NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL MAKES A RETURN TO GRAND ISLAND:
The Nebraska volleyball team will play a spring match against Kansas at the Heartland Events Center in Grand Island on Saturday, April 23. The match is set to begin at 5 p.m., with doors opening 90 minutes prior to first serve. The Huskers will also sign autographs after the match.
Tickets will go on sale through Etix and at the Heartland Events Center Box Office at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 10. All tickets will be reserved at $10. There will be a handling charge on all tickets purchased from Etix. No tickets will be sold through the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office.
Nebraska last played in Grand Island in the 2015 spring season, sweeping Kansas State in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,006 at the Heartland Events Center. NU also played in Grand Island in 2011, topping Wichita State 3-2 in front of a packed house of 5,522.
The Huskers are coming off a 26-8 season (15-4 Big Ten) and NCAA Final appearance.
HUSKER WOMEN READY TO TAKE ON BIG TEN TOURNAMENT:
The No. 6 seed Nebraska women’s basketball team will tip-off postseason tournament play by taking on either No. 11 seed Wisconsin or No. 14 Illinois in the second round of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday.
The Huskers (22-7, 11-7 Big Ten) will face the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game between the Badgers (8-20, 5-13) and Fighting Illini (6-19, 1-13). Tip time for Nebraska’s game Thursday will be approximately 7:30 p.m.
Matt Coatney and Jeff Griesch will call the action on the Huskers Radio Network, the Huskers App and Huskers.com.
Nebraska heads to Indianapolis with momentum, winning five of its last six games to close the regular season, including a 73-59 victory over Northwestern at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Feb. 27).
NEBRASKA MEN UPSET BUCKEYES IN COLUMBUS:
The Nebraska men’s basketball team had an answer for everything No. 23 Ohio State tried Tuesday night, as the Huskers led for the entire second half to upset the Buckeyes 78-70 and give Fred Hoiberg his first win over a ranked opponent at Nebraska.
Nebraska trailed by five late in the first half before scoring eight straight points. The 8-0 run gave the Huskers a 33-30 lead with 4:34 left in the opening half and Nebraska led the rest of the way. With their second Big Ten road win in three days, the Huskers improved to 9-21 on the season and 3-16 in conference action.
In a battle of the Big Ten’s top two freshmen, Bryce McGowens was outstanding for the Big Red. He scored 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting while knocking down 8-of-9 free throws. McGowens scored 14 second-half points to help the Huskers hold the lead.
Nebraska continues its road trip on Sunday, when the Huskers close out the regular season with a matchup against No. 10 Wisconsin. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, with radio coverage on the Huskers Radio Network.
KEARNEY GIRLS’ SEASON ENDS IN FREMONT:
The Kearney High girls basketball team lost to the top-seeded Fremont Tigers in the A-2 District Final on Tuesday night, completing a season in which the Bearcats finished the year 13-11.
The 65-42 final concluded the careers of seniors Kierstynn Garner and Kaleigh Hatcher.
Head Coach Kyle Fletcher has improved his teams’ record with every single season he has been at the helm, from a 5-20 mark in 2020 to a 10-11 record in 2021, now finishing with 13 wins in 2022.
UNK WOMEN EARN ALL-MIAA HONORS:
Nebraska-Kearney has placed four upperclassmen on the 2022 All-MIAA women’s basketball team.
Forward Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) is tabbed second-team for a second straight year, wing Klaire Kirsch (Rapid City, S.D.) is honorable mention for a third time with post Brooke Carlson (Elkhorn) and guard Haley Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) each named honorable mention and earning their third All-MIAA honors.
UNK (22-6, 17-5) is the third seed in this year’s MIAA Tournament and faced Northwest Missouri State Friday at 2:15 p.m. in Kansas City.
HUSKER WOMEN RECEIVE BIG TEN HONORS:
The Nebraska Women’s basketball team received numerous honors at the conclusion of the regular season on Tuesday with Alexis Markowski named Big Ten Freshman of the Year as well as named to the All-Freshman team, with others receiving recognition.
Jazz Shelley was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive team, while Shelley and Markowski both earned All-Big Ten Second Team accolades. Sam Haiby and Isabelle Bourne were both named as All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
Nebraska will be back in action to begin the postseason on Thursday at the 2022 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The sixth-seeded Huskers will face either Wisconsin or Illinois in the final game of the second round at approximately 7:30 p.m
MARKOWSKI EARNS BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Alexis Markowski captured Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year and second-team All-Big Ten honors to headline an impressive list of Nebraska winners when the conference announced its annual awards for the 2021-22 women’s basketball season
Markowski, a 6-3 freshman forward/center from Lincoln, Neb., swept Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year honors from the conference coaches and media after claiming eight Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week awards during the regular season. She is the only Big Ten freshman to lead her team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg).
The only unanimous choice by the league coaches on the five-player Big Ten All-Freshman Team, Markowski averaged team bests of 15.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in conference games-only to lead Nebraska to an 11-7 Big Ten mark and a 22-7 record overall
SIMENTAL TABBED ALL-MIAA FOR LOPER MEN:
Guard David Simental represents Nebraska-Kearney on the 2021-22 All-MIAA men’s basketball team.
Simental (Pueblo, West.) made the third-team and this is his third straight all-league honor at the NCAA Division II level. He was twice named second-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) while playing at Colorado State-Pueblo. As a redshirt freshman at Central Wyoming College, the point guard was named second-team All-Region IX.
SPRING GAME TABS START TIME:
Kickoff for the Nebraska Red-White Spring Game presented by FNBO on Saturday, April 9 has been set for 1 p.m. CT at Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on BTN.
Tickets for the Red-White Spring Game remain available at //Huskers.com/tickets. Reserved tickets are $10 for adults and $1 for youth in eighth grade and younger. If tickets remain on game-day they will be $20 each.
FOUR HUSKER ALUMS FACE RIGOROUS NFL SCOUTING COMBINE:
The NFL Scouting Combine kicks off in Indianapolis on Thursday as four former Huskers will travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to participate in the ultimate job interview.
Austin Allen, Cam Jurgens, JoJo Domann, and Cam Taylor-Britt will all participate in combine workouts Thursday through Saturday. Allen, the Big Ten tight end of the year, will workout on Thursday, followed by Jurgens on Friday, as Domann will participate on Saturday, and Taylor-Britt competing on Sunday.
Domann currently has the highest draft grade per NFL Scouts with a projected middle-round selection for the former Blackshirt. Britt is also expected to be selected in the seven round draft.
UNK SOFTBALL HAS DRURY TOURNAMENT MOVED UP:
After seeing last weekend’s tournament pushed back a day, the Nebraska-Kearney softball team will be playing a day earlier this weekend.
The Lopers were slated to take part in the Drury Softball Classic in Springfield, Mo., this weekend but with rain in the forecast the schedule has changed. Instead of playing three games over Saturday and Sunday, UNK (5-9) will now play double headers on Friday and Saturday.
The Blue & Gold will face tourney host Drury (1 p.m.) and MIAA rival Northeastern State (4 p.m.) on Friday and then NAIA Evangel University (10 a.m.) and GLVC-member William Jewell (12 p.m.) on Saturday. All games are to be played at the Meador Park Complex in Springfield.
NEBRASKA SPRING PRACTICE OPENING COMMENTS:
VOKALEK – QUARTERBACKS ARE ALL COMPETING
Nebraska’s quarterback battle will be one to watch with transfers Casey Thompson and Chubba Purdy joining the Big Red, while returning players Matt Masker, Logan Smothers, and Heinrich Haarberg will fight for the No. 1 spot.
Tight end Travis Vokalek says the competition shows off how good the quarterback room is…
Nebraska’s previous starting quarterback Adrian Martinez left in the off-season to hit the transfer portal and join the Kansas State Wildcats.
VOKALEK – FIDONE CONTINUES TO IMPROVE, LOOKS EXPLOSIVE
The Nebraska tight ends have a bit of a makeover with the departure of Austin Allen to the NFL Draft. Travis Vokalek does not see the tight ends missing a beat however, as highly touted Thomas Fidone looks ready to return back to 100% from last offseason’s injury…
Fidone was the highest ranked tight end in the 2021 recruiting cycle, but sustained an injury that took him out of contention for playing time in the 2021 season.
ROBINSON – LEADERSHIP NOT AN ISSUE FOR DEFENSIVE LINE
Nebraska’s defense will see some new faces dotting leadership roles this upcoming season as the Huskers begin the spring practice season. Defensive lineman Ty Robinson said in his Monday press conference he isn’t concerned about his unit’s lack of leaders…
Robinson is one of the elders on the defensive line, with the linebacker unit returning the bulk of starters for the Blackshirts defense.
JOHNSON – STILL ADJUSTING AND LEARNING TO NEW OFFENSE:
The Nebraska Football team kicked off their spring practices on Monday as players have spent the past few weeks together working in winter conditioning.
Rahmir Johnson spoke during Monday’s press conference about the lingo and learning curve that has come with new Offensive Coordinator Mark Whipple’s offense…
Johnson continued that shades of the old offense remain, while new downhill running schemes have him excited for the running back room for the Huskers.
JOHNSON – COMPETITION IS ALWAYS NEEDED AT RUNNING BACK
Rahmir Johnson joins a busy backfield in the Nebraska Football locker room as the Huskers returned a few faces but were joined by a plethora of new recruits, transfers, among others. Johnson said he’s looking forward to the competition…
Johnson was the most consistent back for Nebraska last season, rushing for nearly 500 yards and four scores on the season.
NELSON – NEEDED TO STEP UP AS LEADER
The Blackshirt defense has a lot of ground work to cover to continue the success the Husker defense held in 2021. Linebacker hybrid Garrett Nelson added in Monday’s press conference he’s ready to step up when needed into a leadership role…
Nelson returns with a solid core at linebacker amongst many departures in the defense; Nick Henrich, Luke Reimers, Caleb Tanner, and Nelson all return with starting experience.
NELSON – NEW ENVIRONMENT WON’T AFFECT TEAM:
Many changes have come through the Nebraska Football team since the start of the 2021 campaign: four new offensive coaching hires, some slight tweaks to the defense, and a new special teams coordinator to boot. Not to mention the bevy of transfers, recruits, and more.
Outside Linebacker Garrett Nelson says that Nebraska will continue to work and isn’t fazed yet by the changes…
Nebraska started their spring practices on Monday and will work towards their Spring Game on April 9.
HENRICH – NEW OFFENSE FUN TO PLAY AGAINST
The new look Nebraska offense has been the talk of the off-season for the Huskers, as Offensive Coordinator Mark Whipple takes the reigns with plenty of fresh talent mixed in with returning stars.
Linebacker Nick Henrich added it was fun to see the new offense at work on Monday…
The Huskers offense began the first day of spring practice with Texas transfer quarterback Casey Thompson as the starter.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
TUESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
-
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: A-2 District Final @ Fremont – 6:30 PM
- #2 Kearney @ #1 Fremont
- #1 Fremont 65-42
- #2 Kearney @ #1 Fremont
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: A-2 District Final @ Fremont – 6:30 PM
WEDNESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
THURSDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- M/W T&F @ NAIA Indoor Championships
FRIDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ MIAA TOURNAMENT – 2:15 PM
- #3 UNK v. #6 Northwest Missouri St.
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ MIAA TOURNAMENT – 2:15 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- SOFTBALL: @ Langston Red Dirt Tourney
- WRESTLING: @ NAIA National Championships
- M/W T&F @ NAIA Indoor Championships
SATURDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- N/a
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- WRESTLING: @ NAIA National Championships
- M/W T&F @ NAIA Indoor Championships
