No. 5 Nebraska’s remarkable 24-game winning streak is over, but their narrow 75-72 loss at No. 3 Michigan, played without two key players, only proves this team is built for March and ready to silence its NCAA Tournament doubters.
The script for Nebraska’s season was supposed to be a feel-good story, a pleasant surprise in a sport dominated by bluebloods. Tuesday night in Ann Arbor, that script was torn up. The No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers, who entered the game with the longest active winning streak in the nation at 24 games, saw their incredible run end with a gut-wrenching 75-72 loss to the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines. The final score is what will be recorded, but the story of how it happened is what truly matters for this team’s future.
“To beat Michigan, you have to play almost perfect and we had a lapse at the end,” said Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg, whose father, head coach Fred Hoiberg, has masterminded this historic season. That lapse was a brutal 3:20 stretch where the Huskers did not score, missing their final five shots. They led for most of the game, a testament to their resilience, but could not close the deal against a hostile crowd in one of the toughest arenas in college basketball.
What makes this loss so significant, and ultimately so encouraging for Nebraska, is the context. This was not a full-strength Huskers squad. Leading scorer and senior leader Braden Frager was out for the second straight game with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, the team’s emotional and physical anchor, Rienk Mast, was sidelined by an illness. For a team to travel to Ann Arbor and nearly pull off a victory without two of its most important players is a statement.
“It’s unfortunate, but I give our guys a lot of credit for the fight they showed in the game from start to finish,” Fred Hoiberg said. “That just proved, hopefully to everybody, most importantly to the guys in the locker room, that we can compete with anybody.” The coach’s words cut to the core of this moment. This loss doesn’t diminish the team’s legitimacy; it enhances it. It proved their depth and their ability to withstand adversity, a trait that is non-negotiable for a deep tournament run.
This Nebraska team is a collection of transfers and veterans, forged in the fire of Fred Hoiberg’s system. The 24-game streak was an improbable run for a school with a modest basketball history. It began with a tournament win in Las Vegas last April and stretched through a 20-1 start that marked the program’s best ever. The Huskers erased double-digit deficits in five of those wins, including comebacks from 16 points down against Oklahoma and Indiana, showcasing a toughness that is now their defining characteristic.
The pressure now shifts. For nearly a year, the Huskers have carried the weight of a historic streak. Now, they have a different kind of motivation. “We haven’t had this feeling in a long time. It’s been almost a year,” Fred Hoiberg admitted. “They were hurt by it. We’re going to find out what we’re made of.” The answer will begin to form on Sunday when they host No. 9 Illinois.
For a program that has never won an NCAA Tournament game in eight tries, every game from here on out is about building a resume and proving they belong. This loss to Michigan, a legitimate Final Four contender, does more harm to Michigan’s resume than it does to Nebraska’s. The Huskers showed they can hang with the elite, even when not at full strength. Their previous loss came over 11 months ago, a fact that underscores the incredible consistency this team has achieved. The 24-game streak was the longest in Division I since Gonzaga won 35 in a row between 2019-21.
Fred Hoiberg has often talked about this team’s potential to do something few have done before at Nebraska. They have already accomplished historic feats: an undefeated nonconference schedule for the first time since 1928-29 and their best conference start in 59 years. The ultimate goal is to end the program’s NCAA Tournament drought and make a deep run. This loss doesn’t change that goal; it just makes the path clearer. The Huskers know they can beat anyone, and now they know they can handle a tough defeat. That combination is the recipe for a true contender.
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