with 10:58 left in the half to force a Husker timeout.
Wisconsin hit 12 of its first 17 shots to build a 33-17 lead after a Chucky Hepburn 3-pointer with 8:17 remaining in the half. Nebraska chipped away and was within 33-22 after a Brice Williams 3-point play and a drive from Tominaga, but the Badgers responded with a 5-0 run of their own to push the lead back to 16.
Wisconsin, which averaged 6.1 3-pointers per game, had seven in the first half alone, including three from Connor Essegian, who came in averaging 2.5 points per game. UW’s bench accounted for 23 first-half points.
Tominaga had 12 first-half points on 5-of-6 shooting, while Mast had nine markers in the first half.
Nebraska trailed 48-28 with 2:50 left in the half before the Huskers closed the half on a 10-3 spurt to get within 51-38 after an Eli Rice 3-pointer in the final seconds of the half.
Nebraska continued to battle and pulled within 54-45 after a Mast 3-pointer with just under 18 minutes left in the contest. Wisconsin stretched the lead to 19 before the Huskers ran off seven straight points to pull within 66-54 after Juwan Gary’s layup with 11:30 remaining.
Nebraska was within 72-59 after a Mast jumper with just over 10 minutes left, but the Badgers used a 6-0 spurt to push the lead back to 18 and force a Husker timeout with 7:49 left.
The Huskers return home on Tuesday night as they welcome No. 1 Purdue to Pinnacle Bank Arena. A limited number of 300 Level tickets are available and can be purchased by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets, by calling the NU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-8-BIGRED or at the PBA Box Office beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
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The recruiting industry has spoken, and Nebraska quarterback commit Trae Taylor has officially become the consensus No. 1 signal-caller in the 2027 recruiting class.
On Monday, Rivals updated its national rankings, elevating Taylor from a high four-star prospect ranked No. 71 nationally to a five-star recruit ranked No. 17 overall, a jump of 54 spots. The rise comes after an impressive stretch for the Chicago native, who is set to quarterback Millard South (NE) this fall.
Here’s what Taylor’s five-star status means for the Big Red, including what he did to reach this point.
Becoming a Five-Star
Taylor first earned a five-star rating from 247Sports shortly after being named the Elite 11 MVP following an impressive performance at the prestigious quarterback competition in May. Competing against 20 of the nation’s top signal-callers, Nebraska’s verbal pledge proved to be the best of the group.
According to 247Sports, Taylor is the nation’s No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2027 class. By earning MVP honors, he joined an impressive list of QBs that includes former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, 2025 Heisman finalist Julian Sayin, and several other top quarterbacks who have won the award over the years.
Taylor’s Recruitment
Taylor committed to Nebraska on May 1, 2025, and his stock has only continued to rise since then. At the time, he was regarded as a four-star prospect, but the Huskers believed they had secured a commitment from one of the nation’s top quarterbacks.
To his credit, he became just that. He followed that decision with a junior season in which he totaled more than 4,200 all-purpose yards and 50 touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the country’s most electrifying recruits heading into his senior year.
Despite interest from several of the nation’s top programs, Taylor has remained committed to NU. He reinforced that commitment by moving to the state ahead of his senior season, and his leadership has played a significant role in helping the Huskers assemble one of the top 2027 recruiting classes in the country.
Nebraska’s 2027 Recruiting Class
Nebraska’s 2027 recruiting class currently ranks No. 18 nationally and sixth in the Big Ten according to Rivals. Per 247Sports, however, the Huskers sit at No. 16 nationally, trailing only Ohio State and Oregon within the conference.
NU also holds commitments from four top-100 overall prospects in the cycle, its most since the 2005 recruiting class. Taylor is joined by four-star safety Tory Pittman III, four-star interior offensive lineman Jordan Agbanoma, and four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor in that group.
Currently, the Big Red hold commitments from 22 prospects in the 2027 class. While Taylor is the only five-star recruit, nine of Nebraska’s commits are currently regarded as blue-chip prospects.
Nebraska Commits in 2027 Cycle:
- Trae Taylor- Quarterback (★★★★★)
- Tory Pittman III- Safety ★★★★)
- Jordan Agbanoma- Interior Offensive Line (★★★★)
- Corey Hadley Jr.- Safety (★★★★)
- Timi Aliu- Offensive Tackle (★★★★)
- Bryce Williams- Cornerback (★★★★)
- Nehemiah Ombati- Defensive Line (★★★★)
- Jailen Hill- Cornerback (★★★★)
- Amir Brown- Running Back (★★★★)
- Matt Erickson- Offensive Tackle (★★★)
- Barrett Kitrell- Interior Offensive Line (★★★)
- Jayden Travers- Defensive Line (★★★)
- KD Jones- Interior Offensive Line (★★★)
- Antayvious Ellis- Wide Receiver (★★★)
- Brennan Drummond- Safety (★★★)
- Joey Hunter- Tight End (★★★)
- Eli Harris- Linebacker (★★★)
- Caleb Green- Linebacker (★★★)
- Errol Demontagnac- Defensive Line (★★★)
- Ma’atoe Moe- EDGE (★★★)
- Justyn Lindsay- Wide Receiver (★★★)
What Taylor’s Bump Means for the Huskers
By now, every program in the country knows who Taylor is and what he could eventually become. For Nebraska, the task now shifts from recruiting him to proving it can develop him into an NFL quarterback over the next several years. For now, Taylor remains locked in, but signing day is still months away.
The 2026 season means significantly more that getting to a certain number of wins. For Matt Rhule’s staff, though, the pressure should be viewed as a privilege. They’ll need to prove they can develop the talent they already have while also winning football games. It’s as simple as that.
NU’s current staff already had one opportunity with a five-star QB, but that partnership ended after just two years. Taylor represents an opportunity to flip the script. This time, the Huskers will need to maximize it by keeping him in Lincoln, developing him into an NFL-caliber signal-caller, and seeing him finish what he starts, all while wearing the scarlet and cream.
Plenty of quarterbacks have found success while playing football for the Big Red. Plain and simple, Taylor needs to become the next one. Rhule’s staff seems set on seeing that become true. Now, fans will have the opportunity to watch it unfold.
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While Nebraska football fans mostly laughed at Wisconsin hiring Shawn Eichorst as their new AD, Badgers fans seem to be quite happy with the move. However, if the new athletic director’s tenure in Wisconsin echoes at least his early run in Lincoln, then Luke Fickell should know that he’s about to be shown the door, no matter what the 2026 season looks like.
One of the first things Eichorst did when he took over the program at NU was boot then-Husker head coach Bo Pelini. He did that despite the fact that Pelini was winning 9 or 10 games a season and was putting together campaigns better than any that have come since his firing.
The former Nebraska AD fired Pelini after he led his team to an emotional win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, with most of the coaches and players celebrating and seemingly poised to carry the momentum into bowl season and then the 2015 season. Eichorst had other ideas, essentially saying that beating the Hawkeyes simply wasn’t that impressive.
“In the final analysis,” he said at the time, “I had to evaluate where Iowa was.”
Shawn Eichorst’s Nebraska football tenure should worry Luke Fickell
Those words have stung Nebraska plenty since he uttered them, since Kirk Ferentz’s program has been inarguably better than the Huskers under Mike Riley, Scott Frost and Matt Rhule.
Certainly, Wisconsin fans should take that as a cautionary tale, not just because the AD overestimated where the Nebraska program would go, but also because he wasn’t very good at analyzing how to get them where he wanted them. But it’s even more a cautionary tale for Badgers’ head coach Luke Fickell.
Shawn Eichorst was essentially brought in as a clean-sweep artist in football. When he was hired, it’s clear that Pelini’s career in Lincoln was about to come to an end, unless he took the Cornhuskers on a miracle run.
The 37-34 overtime win over Iowa meant that the Huskers once again went 9-3. Two of the three losses were by five points or less. The only blowout loss of Pelini’s final season was to Wisconsin, 59-24. And yet, he was canned just two days after he finished another objectively successful season.
If Eichorst was willing (and some would say eager) to fire Pelini in that situation, is there any doubt he’s exactly as willing (and eager) to fire Luke Fickell after the 2026 season, unless he has a miracle run?
Fickell hasn’t been nearly as successful at Wisconsin as Pelini was at Nebraska. Back-to-back losing seasons put him at 17-21 in his career. He’d have to go on a 50-6 run to equal Pelini’s time in Lincoln.
Of course, it’s possible that Wisconsin fans are salivating at the idea of their new AD firing their rather mediocre head coach. The company line is they like that a former lieutenant to the longtime athletic director under Barry Alvarez is back and ready to bring the program back to glory days.
But is part of that march back to glory days expected to include a new head coach for the 2027 season? Put it this way, it wouldn’t be out of line for Luke Fickell to start putting out feelers to G6 programs this fall in case he has to update his resume quickly come December.
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The 2026 MLB Draft started on Saturday, with 135 players selected. For Nebraska, two Husker pitchers got drafted, adding to the growing list of prospects to come from head coach Will Bolt’s tenure.
Ty Horn and Carson Jasa were selected in the third round of the draft, being picked only five spots apart. Horn was selected 94th overall by the Cincinnati Reds, and Jasa was selected 98th overall by the Chicago Cubs.
The duo are the eighth and ninth Huskers to be drafted in the third round and the seventh and eighth Husker pitchers under head coach Will Bolt to be drafted in the first 10 rounds.
The duo joins Spencer Schwellenbach (2nd, 2021), Cade Povich (3rd, 2021), Emmett Olson (4th, 2023), Jace Kaminska (10th, 2023), Brett Sears (7th, 2024) and Mason McConnaughey (4th, 2025). Horn is the fifth Husker to be selected by the Reds in the draft, and Jasa is the eighth Husker to be drafted by the Cubs.
Horn finished the season 3-3, with a 4.03 ERA and one save across 22 appearances. He started in 12 games. The Halstead, Kansas, native recorded 87 strikeouts in 82.2 innings and held opposing batters to a .241 average. Horn also posted eight-plus strikeouts in three games, including a career-high nine strikeouts against No. 18 Ole Miss in the Lincoln Regional.
Jasa is the sixth All-American under Bolt following a wildly successful 2026 campaign. He finished 10-2 on the season, becoming the 13th Husker in program history to reach the 10-win mark in a season and the first since 2007. The Thornton, Colorado, native also finished fifth in program history for strikeouts in a season after recording 117 strikeouts across 87.2 innings.
Jasa pitched two complete games, earned a 3.59 ERA, and held batters to a .210 average. He posted 10 starts with at least eight strikeouts, including a career-high 11 against Penn State and 10 against Indiana and Maine. His play helped him become the third Nebraska starting pitcher to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors since 2021.
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