Maryland men’s basketball is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Northwestern, as Nick Martinelli drained a buzzer-beater for the win at the end of overtime. Point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie twice tied the contest — with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and in overtime — but it wasn’t enough to propel the Terps, who are now 0-4 on the road.

Maryland now turns its attention to a program currently on a losing skid: Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers are on a three-game losing streak, most recently suffering a three-point loss to Rutgers, in which freshman phenoms Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper scored 24 and 21 points respectively. Nebraska also lost to then-No. 20 Purdue and Iowa. Its best wins of the season came over Creighton, UCLA and Indiana.

Sunday’s game will begin at noon and air on Big Ten Network.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-5, 2-4)

2023-24 record: 23-11, 12-8 Big Ten

Head coach Fred Hoiberg is in his sixth season at the helm of Nebraska men’s basketball. Last season, he helped the Cornhuskers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014.

Prior to his time in Lincoln, Nebraska, Hoiberg spent three full seasons as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, where he made the playoffs once and won more than 40 games in two seasons. He also guided Iowa State to a 115-56 record in his five seasons as its head coach.

Players to watch

Brice Williams, senior guard, 6-foot-7, No. 3 — Not only is Williams a mismatch for Maryland with his towering height, he’s also one of the most prolific offensive threats in the Big Ten. He averages 18.9 points per game, good for fifth in the conference. He’s also second on the team with 2.5 assists per game.

Juwan Gary, senior forward, 6-foot-6, No. 4 — Gary is Nebraska’s second-leading scorer, averaging 12.1 points per game. He’s also one of the team’s best defensive players, as he ranks second in both steals (22) and blocks (9). Gary has started every game for the Cornhuskers this season.

Connor Essegian, junior guard, 6-foot-4, No. 0 — Essegian is Nebraska’s third-leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game. He has played in all 17 games this season, but has started just three. He leads the team in 3-point percentage, shooting 40.7% from downtown.

Strength

Not fouling. Nebraska, like Maryland, has done a good job so far this season at not fouling. It is tied with the Terps for the third-fewest personal fouls per game in the Big Ten.

Weakness

Turnovers. The Cornhuskers give the ball away the third most in the Big Ten, with 12.2 turnovers per game. They also have the second-worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 1.13.

Three things to watch

1. Can Derik Queen bounce back? Queen has had an up-and-down slate of Big Ten games. After impressing against Minnesota, he faltered against Northwestern, posting just nine points and undergoing multiple defensive lapses. Whether or not he returns to form against Nebraska will be worthy of note.

2. Can the Terps close late? While it won a relatively tight game against Minnesota, late finishes against then-No. 9 Oregon, Minnesota and Northwestern did not go the Terps’ way. Sunday’s game projects to be another close contest, and Maryland needs to prove it can win if the game comes down to the final few possessions.

3. Can Maryland match up with Nebraska’s guards? The Terps had some trouble against Northwestern’s 6-foot-6 guard Brooks Barnhizer, who scored 20 points. With Williams and Essegian standing at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-4, respectively, Maryland will be faced with a similar challenge.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — An Amazon Prime semitrailer collided with a train Friday morning in southeast Nebraska, spilling packages on the side of the road.

It happened about 8:30 a.m. on Highway 75 in Dawson, which is 20 miles northwest of Falls City, according to the Richardson County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said the semi collided with a maintenance train, causing the trailer to hit a vehicle that was waiting for the train to pass.

The driver of that vehicle was taken to a hospital, then released.

Authorities said no other injuries were reported.

The semi driver was ticketed for multiple offenses, according to the sheriff’s office.

A photo posted on social media showed damage to the trailer and boxes strewn on the ground.

Highway 75 was closed for several hours during the investigation and cleanup.

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – ShoShann Smith and Diane Moore have invested years educating Omaha’s children.

“I would show up for free. I am so passionate about teaching,” Smith said.

Often what isn’t free, getting the supplies they need to teach.

“Yearly, I would spend at least $2,000, $3,000 out of pocket,” said Moore.

“You have so many educators that work second jobs just because what we get paid doesn’t cover the things that they wanted to do.”

As private school teachers, both women get stipends for their supplies. It is something they didn’t get when they taught public school.

They told First Alert 6 they were given basics like paper, pencils and items for the curriculum – but any extras, they bought themselves.

They believe it takes a level of creativity in decorating their rooms and going the extra mile to keep students engaged.

“Valentine’s Day I would go get helium balloons and decorate the classroom because, of course, I want my children to know that I love them. And when you love someone you go all out for them,” Smith said.

They also give to children who come to school without their basic needs.

A bill introduced in the Nebraska legislature by Senator Jason Prokop wants teachers to be reimbursed up to $300 for what they spend on supplies.

LB282 proposes teachers working at an accredited K-12 public, private, denominational or parochial school may apply. The reimbursement would come from the State Department of Education for items they say qualify. Teachers would need to show a receipt to get their money back.

“It would be so appreciative just to have this bill passed. To have a starting point,” said Moore.

Education leaders in state also believe it will be a good first step.

“At the end of the day we want to take care of our kids when we need to. So if we can take this step and help cover those costs, I think that will be a good show of faith that the state acknowledges that this is a reality for our teachers,” said Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Educators Association.

First Alert 6 is working to learn how the reimbursement would be funded.

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