Top 5 "WHAT IF" teams

[Handy Johnson]

1. 1990-1991 "What if" this team REALLY new how good it was? The Kansas team that lost in the Finals was beaten by this team twice in a week.

2. 2014-2015 "What if" this team didn't lose 9 straight to end the season? All your big guns were back on a pre-season Top 25 team.

3. 1985-1986 "What if" Dave Hoppen were healthy? Could have easily handled Western Kentucky in the 1st round, then who knows?

4. 2016-2017 What if" ___________? fill in the blank at your own discretion, AW III loss cannot be overstated.

5. 1998-1999 "What if" the Huskers weren't passed over for an invite by a Sooner squad they beat in Norman? V. Hamilton Big XII POY

 

Honorable mention: 2010-2011 "What if" you follow up the Texas win with another over K-State? JB Diaz was our last legit Center.

OR 1995-1996 "What if" your NIT Title team didn't have a Mutiny on the Bounty type scenario to end the season? 3 NBA players

[Norm Peterson]

2008-2009 "What if" Josh Carter misses that last second 3 and we go 9-7 and tied for 4th in conference?

[Bugeaters1]

What if they had an offense like the 91 or 94 teams.

Edited March 9, 2017 by Bugeaters1

[uneblinstu]

This year's team goes to the top of the list, for me.

[cipsucks]

45 minutes ago, Handy Johnson said:

1. 1990-1991 "What if" this team REALLY new how good it was? The Kansas team that lost in the Finals was beaten by this team twice in a week.

 

They knew how good they were.  They needed better team chemistry.  Actually, they had one player who should have majored in chemistry instead of gynecology....

[cipsucks]

I've got another.

What if after the 1999-2000 season when Nee was fired, Bill Byrne went waaaaay out on a limb and offered Bill Self a million dollars a year, guaranteed 7 years, to come coach at Nebraska? 

 

He'd have a statue outside the PBA.

 

Of course, at the time, he would have been run out of town......

[No Place Like the Vault]

What if Tyronn Lue came back for his senior year for the 98-99 team?

[tcp]

oh, 95-96 is the easy pick for me. The most talented underachiever we've ever had. That team was loaded. most of us went into that season thinking the first round slump was ending. oops.

[nustudent]

I'd put 1990-1998 in there.   One big What If.   The amount of talent some of those squads had to never win a tournament game and to just not even make the dance some years is amazing

[Silverbacked1]

Mine is the 65-66 team.  Goes 20-5 loses to Kansas in the final of the preseason Big 8 Tournament.  Out of those 25 games they go 1-2 against Kansas.

 

I think finish second in the Big 8, but back then only 23 teams.  Look at the bracket: http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1965

 

If we go then does that maybe start things going in the right way.  

 

Cip had some really good teams that even if the tournment was 32 teams we would have had more chance to win that first game and maybe things would have been different.

[HuskerCager]

1995-96 is the epitome of "what if", but since that has already been mentioned, I'll go with another one.

 

What if NU hadn't blown an OT lead to Kansas St in a 2nd round 1980 Big Eight tournament game, gone on to beat an underwhelming KU team it had already beaten twice in the regular season in the finale, and thus qualified for their first NCAA tournament appearance?  That, of course, was the first year that Lincoln hosted an NCAA regional, and unlike now, it was standard practice to let a qualifying team play in the regional they hosted.  We might not be talking about 0-7 now 37 years later.

Edited March 10, 2017 by HuskerCager

[hhcmatt]

5 hours ago, Handy Johnson said:

3. 1985-1986 "What if" Dave Hoppen were healthy? Could have easily handled Western Kentucky in the 1st round, then who knows?

 

Would the Danny Nee era have happened?

[Norm Peterson]

What if, when Moe Iba resigned, Devaney had hired the coach from Montana instead of that Irish guy from Brooklyn who coached at Ohio?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Montgomery

[hskr4life]

What if we do not lose to Ohio State in the 2013-2014 B1G Tourney.  We then get a Michigan team who had narrowly escaped us in Lincoln.  Then we also probably do not get Baylor in the 1st round.

 

What if Pitchford and Petteway stay and we also have White to compliment those two...

 

What if Doc's team would have beaten Colorado to get to 20 wins... we probably go dancing and Doc is probably still here...

 

What if....

 

I could go on and on..... Nebraska has so many "what if" moments that it drives me nuts.

[Handy Johnson]

I omitted the '92-'94 squads since they WERE in the Tournament, and were NOT shaded by unforeseen circumstances. Plus, wild speculation is an inexact science.

[49r]

Yeah what if Penn didn't jump out to a 10-0 lead on us in '94?

[Fullbacksympathy]

Penn was the worst draw ever for our team that year.  

 

They had:

Sr. PG Matt Moloney (7-year NBA vet)

Sr. SG Jerome Allen (2nd Round NBA pick)

and a bunch of very good upperclassmen who played pro ball in Europe/became head coaches.  

 

We were always going to get our ass kicked in that game.  

 

Xavier was a sleeping giant with guys like:

 

Brian Grant (NBA lottery pick)

Jamie Gladden (NBA free agent)

Aaron Williams (15 year NBA player)

Michael Hawkins (NBA)

 

Just absolutely horrible draws.  Both of them.  We really weren't any better than either of those teams.  

 

 

[Fullbacksympathy]

We should've won the 1997 first round game.  That Arkansas team was completely overrated.  

 

Of course, the #1 has to be 96.  Horrifying waste of talent.  They crapped out an NIT Championship in their sleep.  

[Dead Dog Alley]

6 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

What if, when Moe Iba resigned, Devaney had hired the coach from Montana instead of that Irish guy from Brooklyn who coached at Ohio?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Montgomery

Or Bob Huggins.

[Dead Dog Alley]

27 minutes ago, LK1 said:

Penn was the worst draw ever for our team that year.  

 

They had:

Sr. PG Matt Moloney (7-year NBA vet)

Sr. SG Jerome Allen (2nd Round NBA pick)

and a bunch of very good upperclassmen who played pro ball in Europe/became head coaches.  

 

We were always going to get our ass kicked in that game.  

 

Xavier was a sleeping giant with guys like:

 

Brian Grant (NBA lottery pick)

Jamie Gladden (NBA free agent)

Aaron Williams (15 year NBA player)

Michael Hawkins (NBA)

 

Just absolutely horrible draws.  Both of them.  We really weren't any better than either of those teams.  

 

 

 

With all apologies to Keith Moody, if he doesn't start the Xavier game then Nebraska wins.

[Dead Dog Alley]

3 hours ago, hskr4life said:

What if we do not lose to Ohio State in the 2013-2014 B1G Tourney.  We then get a Michigan team who had narrowly escaped us in Lincoln.  Then we also probably do not get Baylor in the 1st round.

 

 

 

If Pitchford doesn't miss that dunk on a break, Nebraska wins that game. And maybe Pitchford doesn't go in the tank after that.