This time felt different for Nebraska, but elusive NCAA win will have to wait

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Keisei Tominaga and Josiah Allick shared a tearful hug behind the bench.

The finality of this moment hit them as the game’s final seconds ticked down. They didn’t watch the game’s conclusion. They didn’t need to. They knew how this was going to end. They knew their college careers had come to an unceremonious close.

This Nebraska team was supposed to be the team of destiny. They were supposed to do the unthinkable. They believed they could bring an NCAA Tournament win to Nebraska. If any team could do it, why wouldn’t it be this one? As the oldest team in the Big Ten, they had the veteran leadership. They had the talent. They had the magic.

These Huskers had already accomplished so much. Second-most wins in program history. First Big Ten Tournament semifinal appearance in program history. First NCAA berth in a decade and only the eighth of all time for Nebraska.

It felt possible. Earlier Friday, a Nebraska-fan-filled Beale Street was drunk on hope. This team? This was a team they could believe in. This was a team that could do it.

And yet, the ever-elusive NCAA Tournament win for Nebraska will have to wait, as Texas A&M outpaced Nebraska 98-83 to advance to the Round of 32, adding to Nebraska’s statistically improbable 0-8 record in March Madness.

“Even though we accomplished so much, it feels like it was null and void. It’s like, what was it for?” Nebraska’s C.J. Wilcher told the Journal Star. “We made history still, but this wasn’t the end goal. We wanted to get here, win a game. It just feels like, what was it for?”

As Wilcher continued, he knows this stage “was for something bigger and greater” in the bigger picture, but it doesn’t feel that way right now.

Not for him. Not for many of his teammates.

Forward Rienk Mast was “numb.”

“I don’t know what to feel,” Mast continued. “That thing that you worked so hard for all season, you failed and you didn’t win that tournament game.”

The word guard Brice Williams settled on was “sad.”

All guard Sam Hoiberg could muster was “disappointed.”

But forward Juwan Gary? He was immediately reflective. He was gutted — no question. But instead of dwelling on his heartbreak, he wanted to share his love for his teammates, specifically Tominaga and Allick — who have now exhausted their college eligibility.

“Seeing those two cry, I know how hurt they were,” Gary said. “I know how bad they wanted this game. It hit me a lot because this is the last time this group of guys get to play with each other.”

Nebraska played Texas A&M close early. The score was deadlocked at 22-22 with numerous lead changes over the game’s next several minutes.

But moments after Allick threw down his slam with 8:40 remaining in the first half to give Nebraska a one-point lead, the Aggies’ offense was set ablaze.

Wade Taylor. Tyrece Radford. Henry Coleman III. Radford again. Radford again. Manny Obaseki. Obaseki again. Obaseki again. Obaseki again. Obaseki, yes, again. Obaseki yet again.

And all of a sudden, Pinnacle Bank Arena South grew quiet — save for the family section of Texas A&M fans. Obaseki’s last layup of the first half gave the Aggies a 16-point lead and Nebraska went into halftime down by 14.

Nebraska fans were quiet at the break, but they hadn’t lost hope. Pessimistic, sure, but fans behind the NU bench looked to the Huskers’ thrilling comeback win over Wisconsin as reason to still believe. Surely Texas A&M, one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country would come back to earth, right?

The closest Nebraska made it after the break was 12. Texas A&M’s lead ballooned to 22 multiple times before the Huskers made some late shots to pull within 15 by the final klaxon.

“They were hitting everything,” Gary said, name-dropping Wade Taylor. “Once you got one guy going, the other guys are gonna chip in, feed off of his energy, feed off of his feel, for sure. Them hitting a lot of shots today hit me off guard.”

It wasn’t just the scoring.

It was the offensive rebounding. It was the defensive rebounding. It was the second-chance points. It was the blocks. It was all of it.

“It’s March,” Gary continued. “You’ll get their best shot every game. It’s win or go home.”

And Nebraska, for all it has accomplished this season, is going home.

It’s a gut punch. It’s anticlimactic. It’s heartbreaking.

This team, they wanted so much more — wearing the emotion that’s the price for caring on their faces as they walked off the floor for the last time as this group.

The sting of this won’t fade. Not for a while. But they can hold their heads high knowing that they gave Nebraska fans something special to cheer for. And for setting the expectation that anything is possible for Nebraska basketball in the future.

“This team is in a better place,” Mast said. “I just hope that moving forward this program can only go up from here.”