1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Nebraska Basketball's Season to Dream BIG: February 9th, 11:25am

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

Nebraska Basketball's Season to Dream BIGAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome back. Bach, as we were discussing, especially during the break. It is the case of the moving where you go to those amusement parks and they have the basketball shooting but the backboard and the room moves. Yeah.

That's kind of this Husker basketball season. Because I'm playing this out in my head and go with me if you can. Right? that as a basketball coach we used to set these steps to the pinnacle, right? Things that you had to do. You set the foundation, which was the thing across,

all the things that you need to do, right, so that, you know, we need to shoot. We want to ideally shoot 50% from the floor and 40 from 3 and 75 to 80 from the free throw line depending on the team, right? style of play type of shooter, et cetera, right? Sometimes you can have scores but not shooters, different deal, right?

To be plus in rebounds, be plus in the turnover to assist to turnover ratio, all the things, right? Steels be plus, all those things. That's the baseline across the bottom, right? Things that you must, the standards that you have to set for how you're going to play. Then steps up, win the first game, right? second one, win your first road game.

So when your first game at home, your first road game. Be dominant at home. Be dominant at home. Go 1 and 0 at home. Right? Simple. Keep it simple. Then the progress through this thing is when you get to whether it's district region conference play,

that all those things that your foundation carry you through. Right? And if you stick to those, the scale continues to escalate. But if you lose one of those things, then okay, fine. You got to adjust. But Bach, preseason tournament, preseason play, exhibition, BYU. BYU, top 15, actually top 10 at the time consideration, best player in the country. And you handle business.

Circle it, check. All right. Now, home game. win the first one. Check. Road game. Go on the road, win a non-con invitational. Check. On the road, you handle business. Come back home. Hey, knock off your rival. Beat your rival. Belt to butt against Creighton. Check. Let's go. Back into the Big 12. Can we find wins? Check. Can you handle seasonal play? Can you handle the holiday tournament? Can you, can you go into the holidays and then not lose who you are.

Check. Can you then handle injury and friction? Because injuries are going to happen. Next man up. Check. And it's a constant progression towards who you think you are, all based on the things at the bottom of your scale. Now, Bach, we're in the big 10.

We're in the big 10. beat your brothers, right? Beat the guys who get their mail at the same level of the big 10 that you do. Beat them. Check. Hey, face down a bully. Test yourself. Here comes to Michigan State.

Here comes to Michigan State. Remember, you went to Illinois. You faced the bully on the road. Check. Here comes the bully to PBA. It's the legend. Right? This is the Gunther.

This is the Goonther. This is the legend killer. Here comes Tom Issao. What do you do against the legend? Check. You got the legend. Bach, we're moving up from being a jobber to a middle of the card guy. Now Nebraska's becoming those main event, those co-features.

And then before you know it, you're in the main event. Now, you're at the main event of, like, the number six pay-per-view, right? Whatever that is, the aspiration is to get to WrestleMania and win it, right? Like, that's the goal. That's the goal. But you need to get to the main event. You need to get to WrestleMania, and then you need to be in the main event. You need, I know you want to be,

there are people that say, hey, listen, we've never, we've been to WrestleMania. We've never won at WrestleMania. We never won at WrestleMania. We've never won at WrestleMania. We've been there. We've been invited.

Didn't happen. We have to figure out the importance of winning the Big Ten regular season. Right. And we know that the goalposts are going to move the moment that thing happens. because fortunately at 21 and 2 and 10 and 2, your season won't end at the regular season. At 21 and 2 and 10 and 2, your regular season, your regular season final will not be the last game of the season for you. And it won't be the last meaningful game of the season. But then you have to go back to your foundation, go back to clear the slate,

that we need to do these things to have success in the next game we have, and that's going to be the Big Ten tournament. And you'll be favored in every game with maybe, with maybe the exception of the championship game. But I'll say that again for the folks in the back. This team will be favored until maybe until the final of the Big Ten, tournament championship game. And then they will reset.

Yes, you want the credit and the momentum of having won the Big Ten regular season. That really won't matter as much as the fact that you've won every game between now and then. Right? So then it doesn't matter what happens to Michigan because Nebraska is beating everybody in their path. It doesn't matter what Michigan does. I'll see you when I see you. And if you see Michigan again, something really cool happened. Something really, really cool happened.

Because you're not going to see them again until Big Ten semifinals are champions. And no matter what the result is, if the good thing happens and they win the big, either the Big Ten regular season title or the Big Ten tournament title, the goalposts will move again. And we as Husker fans will reset and reset and resists. recalibrate because we'll be invited to WrestleMania and we have to win. And as a matter of fact, Bob,

they'll be, you know how they have the vignettes before WrestleMania? They don't have everybody's vignette for WrestleMania. Nebraska's going to have one where the rest of the country is going to hear about the story of the season that is Nebraska basketball under Fred Hoyberg 2025, 2026. They will see all the month.

And then all the pools and all the squares and all the things are all the picks will have Nebraska as a discussion so that Nebraska as a high seat in the NCAA tournament first round gets a win for the first time in program history. And let me tell you how great things are right now, Bob. This is how spectacular. This is how bizarre a world, basketball world, we're in right now. Nebraska, after it wins its first NCAA tournament game, we'll celebrate for all of 12 hours.

Why? Because not only you at the dance, you're at the dance as a pretty girl, you got work to do. Hey, Bach, then we start talking about two wins. Because you know what happens at two wins, Bach? Where does Nebraska go after win one in the tournament and then win two in the tournament? Both games that they will be favorite.

Where do they go, Bach? Sweet 16. Sweet 16. Mary Mother Mercy, we're talking about Nebraska basketball and, and hey, Bach, winning possibly the Big Ten regular season, Big Ten tournament and the first round game and maybe a second round game. And then showing up at the Sweet 16, not invited, earn. Earned. Hey, Bach, can you imagine the Haymarket after the first tournament win?

Can you imagine the Haymarket after the second win? Bach, can you imagine the hay market the week between the Sunday and the Thursday of Sweet 16? Can you imagine? Can you imagine? And here's the thing. They'll be favored. They'll be favored in the sweet 16, Bach. Hey, Bob, knock off, let's say, I don't know,

that's randomly pick somebody that they've already beaten who was pretty good, right? somebody right they'll be eight they'll be the great eight you're staring them in the face and you're not really impressed by anybody you're not scared of anybody

because then Bach if you face any one of the other best seven teams in the country they Bach went away what's those two words Bach say it Final four listen

Enjoy the ride Because at no point in Nebraska basketball history were you able to have this conversation. Am I right? I'd say so. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying.

That's all I'm saying. Yeah, the rest of the country is going to, they're going to get very familiar with Kent Poveuca and his amazing calls of the blessing. Right? See, this is why Dan is Dan. We need to beat, need to win against Purdue first.

You missed the first part. Go back to the foundation. Win at home. Shoot 50 from the field. 40 from 3. 80 from the free throw line. Win the battle on the boards. The foundation is set.

That's why you can say. Go big red. Be Purdue. We'll close out one-on-one when we come back. Watch live on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, you're listening to One-on-One with DP on 937 The Ticket and The Ticketfm.com.