A final postmortem on an epic Nebraska basketball season

Nebraska basketball fans find themselves heartbroken on this Friday morning.

Iowa bested Nebraska in the Sweet 16, 77-71. The Huskers led by 10 points multiple times, and by eight early in the second half.

However, the Hawkeyes were the better team in the last 20 minutes, on both ends of the floor. They made more shots, got more stops, and had all five players on the floor during a critical possession with 58 seconds left.

Nebraska didn’t. The Huskers still had a narrow path to victory. They needed a stop, and a 3-pointer, or some other scenario, which would have involved a triple at some point, or Iowa missing free throws.

Either way, the Huskers didn’t get the chance because they only had four players on the court. Fred Hoiberg took responsibility, as he should, but that’s a bitter way for an incredible season to end, without even giving yourself a chance.

Yet, as Jon Rothstein said, Nebraska basketball fans shouldn’t cry because it’s over. We should be happy that it happened. The Huskers run ended on Sweet 16 Thursday. There are worse things in the world.

In fact, that’s something I thought I’d never see. We didn’t know if this program would ever win an NCAA Tournament game. Thursday night, it finished six points short of the Elite 8.

I get it, close only counts in horseshoes, but let’s not lose sight of the big picture, and forget about the greatest Nebraska basketball season we have ever had.

Here are some final thoughts, both looking back and ahead for Fred Hoiberg’s program.

An incredible season

This was the best season the Huskers have ever had. That’s not even a debate. Nebraska set the school record with wins, tied for second in the 18-team Big Ten, which has five of the 12 teams left in the NCAA Tournament, and won two NCAA Tournament games.

Yes, it felt like Nebraska could have gone farther. A win on Thursday would have meant another game with Illinois, a team the Huskers beat on the road, to reach the Final Four.

That will always feel like a missed opportunity. Still, it’s hard not to walk away feeling like this team maxed out. The Huskers surpassed all preseason expectations and then some.

There were wins over Illinois, Oklahoma, and Michigan State, plus the incredible win against Vanderbilt. Fans will carry that with them forever. They have the 2025-26 Nebraska basketball team to thank for that, and many other great memories.

Three seniors will be hard to say goodbye to

Sam Hoiberg, Rienk Mast, and Jamarques Lawrence will leave the Nebraska basketball program having written quite a legacy.

Lawrence left for a season to play for Rhode Island, but he returned and was stellar in his final season in a Nebraska uniform, even if he struggled in the second half on Thursday. All three of these guys did, shooting a combined 9-for-27 against the Hawkeyes.

Hoiberg and Mast couldn’t buy a shot from deep or around the rim. That doesn’t alter what they did for the program, though.

Hoiberg was part of three straight teams that won 20 games or more. He was All-Big Ten on defense and even earned honorable mention All-Big Ten, something nobody thought when he joined the team.

Most thought it was just because he was Fred’s son. Sam proved to be much more than that. Mast was third-team All-Big Ten in his junior season, helping Nebraska get back to the NCAA Tournament, which they did in each of his two healthy seasons with the Huskers.

That trio was each part of two of the best Nebraska basketball teams ever. They might not have their numbers retired, but their legacies will live on in the hearts of Huskers fans, forever.

This doesn’t have to be a one-time thing

When Fred Hoiberg was hired, this was the dream. He had taken Iowa State to the Sweet 16 and established that program as a yearly NCAA Tournament team.

After three consecutive 20-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament berths, and a finally a win in the big dance, it feels like Hoiberg can do the same thing in Nebraska.

This program is expected to get more NIL resources after having the cheapest roster among any of the Sweet 16 participants, according to Pete Nakos of On3.com.

They will be needed this offseason to keep Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager. Berke is also expected to be back, along with Cale Jacobsen and Connor Essegian. Add in Leo Curtis and Ugnius Jaruševičius, and the Huskers have the makings of a solid roster.

A point guard is needed. A talented four-man to replace Mast is needed, too. But as long as Sandfort and Frager are back, this team should be back in the NCAA Tournament.

It feels like this season changed the trajectory of Nebraska basketball, though. This is a program that can compete in the Big Ten. Now, it just needs the resources to actually do it.