It Was Thirty Years Ago Today

[Dead Dog Alley]

March 14, 1991, a date that will live in infamy.

 

The most talented, most experienced, deepest, tallest team in school history, that won 4 more games than any Nebraska team before or since, crashed and burned in the Metrodome.

 

From the Daily Nebraskan archive:

 

 

 

From the article, “Nebraska has yet to win an NCAA Tournament game.”  Believe me, the lack of a win was a big thing already back then.  Thirty years ago.

 

Thirty ****ing years ago.

 

So how did they lose?  The team that had just handled Kansas twice in one week span right before then, the same KU team that would reach the National Finals?   The only true PG on the team got booted the week before, which didn’t help.  (And yes we all know why.)  They got off to a terrible start, fell behind 38-22 or something like that, hit 14-27 from the line, couldn’t defend Xavier’s three guard lineup.  Xavier should not have been a 14 seed, with three starting guards back from a sweet sixteen team the year before and two young guys inside who ended up in the NBA.  Nebraska went to the 1-3-1 with 6’9” Carl Hayes at the top of the key and it was effective for a while, Nebraska got a one point lead a couple times, but Xavier answered right back.  When Billy Cunningham, who was doing the color analysis for the TV broadcast, said that Danny Nee told him that “Beau Reid will not let us lose this game” --- meanwhile Beau was having his worst game of the year – the writing was on the wall.

 

So, this was the best shot Nebraska ever had before or after, and…back to the DN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Dead Dog Alley

[tcp]

oh, thanks. can I send you the therapy bill? 

 

j/k. mostly. 

[jimmykc]

 Ahh, I remember it well. We drove all night to get there, stayed at the same hotel as Duke, and got crappy seats next to the roof of the old Metrodome. Got to see Shaque play (ineffectively) for LSU, rode the elevator with Billy McCafferty, Bobby Hurley, and Mike Krzyzewski, and my grade school daughter got to dance at a Duke pep rally with the Blue Devil mascot. And one of my son's got the autograph of Alan Ogg, a 7'2" backup center with the Miami Heat who also were staying at the hotel. Those were the highlights. The game was obviously a bust. All I recall is we couldn't make free throws (sound familiar), Beau stunk, and Rich King hit a three pointer near the end of the game to make it close. We didn't stay for the next day's games and didn't realize then that it would represent the apex of NU basketball success in the tourney. Hopefully I will live long enough to see us achieve something better. 

[HuskerFever]

7 hours ago, Dead Dog Alley said:

Thirty ****ing years ago.

 

That wasn't THIRTY years ago!!! [Looks at calendar...]

 

[In a Morgan Freeman voice:] "In fact, it WAS thirty years ago."

[Huskerpapa]

Still pi**es me off.  How??????

[throwback]

Think about this - with where NU basketball was at the time of this loss, with a still very bright immediate future, compared to where other local sports were positioned, what would the odds have been at the time that, 30 years later:

 

NU basketball would still be without a NCAA win 

-vs-

3 national championships in NU football from the program that could not win the big one and, at the time, had become uncompetitive in those games

3 College World Series appearances for an NU baseball program that, at the time, had its best seasons under John Sanders very much in the rearview mirror and was more interested in playing Doane & Peru St to pad win totals than competing nationally

1 Frozen Four appearance from UNO hockey (which didn't even have a program 30 years ago)

1 Big 8 tournament championship and 1 NIT championship for an NU basketball program that remains 0-fer in the NCAA tournament

 

What are the odds that all of those things happen & NU basketball is still working on an NCAA shutout? 1 billion to 1? Actually, they're probably way higher than that. Heck, the idea at that time of NU baseball playing in 3 CWSes would have been so laughable that it may have been close to 1 billion to 1 by itself.

 

NU basketball makes me understand why people believe in curses.

 

I guess the good news is what looks bleak today can swivel quickly. There's always hope. (And, in case you're wondering, I've only been drinking a little bit this morning.)

 

[hskr4life]

"Does the blame go on the standard bad start, the terrible free throw shooting, the turnovers down the stretch?"

 

Are we sure this is not a more recent article?

[Huskerone]

Ah, the year I became a Nebrasketball fan.  My stepdad told me early that season he thought the basketball team might be pretty good this year.  First time I ever thought of following any team other than Husker football.  "You mean the Huskers play other sports than football?"  Then going to my first game, I remember walking into Devaney and seeing the court come into view as I walked through my section entrance, and seeing the crowd all around, hearing the band, the electricity in that building was real, it was packed, and I was hooked for life.  It was also my first frozen malt with the wooden spoon, still love those things.  After that Xavier game I thought we'd just be back every year, no big deal.  No idea 30 years later we'd still not have a tourney win.  I was naive, but also 10 years old.  The years since have brought probably more rough times than good, but they have made the good times even better. 

[Huskerone]

Who would have thought that a freshman on the Iowa State team that following season would be the coach to finally get us that first tourney win

[tcp]

And now because of this trauma, I'm starting to sing a familiar tune: 

 

"It was thirty years ago today

Sgt Pepper knocked out the Huskers in the first round..."

 

And now I hate everything sentient and am hoping a meteor takes everything out. 

[Handy Johnson]

What’s still SO disappointing about that loss is they were good enough to win the whole thing. They didn’t have to have an ‘85 Villanova type performance or play WAY over their heads. It’s a cliche’ (but they’re cliches for a reason) they really didn’t know how good they were...

[HuskerFever]

5 minutes ago, Handy Johnson said:

What’s still SO disappointing about that loss is they were good enough to win the whole thing. They didn’t have to have an ‘85 Villanova type performance or play WAY over their heads. It’s a cliche’ (but they’re cliches for a reason) they really didn’t know how good they were...

 

Add that to the list of Nebraska basketball curses...

 

The Roby Curse: "If only they knew how good they were."

 

The Biggs Curse: "We only get better with addition by subtraction."

 

The Nebrasketball Curse: "No matter how good or bad you are, you're not going to win an NCAA tournament game; either via having a deep-run caliber team not qualify because the old system only allowed conference champions (aka Kansas), or because with the new system going 22-10 and 4th in a P5 conference, or you're a #3 seed losing to a #14 seed."

[hugh42]

1 hour ago, Handy Johnson said:

What’s still SO disappointing about that loss is they were good enough to win the whole thing. They didn’t have to have an ‘85 Villanova type performance or play WAY over their heads. It’s a cliche’ (but they’re cliches for a reason) they really didn’t know how good they were...

 

I think the opposite was true for some of the members of that team and may have been a contributing factor in some of their losses that season. Disrespect your opponent and you will walk off the floor with an L. I think the same thing happened when we lost to Penn.

[Navin R. Johnson]

I remember watching the game over at hugh42's place. I can't remember specific plays except late in the game they set up an alley-oop for Reid I think against a Xavier zone and of course it did not work.  Just a frustrating game to watch.  I can remember Danny Nee asking the Big 8 sports writers at the the pre season media day that year "How could you pick us last?"  

[hugh42]

12 minutes ago, Navin R. Johnson said:

I remember watching the game over at hugh42's place. I can't remember specific plays except late in the game they set up an alley-oop for Reid I think against a Xavier zone and of course it did not work.  Just a frustrating game to watch.  I can remember Danny Nee asking the Big 8 sports writers at the the pre season media day that year "How could you pick us last?"  

 

All I can recall is two freshman post players abusing us inside and us not being able to stay in front of their guards.

[Handy Johnson]

1 hour ago, hugh42 said:

 

I think the opposite was true for some of the members of that team and may have been a contributing factor in some of their losses that season. Disrespect your opponent and you will walk off the floor with an L. I think the same thing happened when we lost to Penn.

One of my best friends tutored some of the players that year, so I had the lowdown on that squad. More than overconfidence I think they “spit the bit” when they got under the bright lights on the BIG stage...

[Cazzie22]

That loss was a huge downer.  Pete Gillen was a great Coach for the Musketeers.  However, the Grant Simmons, Stuart Lantz, Nate Branch, Tom Baack, Willie Campbell team was our best and would have won an NCAA Tournament game if it had not been restricted to conference champions. Unfortunately, KU had Walt Wesley and JoJo White.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Cazzie22
Spelling

[basketballjones]

I was only 4-5 and I can vividly remember my dad being super pissed we couldn't watch the game and had to go to his mother's (my grandma's) house for some family thing. He sat by the radio the whole time. 

[REDitus]

Missing freethrows absolutely killed us.

[jimmykc]

Cazzie22: the other KU starters that year were Delvie Lewis, Ron Franz, and Al Lopes with Roger Bohnensteihl as a sixth man (just in case you were wondering). They were beaten by Texas Western when Jojo was ruled to be out of bounds when he made a long shot in overtime in the regionals -it was  of course, way before instant replay.

[Cazzie22]

1 hour ago, jimmykc said:

Cazzie22: the other KU starters that year were Delvie Lewis, Ron Franz, and Al Lopes with Roger Bohnensteihl as a sixth man (just in case you were wondering). They were beaten by Texas Western when Jojo was ruled to be out of bounds when he made a long shot in overtime in the regionals -it was  of course, way before instant replay.

NU was really small by today’s standards.  Campbell and Baack were 6’5” and Branch was 6’4”.  Lantz and Simmons were 6’3”.  Wesley was tough because he stood 6’11”.  

[Ron Mexico]

On 3/14/2021 at 6:12 PM, hugh42 said:

 

I think the opposite was true for some of the members of that team and may have been a contributing factor in some of their losses that season. Disrespect your opponent and you will walk off the floor with an L. I think the same thing happened when we lost to Penn.

I was going to school at UNL during that time and on campus they were very confident (over confident?) in the outcome of that game. It was all everyone would talk about.

I remember the words of Norm Stewert about NU Hoops as a sleeping giant. I thought it was just a matter of time. As much as I enjoy NU Hoops I approach every season with both excitement and dread. My FIL, said that is what it was like to be a Cubs fan, before they won the WS.