UNK FOOTBALL RECEIVES MORE ALL-AMERICANS:
Quarterback TJ Davis, right tackle Corey Hoelck and safety Darius Swanson represent Nebraska-Kearney on the 2021 Don Hansen Division II All-American team.
The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at the age of 75 in 2010. From Brookfield, Ill., he started and published the ‘Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette’ for three decades, selecting a D2 All-America team for the first time in 1988.
Davis (Colorado Springs) garnered second-team accolades with Hoelck (Giltner) and Swanson (Aurora, Colo.) tabbed honorable mention.
TOM BRADY OFFICIALLY RETIRES FROM FOOTBALL:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady officially announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday after 22 seasons and seven Super Bowl wins, saying he will no longer make that “competitive commitment.”
Brady released a lengthy statement on social media, ending days of speculation, explaining that this “difficult” decision to leave football after more than two decades of success came down to his ability to commit “100%” of himself to the game.
The New England Patriots selected Brady, a scrawny quarterback out of Michigan, with the No. 199 pick of the 2000 NFL Draft.
Brady, along with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, helped build the Patriots into a dynasty.
Brady owns nearly every passing statistical record in professional football, including owning 7 Super Bowl victories, more than any franchise in the NFL.
NEBRASKA WOMEN TURNAROUND TO FACE RUTGERS:
Nebraska makes a quick turnaround to take on Rutgers Tuesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Tip-off between the Huskers (15-4, 4-4 Big Ten) and the Scarlet Knights (7-15, 0-10 Big Ten) is set for 7 p.m. Pregame coverage on KGFW will begin at 6:45 PM after Sports Nightly.
Tuesday’s game was squeezed into the schedule after the Jan. 20 contest between Nebraska and Rutgers was postponed because of health and safety protocols within the Husker program.
Both the Huskers and Scarlet Knights are coming off Sunday afternoon games, with Nebraska rolling to an 81-66 victory over Purdue in Lincoln, while Rutgers suffered a 61-45 defeat at the hands of Michigan State at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway.
HUSKER MEN TRAVEL TO MICHIGAN:
The Nebraska men’s basketball team hits the road on Tuesday looking for its first road win of the season, as the Huskers travel to Ann Arbor for a matchup with the Michigan Wolverines. Tipoff is set for shortly after 8 p.m. (central).
The Huskers (6-15, 0-10 Big Ten) were in position for their first Big Ten win before a late Rutgers comeback allowed the Scarlet Knights to escape with a 63-61 victory Saturday night.
Michigan (10-8, 4-4 Big Ten) saw its three-game win streak snapped in an 83-67 loss to No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday.
UNK MEN WIN OVER LINCOLN IN MAKE-UP GAME:
Point guard David Simental scored 29 points and Nebraska-Kearney shot 58 percent from the field to down Lincoln University, 87-69, in an MIAA makeup game Monday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.
This game was originally set to be played January 6th but postponed due to COVID issues within the Blue Tigers program. The two teams will meet again February 19 in Jefferson City, Mo.
Lincoln (1-16, 0-12) had won four of the last five over UNK (8-12, 4-10) but the Lopers never trailed this afternoon. Kearney led by as many as 21 points, had four reach double digits and had another efficient effort from downtown.
The Lopers face nationally-ranked Central Oklahoma Thursday night and Newman on Saturday afternoon.
HUSKER LEGACY BOOTLE COMMITS TO NEBRASKA:
The hard work on the recruiting trail in January is already paying off for Nebraska. The Huskers picked up a commitment from 2023 cornerback and Husker legacy Dwight Bootle from Miami (Fla.) Killian. Bootle is the younger brother of Dicaprio Bootle who is in his rookie season with the Kansas City Chiefs. Dwight committed to Nebraska days ago, but elected to just recently make the news public.
Bootle already had 15 offers including Big Ten schools Michigan and Indiana as well as other schools like Ole Miss, Pitt and Boston College.
AWARDS ROLL IN AGAIN FOR MARKOWSKI, McGOWENS:
Two standout Husker freshmen have once again claimed Big Ten honors this week.
Nebraska’s Alexis Markowski captured her fifth Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week award and after a pair of 20-point efforts, Bryce McGowens was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Markowski capped another strong week with a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds, a career-high two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in Nebraska’s 81-66 victory over Purdue on Sunday afternoon. She opened the week with team highs of 15 points and eight rebounds in Nebraska’s 77-33 run past Wisconsin on Thursday.
In addition to her freshman award, Markowski was also named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll for the first time in her career.
McGowens averaged 26.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in two games last week. McGowens enters Tuesday’s game at Michigan (8 p.m. CT on BTN and Huskers Radio Network) averaging 16.7 points per game which is second nationally among all true freshmen.
SEVEN LOPERS NAMED TO CROSS COUNTRY ALL-ACADEMIC:
The Nebraska-Kearney cross country team has four women and three men on the 2021 U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic team.
In order to qualify for All-Academic distinction, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale and finish in the top-30 percent of their respective regional championship meet, among other qualifiers.
Those earning All-Academic Honors include: Ben Arens of Ainsworth, Luke Stuckey of McCool-Junction, Justin Vrooman of Juniata, Grace Bonsall of Kearney, Elizabeth Polk of Polk, Hannah Pollan of Elkhorn, and Destiny Reinke of Imperial.
TUESDAY SPORTS NIGHTLY SCHEDULE:
Sports Nightly will be an abbreviated program tonight running only an hour to get Husker fans ready for tip-off of the Nebraska basketball contests starting at 6:45.
KGFW will run from Sports Nightly into the pregame of the Nebraska Women’s Basketball contest with Rutgers.
WEDNESDAY DIVISION II SIGNING DAY:
The Nebraska-Kearney football team will announce the names of roughly 25 newcomers on Wednesday (Feb. 2), the official “Signing Day” for NCAA Division II.
The Lopers, coming off a 10-3 season in which it was nationally-ranked and won a game in the playoffs, will again have a relatively small newcomer class. Current players are continuing to take advantage of their “COVID year” (the 2020 free season of eligibility), thus UNK will have several sixth-year players in 2022. The program’s retention rate among underclassmen continues to be strong as well.
Updates will come from the UNK Football Twitter page throughout the day.
NEBRASKA WRESTLING TO HAVE FINAL FOUR DUALS TELEVISED:
The four remaining Husker wrestling duals will be televised nationally, as Nebraska faces Michigan (Feb. 4), Penn State (Feb. 6), Illinois (Feb. 13) and Iowa (Feb. 20) all on BTN.
In addition, BTN will also air the first, second and fourth sessions of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships from Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. The consolation and seventh-place matches in session two and three will be aired on B1G+.
Local Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN LOCAL SPORTS:
MONDAY:
- UNK:
- MENS BASKETBALL: v. Lincoln (COVID Make-Up game)UNK 87-69
TUESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Dual v. GISH – 4:30 PM @ Kearney High School
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Dual v. GISH – 4:30 PM @ Kearney High School
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- WOMENS WRESTLING: @ York College – 5 PM
WEDNESDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- Collegiate Signing Day @ Kearney High School Auditorium – 4 PM
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- N/a
- UNK:
- N/a
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: v. Doane – 6 PM @ Lynn Farrell Arena
- MENS BASKETBALL: v. Doane – 7:45 PM @ Lynn Farrell Aren
THURSDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- WRESTLING: Dual v. GISH – 7 PM @ Kearney High School
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Adams Central – 5:30 PM
- UNK:
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Central Oklahoma – 5:30 PM
- MENS BASKETBALL: @ Central Oklahoma – 7:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- N/a
FRIDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Grand Island – 6 PM @ Kearney High School
- Pregame on KGFW at 5:45 PM
- BOYS BASKETBALL: v. Grand Island – 7:45 PM @ Kearney High School
- Pregame on KGFW at 7:30 PM
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: v. Grand Island – 6 PM @ Kearney High School
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- WRESTLING: @ Arcadia-Loup City Invite – 3 PM
- UNK:
- M/W T&F: @ Concordia Classic, Seward, NE
- M/W T&F: @ Husker Invite, Lincoln, NE
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- M/W T&F: @ Concordia Classic, Seward, NE
SATURDAY:
- KEARNEY HIGH:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Kearney Invite – 9:30 AM @ Kearney High School
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Omaha South – 5:30 PM
- Pregame on KGFW at 5:15 PM
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Omaha South – 7:15 PM
- Pregame on KGFW at 7 PM
- KEARNEY CATHOLIC:
- SWIMMING & DIVING: Kearney Invite – 9:30 AM @ Kearney High School
- GIRLS BASKETBALL: @ Columbus Scotus – 2 PM
- BOYS BASKETBALL: @ Columbus Scotus – 4 PM
- UNK:
- M/W T&F: @ Husker Invite, Lincoln, NE
- WOMENS TENNIS: @ Drake, Des Moines, IA
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Newman – 1:30 PM
- MENS BASKETBALL: @ Newman – 3:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE:
- MENS WRESTLING: @ Missouri Valley Open
- WOMENS WRESTLING: @ Grand View Open
- SOFTBALL: Doubleheader @ Ottawa University
- M/W TENNIS: @ Bethany College
- WOMENS BASKETBALL: @ Mount Marty University – 2 PM
