Nebraska
Nebraska Moves Closer to Clinching an NCAA Tournament Berth
After Nebraska’s men’s basketball team routed Oregon on Tuesday, a friend asked a not-serious question.
Has Nebraska clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament?
Well, the Huskers are 17-0 — one of three unbeaten teams in the nation. They are ranked eighth in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. They are a projected 3-seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology.
If the season ended today, absolutely. Plan the travel; book the hotel.
But in the real world? Clinched? Not quite, of course. No team clinches an NCAA invite in January. Well, maybe Duke does.
Is Nebraska getting closer? Yes, with every game. It might take a total collapse for Nebraska to miss the NCAAs at this point. Have the Huskers shown anything to indicate that could happen?
Just the opposite, in fact. As a 3-seed, if seedings hold, Nebraska is targeted as an Elite Eight team. But seedings never hold; such is the beauty of March Madness.
But Nebraska continues to play itself into the story of the year in college basketball.
What’s left on Huskers’ schedule
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Two months remain in the regular season. The Huskers have 14 games remaining. Then, at least one game in the Big Ten Tournament.
The remainder of the Huskers’ schedule is mostly a minefield:
Road games at Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan, Rutgers, Iowa, USC and UCLA.
Home games against Washington, Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern, Penn State, Maryland and Iowa.
It’s impossible to know how many wins and losses there are in the remaining 14 games, but it’s safe to say the Huskers will not remain undefeated. A loss or two isn’t going to ruin the season, not this season.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index projects Nebraska will finish with 25.9 wins and 5.1 losses. In the Big Ten, ESPN projects 14.9 wins and 5.1 losses. Those numbers will get you into the NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska has quality wins over Illinois, Michigan State and Indiana, with the possibility of more on the way. The Huskers are 6-0, in first place in the Big Ten. The Huskers and Purdue are the Big Ten’s only undefeated teams in conference play.
Big Ten teams that got into the NCAA Tournament in 2025
To see where the Huskers currently stand, we need to look at recent history of Big Ten teams making the NCAA field.
Michigan earned the conference’s automatic bid last season by winning the Big Ten Tournament over Wisconsin.
Seven other Big Ten teams made the 2025 NCAA field, with records:
* Michigan State: 30-7
* Wisconsin: 27-10
* Oregon: 25-10
* Maryland: 27-9
* Purdue: 24-12
* UCLA: 23-11
* Illinois: 22-13
Nebraska was 3-6 against these NCAA Tournament teams last season. Every Big Ten team with 20 victories made the field, except one.
Nebraska.
The Huskers were 21-14 last season but hurt themselves with losses in six of their final seven games. When grinding over the final teams to choose for the field, the fickle selection committee looks for teams trending upward.
Indiana won 19 games and didn’t get in. Ohio State was 17-15 and was excluded.
Moving forward to 2026
Nebraska is in a wonderful position to make its ninth NCAA Tournament. The Huskers might be in a good place to win their first NCAA Tournament game. They are 0-8 in the tourney.
Bracketology’s Joe Lunardi said after the Huskers defeated Wisconsin, 90-60, on Dec. 10, they looked like an NCAA Tournament team.
“I think that the metrics all indicate to me that they [Huskers] have staying power,” Lunardi exclusively told Huskermax.com. “Now, you know, they’re not going to go 16 and 4 in the Big Ten. They can go 12 and 8. A 12-8 Big Ten team is going to the tournament.
“This year they’ve already got a couple [of big wins]. And they’re going to win home games against other tournament teams.
“They might not win a home game against, and I don’t know: Do they play Purdue and Michigan at home? [Purdue at home; Michigan on the road.] But they’re going to be over .500 in the Big Ten. And that will get them in and probably get them an 8 [seed] or better seed.
“Now the league is brutal at the top, obviously. But I mean, they [Huskers] don’t need to be in the top three.
“They just need to be in the top half. Now there’s a couple borderline [teams]. But, they’re [Big Ten] going to have the most teams this year.”
In his latest Bracketology, Lunardi had 11 Big Ten teams in the field of 68.
With 17 wins already, and 14 games to play, Nebraska has an opportunity to set a school record for wins. Danny Nee’s Huskers won 26 games in 1990-91, going 26-8 and losing to Xavier in the NCAAs first round, 89-84.
Nebraska needs to go 10-4 down the stretch for a school-record 27 wins.
Nebraska making the NCAA field feels inevitable. Let other teams sit around and sweat out Selection Sunday.
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The Nebraska State Fair is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a special 72-hour flash sale on Season Passes.
From July 3 through July 5, fans can purchase a 2026 Season Pass for just $50—a significant discount from its regular value of $132.
The pass includes one admission per day for all 11 days of the 2026 Nebraska State Fair, making it ideal for visitors who plan to attend multiple days.
Fair officials say the promotion is one of the biggest Season Pass discounts offered in years and will not be extended.
After July 5, Season Passes will remain available at a higher discounted price.
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Legalizing online sports betting has met with resistance in the Nebraska Legislature for years.
Tax Relief Nebraska, a group backed by Nebraska casinos and online sports betting groups, took the issue to the people of the state through a petition drive.
Those petitions are now in, and casino officials say they expect to have enough signatures to make the November ballot — but also expect pushback through Election Day.
The case for online betting
Currently, legal sports bets cannot be placed on a phone in Nebraska. Casino operators say people who choose to wager are finding other ways to do it.
“They’re just doing it illegally through a virtual private network, or they’re driving over to the first exit between Iowa and Nebraska, placing a bet and then driving back to their home,” said Lynne McNally of Warhorse Casino.
Nebraska casino operators say the state has already collected millions of dollars in state taxes and property tax relief from casino gambling, and that online sports betting would add to that total.
A majority of Nebraskans voted for casino gambling to enter the state in 2020, and casino operators expect similar support if the online betting petition makes the November ballot.
“As you know, we got 65% on the constitutional amendment and actually got nearly 70% on the tax portion of the statute when the casinos were legalized in 2020. I think that we’ll be in that area, if not maybe a little higher than that,” McNally said.
“There’s always going to be a sector of the public that doesn’t want to gamble. They don’t want to go to our facilities and that’s just fine. I guess I have an objection with trying to tell other people what to do,” McNally said.
The opposition
The Nebraska Family Alliance stands against online gambling and plans to campaign against the initiative across the state. The nonprofit group issued a statement that reads in part: “Online sports betting has been a massive public policy failure that benefits national sportsbooks at the expense of kids, student-athletes, families and businesses. While they have more money, they don’t have the truth.”
Pat Loontjer, director of Gambling with the Good Life, has opposed expanded gambling in Nebraska for 30 years.
“They’re telling the same lie — property tax relief. Well in Nebraska you say property tax relief and everybody says where do I sign,” Loontjer said.
Loontjer also raised concerns about the impact on young people.
“Sports betting on the phone is the most addictive thing for young people, young men especially. You’ve got kids that are going to lose their scholarships, lose their future,” Loontjer said.
What comes next
If enough signatures are verified and the issue is placed on the November ballot, Warhorse Casino officials say Nebraskans could be able to make sports bets on their phones by spring of next year.
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Along with marching in the parade, the high schools will tour the U.S. Capitol, visit Mount Vernon and other monuments and museums.
Around 80 Grand Island students are making the trip. Lee said the students cover their own costs, with fundraising largely run though the school’s booster program helping offset the expense.
Bishop Neumann’s 53 students benefited from community donations, along with a holiday greenery sale and fundraisers, which Kellett said helped cover airfare and other costs.
For both directors, the trip carries extra weight tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“That’s a pretty big milestone,” Lee said. “And to be able to be a part of that is pretty neat.”
Kellett said the moment will stay with students long after the parade ends.
“These kids, they’ll be around for the 300th anniversary of the country, and they’ll be able to look back and tell their grandkids, ‘you know, I was there at 250 and was able to march in the National Independence Day Parade,’” Kellett said.
Both bands have spent the summer preparing. Grand Island started working on its music after its final spring concert in May, rehearsing its marching and music together on Tuesday evenings.
Bishop Neumann has rehearsed continuously over the summer and marched in two parades to prepare, a 150th anniversary celebration in Weston and the Papillion Days parade.
Kellett said the band’s last rehearsal in Wahoo drew residents who lined the streets holding signs and cheering the students on.
“The students have come in, and they’ve worked really hard,” Kellett said. “They have their music memorized and they’ve worked on their marching skills, and so all that effort into this they’re ready to go for the parade.”
The parade starts at 9:30 a.m. CT Saturday at Third Street and Constitution Avenue.
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