It's been just three weeks since
Iowa last saw
Nebraska, who came into Carver-Hawkeye Arena and gave the Hawkeyes
four quarters of drama before folding, 80-76. Well, really
two quarters, the first and the fourth, but the Huskers won those by a combined score of 47-28. If it wasn't for stellar play from
Caitlin Clark and the crew in the middle stanzas, this would have been Iowa's most shocking loss of the Big Ten season.
The situation in Lincoln has not progressed for the better since then; Nebraska is on a three-game losing streak, having just dropped a Barn-burner at lowly
Minnesota, 95-92. Huskers point guard
Jaz Shelley scored 37 points in the losing effort, which saw the two teams combine for 118 points in the second half alone. Alas, Nebraska's 61 weren't enough to overcome its porous defense down the stretch, and now it's going to take a miracle run at the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis for Nebraska to achieve its March Madness dreams.
A secondary objective that
doesn't take four wins in four days, however, would be to tank Iowa's chances at a Big Ten title this Saturday afternoon, which is what a home win would effectively accomplish for Nebrasketball. Revenge is sweet as it is, but taking a chunk out of your opponents' season goals in the process is the sort of thing you savor for years.
