HOUSTON, Texas — Nebraska men’s basketball’s season came to an end with a 77-71 loss to Iowa in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
It was a historic season, one that saw a group of men carry not just a community but the entire state of Nebraska on its back.
It was a team of individuals who sought joy in everything they did.
If you seek joy, you are looking for the little things that will put a smile on your face, the things that will make you happy even through adversity, the things that will make grown men cry when you achieve greatness.
The memories of the 2025-26 Huskers won’t fade for some time. It’s a group whose whole was greater than the sum of its parts, its coach said after the loss.
“That’s probably never more indicative of a team than this group right here,” Fred Hoiberg said. “We weren’t the most talented, you could see we weren’t the most athletic, but we just found a way to go out there and compete. We fit, we fit. And these guys played the right way. They were unselfish, they were first to the floor, they were connected. They just did so many things that I think a fan base can rally behind.”
There is a difference between seeking joy and finding happiness. If you seek joy you are making a deliberate decision to focus on the positive moments rather than hoping you will find happiness. After all, if you have joy you will in turn be happy.
These Huskers found that joy. They gave it to their fans, those moments of exhilaration and pride in a consistently sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena.
It started with an exhibition win over BYU, a top 10 squad featuring the potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, with its senior leader, Rienk Mast, making a triumphant return to the court after a year off following a major knee surgery.
Take a look back at a sold-out Sanford Pentagon in a nonconference win against Oklahoma, the two neutral site wins in Kansas City and the 20-0 start to the season, which was also a first in program history.
Fans watched a blowout win (71-50) over its in-state rival Creighton in December, and three days later, Nebraska secured a lopsided 90-60 win over Wisconsin to start Big Ten play. That was the moment this team realized it was one of the best teams in the country.
Three days later, Jamarques Lawrence hit a game-winner to give Nebraska a road win over No. 13 Illinois.
A near-perfect January followed a bumpy February, but no matter what, the Huskers sought joy in the little things. If they were simply hoping for happiness, they would not have had a process-driven mentality, one in which the next recovery in a cold tub immediately after a game, the next film breakdown, the next practice, or the next shootaround was equally as important as game day.
Just look at the last two weekends. A sold-out Paycom Center in Oklahoma City saw the Huskers win an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in program history. Two days later, a throng of Huskers saw a redshirt freshman, Braden Frager, make a layup with 2.2 seconds left to send the program to its first-ever Sweet 16.
A large contingent of its fans followed them to Houston to cheer them on. Hundreds of fans at the team send-offs in the NCAA Tournament don’t happen if the team hadn’t sought joy themselves. Their fans did felt a need to be a part of the history, just wanting that small glimpse or that one moment in time to see their Huskers.
Even in a loss to its bitter rival to end a season, the joy this team sought won’t be forgotten by its fans and, more importantly, those in the locker room.
“When the sting does wear off, which it will at some point, maybe, these guys deserve a lot of credit for what they have done for Nebraska basketball,” Hoiberg said. “When we come back, whenever it is, for a reunion, we’ll get to hang a banner next year, a banner that’s never been hung in (Pinnacle Bank Arena). We’ll get invited back someday. Hopefully I’m still around. But these guys, with their kids, will be able to come back and talk about this season.”
After all, those moments never die.
