1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Husker Basketball Punches Its Ticket to the Sweet 16: March 23rd, 11:00am

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

Husker Basketball Punches Its Ticket to the Sweet 16Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Here is your host, Derek Pearson. It is 11.05 in Lincoln. The freaking basketball college basketball capital of the world. The entire world. Yeah. Me too. Welcome you with a Monday. Boom.

That's a breaker boom. Bucket. Lots to talk about. Sorry I brought back cold weather. My apologies. Cleveland. frigid. Frigid. And apparently got some

some guy on the plane with me back here. So my apologies. I hope you guys enjoyed the 80 that you got this weekend. I greatly appreciate that. 4024-6-4-5-685. Sarter-Hamondekin-Tex line, Honda-Lincoln hotline. You want to be a part of what we're doing. And you do. Lots to say. Lots to be said.

Lots to celebrate. Lots to to amplify and elevate along the way. Y'all know how to find us on all the video streams. So do so. And then download the ticket app. If you haven't figured out that it is a wonderful thing to have on your devices,

you should probably figure that out and have added. Bok, kind, sir. How the heck are you? Not too bad. I'm not sure if my feet have touched the ground yet. It is a new, new age in Nebraska. basketball and man it's beautiful just to be whatever small part we are of it right even you know just one seat in the stands whatever it might be it is incredible to witness yeah it is quite funny

to me and very intriguing and entertaining to to see the uh the the the imbalance of husker husker basketball fans like trying to find their two feet down they're 10 toes down like where they're going to stand on this thing. And it's the conversations we were having. And, and Bach, you can validate this. And you can confirm this. It's the conversation we were having last week. And I kept saying,

I understand the, the resistance to celebrating in full. I understood it for Husker fans. But I kept saying, I don't know. how you can go through this and not fully enjoy it. Just get on the roller coaster and ride. Like you can't spend your time worried about the roller coaster. Get on the roller coaster, man. Enjoy the ride.

Scream, we, at the top of it. Even if you don't know that that's the highest place on the roller coaster. Enjoy the ride. Like, that's why you do it. You give in. You do not control the roller coaster or the ride. You're just supposed to enjoy it. And it's just funny because, oh, man, Bach, what did I, what did I say to you about this weekend, this past weekend?

What did it before, going into, before I took off, what did I, I sat right in this chair and I said to you before we went live, I said, Bach, I have a feeling. I've I've done the 10 game deep dive. I think the Huskers win easily against Troy. Was that not said? Yeah, no, absolutely. Right. And then, and, and I like the scurs. I like the scurs against Vanderbilt.

Is that not a fair statement? That's right. And I wasn't saying it because, you know, I hate to do the prognostication thing, but it's just to give peace to people. Hey, man, it's okay. Enjoy this. Like, you don't have to punish yourself for enjoying this amazing ride. So, Bach, I ask you this.

Are you firmly comfortable in the ride that is Nebraska basketball? I think so. I mean, it's the best ride we've been on in Nebraska basketball. history. You know, it's kind of funny because, you know, Austin and I did a segment there on Friday from Buffalo Wings and Rings talking about, you know, what's, what is this moment in history, right? This was after the first victory, obviously, over Troy. And it was just this huge moment for Husker basketball. And obviously it was like, what is it compared to? And what's the next opportunity to get this type of moment? And I thought, well, maybe Saturday. And I think it played out that way.

I mean, certainly the victory over Troy, you know, killed a lot of. demons of the past Nebraska basketball and should be remembered in its spot. But I don't know if it was not surpassed on Saturday. And that might be saying that might be like, well, hold on now there's all these years and this was the goal and all that. But now you're closer to a title than you've ever been. And here we are. And now it's kind of funny with some folks about talking about the Iowa game coming up.

Well, if Iowa does it, if Iowa beat you, then that's going to be embarrassed. All this way. You're in the sweet 16. This is the best ever been. If Iowa beats you, you're still among the. week, you know, you're the best 16 in the country. Yes, obviously. But, you know, I've always been one that

embraced the robbery, likes rivalries, all that sort of stuff. So maybe that's part of it. But I am fully embracing the ride and can't wait and I'm so happy to see Iowa on the other end of it. I, it's so funny, like, I find so much joy in the people who are

finding joy. Like, Bach, that, that really, like, I am, I am absolutely spongy. off the positive energy. Like, I am absolutely absorbing it. And I am, I said three weeks ago that I am staying as far away

from negative Husker fans as humanly possible. Because I don't want, I don't want that in my space. I don't need that in my space. And it doesn't call for it. Oh, you're talking about, you know, 316, win a game in the player, win a game in the tournament first.

Why are you talking about the biggest, moment in Husker basketball history, you know, they'll lose and it'll crash and burn and it will no. The philosophy is always, what if it goes right? What if it goes right? What if it goes the way you wanted to go? And I know that it may not have, but what if it does and that you spent your time balled up in the fetal position because you're afraid that somebody's going to, somebody's going to hurt? We're going to get hurt. Live a little. live a little. It is the thing

that that that brings me remarkable joy to watch Husker fans celebrate in full. I was in Cleveland and had the the ability

to listen to Husker fans wrestling fans. Pretty amazing. I'll read your text because I want to that's part of what I want to do today. So, Gargast says, it's based on the fans this past weekend. Can you even fathom how it'll be some sweet day when the football team is good again? Also, I'm so happy to play Iowa.

That game will be vicious. Yes. Yes. And I refuse to put this on, to connect this in any way to football. It is the thing unto itself. Bach, is that fair to say that in order to, to celebrate Nebraska basketball, I do not have to bring up Nebraska football. I think that would be a fair thing to do.

Like, I don't need, I don't need to, I really don't. Although it is interesting, the spring game attendance. That's about as much, that's about as interesting as I'll be connecting. We'll get to that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Right. Like, we'll get to that because somebody immediately, and again, people are so funny. It's, oh my goodness. we're going to have to miss the spring game.

Yeah! Greatest excuse ever! Greatest excuse ever. I am simple in this, that I understand that there are people on the text line whose sole thing is to troll and to throw negative. They want to pour salt in the suit. and I don't mean just a pinch.

They want a full of, like, how dare you folks actually enjoy yourselves and be proud of this basketball team and the Huskers? I know those people exist. I have to remind people that those people exist. Because I know that every, Bach, we sit here every day with this text line, knowing in full that there are people who simply want to distract from momentum, positive vibe, hate it. They hate it when their neighbors are happy.

Listen, if you tell me that you ate food Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and the meals weren't exceptional, everything tasted better after those two wins. Every single thing, everything between now and next Sunday will be delicious. Every beverage, like the beer's going to be a little colder. The food's going to be a little spicier. The smiles are a little bigger. The hands shakes and the fist bumps are more legitimate. They're more connected and in full. That's what this is. That's what this is done. If you are not celebrating your community, you are not celebrating your home, if you are not celebrating your neighbors, you are not celebrating your sons and daughters, listen, this is a beautiful thing.

A beautiful thing that only 16 towns in America get to experience at this level right now. Of all the towns and all the college towns in America, of all the cities in America, there are only 16 in America. Lincoln is among them. Omaha, get your own. My bad. Lincoln, Nebraska. People are talking about Link Nebraska and Huskers, this thing that is a Husker, they're getting reintroduced.

Because remember, just like this generation hasn't had this sort of success, a lot of the country is being reintroduced to Nebraska Huskers in a way that they haven't in 20 years. They've forgotten about the passion. They've forgotten about the history. They've forgotten about the connection. They've forgotten about all the things that make being a Husker matter. They've forgotten about them because they could. But then they sat in front of their televisions across the country and watched. And then, Bach, here's the part.

Everybody knows I'm not from here. So I have friends all over the country who now follow the Huskers because I absolutely beat them over the head with it. Right? Like all of my friends, there are people in Virginia, Houston, Salt Lake City, California, Atlanta, who all, Chicago, who all wear Husker gear because of this station and because of this fan base. They've come to Lincoln and they say, you know what? You're right. There's no place like it. There are no people like it. And it's the people. It's the people. It's the good people, Bach. And I was asked, you and I have, we, we've, we've had this joke.

We can think back four years to some really crappy, cold, snowy nights where this program was getting his head kicked in, its teeth kicked out. And everybody's like, why do you care? Why are you doing that to yourself? Why are you showing up at 10 o'clock night to talk about a nine-win Husker basketball team? because they won't always be. You have to see the good. You have to. Bach, the post games that go on now, the pregames that go on now,

they matter because of the ones that we went through when it wasn't good. And all the fans, you went through those bad years. There's probably 50 or so Husker basketball fans who showed up at every one of those bad basketball games. Those are the people that I'm applauding. Everybody, like the peripheral folks, you know, okay, cool. The football fans who just get into basketball because now they're good. Okay, bravo.

But those people who went to Pinnacle Bank Arena in snowstorms, there's eight inches of snow outside, and you're packing PBA for a team that couldn't get to double-digit wins. Those are the people that I'm the happiest for. Those are the people that I'm chilling most. And that's why the negative Huskers, the negative Nebraska folks, need to go to your corner. Go to your corner, reassess yourself,

and then come back out when you've had a change of mind. Because Bach sat through some bad, bad basketball to get to enjoy Thursday and then Saturday night. Bach, walk me through. Where were you when in the final 58 seconds? Where were you watching? Tell me what's going on in your head. Well, for the first one, of course,

that Buffalo Wings and Ring. Shout out again to that for the Troy game. That was a lot of fun doing kind of a watch-along party, very special for again for myself and all of us, long tortured us to our fan base. but the able to do that as a watch party setting was awesome. But then at the, uh,

uh, for, four, for Nebraska, I was watching with my family there when, when the sweet 16, um, you know,

and again, it's got, it's, it's got to come over me that my son who's five years old. I got another one on the way. It's just going to be a different world that they lived in. There's a fact that I lived through 35 years of my life that Nebraska basketball wasn't going to reach this certain level.

And now that's gone. And, and so it's so exciting, but it is special. to take it in, whether it is with your friends, family that have watched the game, that have been there, that you know are the diehards. Like you said, there's casuals and welcome aboard. Everybody, I mean, this, this movement is awesome. I can't, I don't want, I really don't like bickering between the fan base, right? Especially at a moment like this. You've got articles of, well,

I mean, you just see it at the end of the Houston, Texas A&M game, Hustker Power being chanted in the second half. When have you ever seen that for a regional? And then, You know, the Go Big Red Chance 30 minutes after the game being talked about. This is not just Nebraska basketball, but it's beautiful. It's the connection that this university has with the state, which you can speak more on to, like, you know, big cities, states with multiple teams. It's a little bit different. But college sports here runs through the University of Nebraska,

and that connection they have with the state is absolutely incredible. And so like Volleyball Day at Nebraska or, you know, some of these other events, this is not just Nebraska basketball. It is a stage for Nebraska fans to show the power in the connectivity they have with the university. And it's showing through. You're hearing just about every commentator through this, just being amazed by the support of Husker Nation. So, yeah, there's always going to be a few knuckleheads in every crowd. And that's going to try to steer the wrong way.

But overall, this is definitely a time to applaud Husker Nation and what they've done and what they will continue to do moving forward. but I don't think there's going to be more Hawkeye colors than Husker colors here on Thursday. Yeah, Houston's going to be interesting. Great building, by the way, Toyota Center. Great building. I've been in that building as much as I have PBA. My time in Houston was good to me. I've got friends down there.

They're excited. As a matter of fact, I have seven Houston friends that are all wearing Husker colors right now. at this very moment because they they've bought in and they love it. And they have a really good, you know, basketball program there to follow. You know, and they're not far from A&M. They got Houston Cougars. They get A&M. They got UT.

Like, they've got a lot to follow. And they've bought into the fact they love the way they play. They love the way Coach Hoyberg handles himself and the crowd, the way he handles his young people, style of play. It gives hope to coaches all over the country that maybe you don't have to have NBA superstar talent to be successful in what you do sometimes systems and coaching and development work. And it's a powerful thing. But it was also said to me, I was having the conversation with the media, with somebody in the media there in Cleveland. And I said, this is Saturday night,

Thursday night, Saturday night, and then this Thursday night, and then this Saturday night. These will be the things that sons and daughters of Nebraska will hear about for generations. Think about that. That the Frager play, this is, this is as good as we can, I mean, you have to draw that circle it moving along. Well, at some point, we'll get into the play, the three plays down the stretch. And I am a full proponent of this as a coaching player. The real work, the best work is done when your eyes aren't necessarily on it. And Nebraska plays basketball in a way that the small thing, the accumulation of what the Huskers do is greater than the individual acts.

The individual acts are all small, detail-oriented, little things. But those little things add up, and they show up in unique and different places. I want to go to the, there are two plays, one, the, well, the three plays. The Hoyberg put back on the jumper. One, if you go back to that point of the game, you can find it on the highlights. Sam is on the wing in an offensive position facing the basket. The defender turns his head. Now, depending on your style of play and your attitude,

Sam could turn pivot, get back on defense to stop a runout. But what Sam does, he trusts the process, that there's an open lane to the basket for a rebound if it happens, right? Long shot, longer rebound, but there's nobody there. A good rebounder will find the open space just in case. And Sam makes the decision, a critical, in-moment decision to break to the basket, the rebound comes right to him in clear and clarity, put back score. Ranked mass in the same space.

Rink did the perfect big man move, which was collapsed to the shot. avoided a box out, avoided another Husker to get the put back. And then on the play, the final bucket with Frager, there are a couple of things that happened. Do you know that that wasn't the best thing Frager did on that play?

Bach? Any idea was the best thing that Frager did on that play? I'm only asked, the box out and tip hands on the ball on the rebound. He boxed out because it would have been a Vanderbilt rebound and put back. But Frager bodies up, gets a hand on it, tips it out to Sanford. Then in transition, and there are several ways you can run this thing, right? You can change this thing in space.

Sanford gets to the middle of the floor and then pulls traffic, creating space, offensive space, space is offense. He pulls, he drafts to the right. Frager, who got the rebound, is trailing the play. Now, there are five lanes that you cover in transition. With Rickmas being the big guy, he could do one of two things, or three things. He could stop at the top and pick for Sanford. right he can die crash directly to the front of the rim pivot turn swing the hip and post up

for a big man play in the in the paint right advantage huskers or he can draft and pull additional defenders out of the middle of the floor because he was there ahead of frager so he pulls to the corner. Bach, that pulls another defender to the corner. And the spacing on that is a thing that the Huskers do well. They stay in the in the five out. And then Frager drafts to the middle of the floor. And because they are, they are highlighting, amplifying Sanford, he's got a one-on-one down the middle of the bucket. Team play. All the little things that were in play. Go back and watch that and you'll notice, again, Sanford, understanding the rules of engagement. In football, we say if you feel pressure, throw to pressure, go to where the pressure

came from. The same thing applies in basketball. The extra defender came at Sanford. Sanford recognized. You can't be in two places. Somebody's got to be open. Frager with his high IQ, drafted to the middle of floor. He could have banged the three. He said, no, I'm going to go get it. Downhill, nobody's going to stop me. Scurs win. Well done. We'll go to break.

Really cool stuff in the film study for that. And then there was a full film study of Iowa and Florida along the way. Lots going on. Scurs by 90. We'll be right back. Download our app by searching 93.7 a ticket in your app store. You're listening to One-on-One with DP on 93. the ticket and the ticket fm.com.