It all started innocently enough.
“We should meet up at a Nebraska NCAA Tournament Bball game!”
My best friend from high school, Alex, texted that to me on December 27, 2025. Two weeks prior, the Huskers wrapped up a week that saw home wins over Creighton and Wisconsin, topped off with a buzzer-beating 83-80 road victory over then-No. 13 Illinois. The Huskers were 12-0 and ranked 13th in the AP poll. It was a far cry from the basketball he and I saw as UNL students in the Barry Collier days of the early 2000s…