Whether you’re a fan of the Huskers, the Mavericks, or even the Bluejays, it’s exciting news to hear your team called out on Selection Sunday to play in the coveted NCAA tournament championship, or more commonly known as March Madness.
This year the men’s bracket features two Nebraska colleges, the Creighton Bluejays, and the Omaha Mavericks. The women’s NCAA tournament bracket also has two Nebraska colleges, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Creighton Bluejays.
On March 20, 2025, the Omaha Mavericks played their hardest and took the lead multiple times during the first half against the 2 seed St. Johns, but sadly the Maverick’s first tournament appearance ended in a first round loss. The same happened for both women’s teams. The Cornhuskers and the Bluejays weren’t quite able to secure their position in the second round of March madness.
The Men’s Creighton Bluejays won their first round on March 20 against the 8 seed Louisville. In their second round they matched up against the number 1 seed overall, Auburn. On March 22, after a hard battle and a lot of back-and-forth points, the Auburn Tigers pulled off the win 82-70, kicking the last Nebraska team out of the NCAA tournament.
It doesn’t matter if the teams are graduating their best players, basketball fans in Nebraska are still hopeful for their teams next year in March Madness to make it further than they ever have before.
“Next year I think that Creighton will probably make it further in the tournament because they are a good team, even if they are losing some really good players,” sophomore Sukruth Jangala said. “I also think that the Huskers will make it to the tournament next year because they gave up some easy wins this season.”
Nebraska fans are still holding out for their local teams to continue to push through mistakes and achieve new heights. Upsetting losses don’t matter for the fans, they will stay loyal and watch their teams to the end of the season no matter where they end up.
“I’m pretty happy with how they did this year, for the men and the women, even if most of the teams lost in the first round,” Lincoln East student teacher Matthew Akins said. “I love watching Nebraska teams in March Madness because it’s madness! There’s a lot going on, and it’s a lot of fun to see how things shake out.”
Even if this season didn’t go quite as planned, The Bluejays, Mavericks, and Cornhuskers are ready to dominate the court next year and prove to everyone else in the U.S. that Nebraska should be known for way more than just growing corn.
