It came in a big wave on Monday and Tuesday — reports and announcements of Summit League players entering the transfer portal.
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Five North Dakota State players are bouncing, including three of the Bison's top five scorers, with All-Summit first teamer Trevian Carson also expected to jump.
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At least three from North Dakota will be gone, including Greyson Uelman, an All-Summit League second team member.Â
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Same for two talented guards from South Dakota, Uzziah Buntyn and Isaac Bruns.
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Naturally, fans of the teams are bummed not just by the departures of good players, but by the painful truth of mid-major basketball.Â
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"Can't blame the players, but NIL and the portal have killed low and mid-major basketball," said a tweet from the Jackrabbit Illustrated account. "I guess I'm lucky that I got to watch Nate Wolters and Mike Daum for four years. Even cheering against (NDSU's) Ben Woodside, (IFPW's) John Konchar), and (Oakland's) Keith Benson was fun. This is no fun."
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No fun at all? Mid-major hoops ruined?
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Not so fast, says the Happy Hour host, who dives into the reasons why the sport at this level is still fun and fans will still support it.
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Bruce Chubick, Nebraska basketball (1990-94)
The Huskers are the darlings — or at least one of the darlings — of the NCAA Sweet 16 field.
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The obvious reason for that status is that before Thursday, Nebraska was the only Power Four conference team to not win an NCAA game, ever, until the Big Red wiped out Troy in the first round.Â
But the thrilling second round win over Vanderbilt — with a half-court Vandy shot to win popping in and out of the cylinder at the buzzer — has elevated the Huskers' national status even more.
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So, too, has the overwhelming Husker fan presence in Oklahoma City, where a sea or red took over the arena and multiple bars ran out of beer because of the literal once-in-a-lifetime Big Red party going on.
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One of those fans was Bruce Chubick, who played a prominent role on Nebraska teams that reached the Big Dance four years in a row under Danny Nee (1991-94) but painfully lost each first round game.
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Those teams are still folk lore for a fan base mostly tortured by either lousy or mediocre basketball, fans who until this season have been treated to heartbreak whenver Nebraska actually appears on a March Madness bracket. As in, 0 for 8 until Thursday.
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So, what did it mean to "Nebrasketball" immortal like Chubick — a long-time high school hoops coach in Omaha — to see Fred Hoiberg's crew pull it off not once, but twice?
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And how did the Huskers do it? Why was this team the one?
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Now, Nebraska draws rival Iowa in the Sweet 16. Some Huskers fans are dejected by the pairing, not wanting to withstand another loss to a school that owns the Big Red in football.
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Chubick, who grew up a Hawkeye fan in Iowa, likes the matchup. Hear why.
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And stay for the epic stories about the fabeled, foul-mouthed and festive Danny Nee, the coach who delivered hope but never an NCAA win to Nebraska when Chubick played.