RAIOLA FLIPS COMMITMENT TO NEBRASKA:
Buford (Ga.) High five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola has officially flipped his verbal commitment from Georgia to Nebraska, going public with his pledge to head coach Matt Rhule and the Huskers during his official visit to Lincoln over the weekend.
The first five-star to commit to Nebraska in the 247Sports era dating back to 2010, Raiola will get to work right away and enroll early.
HAC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKETS RELEASED:
The 2023 Heartland Athletic Conference Tournament brackets have been released for both girls and boys basketball action.
The Kearney Boys Basketball team is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, while undefeated Lincoln Southwest is the top seed on the girls side.
The Bearcat girls basketball program is the seventh seed, and will host Lincoln High School in a rematch from earlier in December. That first round contest will take place at Kearney High School at 3:30 PM on Friday, Dec. 22.
Full brackets can be found at KGFW and Central Nebraska Today.
LOPER WOMEN CLOSE OUT BRONCHOS:
The Nebraska Kearney women’s basketball team closed on a 13-0 run to rally past Central Oklahoma, 66-56, Monday afternoon in Edmond.
The Lopers (10-2, 4-2) go 2-0 on a five-day road trip and are now off until Jan. 4 when they host the Lincoln Blue Tigers (4-5, 1-3).
UNK made 10 of its first 16 shots, including a 4 of 6 effort from downtown, to lead 29-15 after the first quarter and 36-19 midway through the second.
UNK was plus 11 on the glass with UCO getting 38 bench points and 13 points off those 23 turnovers. Finally, the ‘Chos were 7 of 30 (23%) from behind the arc and 15 of 43 (35%) inside.
HUSKER VOLLEYBALL ENDS AS RUNNER-UP; FALLS TO TEXAS:
The Nebraska volleyball team’s quest for a sixth national championship came up short Sunday afternoon, as strong serving powered Texas to a 3-0 sweep in the NCAA Final at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
The Huskers (33-2) finished as the NCAA runner-up for the sixth time in program history, while Texas (28-4) won its second straight national championship and fourth overall.
Texas had 12 aces in the match, the most by a Husker opponent in the rally-scoring era, which dates back to 2001. Nebraska struggled to pass against the Longhorns, which resulted in the Huskers recording season lows in kills (20) and hitting percentage (.013). Texas hit .264 in the match and had a 38-20 advantage in kills.
Nebraska finished as the NCAA runner-up for the sixth time in program history. The Huskers have a 5-6 record in the national championship match.
The Huskers lost to Texas in an NCAA Final for the first time. Nebraska had won the previous two national championship matches between the programs in 1995 and 2015.
ALLICK & MURRAY – STILL CONFIDENT IN HUSKERS:
Despite the loss in the national championship to Texas, freshman Harper Murray shared her expectations for the next three seasons when a reporter suggested that this was the year to get Nebraska due to their youth. Middle blocker Bekka Allick agreed…
The Huskers ended the 2023 season as the NCAA Runner-Up, Big Ten conference champions, and a 33-2 record.
NEBRASKA MEN LOCK DOWN WILDCATS IN MANHATTAN:
Juwan Gary and Rienk Mast combined for 32 points and 30 rebounds, as Nebraska posted an impressive 62-46 road win over Kansas State Sunday afternoon.
Gary and Mast both posted double-doubles, as Nebraska (9-2) overcame a 34-31 halftime deficit by holding the Wildcats to just 12 second-half points on 16 percent shooting.
The Huskers return home to begin a three-game homestand against North Dakota this Wednesday evening. Tipoff time is 6:30 p.m.
MARKOWSKI JOINS 1,000 POINT CLUB IN HUSKER WIN:
Junior Alexis Markowski scored a game-high 21 points and joined Nebraska’s 1,000-point club as the Huskers cruised to a 76-51 victory over 2023 SWAC Champion Southern on Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Graduate guard Jaz Shelley contributed 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, while freshman Logan Nissley put up 14 points, including a game-high four three-pointers, as Nebraska improved to 9-2 on the year. Markowski and Shelley each scored 11 points in the first half, while Nissley contributed eight off the bench in the first 20 minutes as Nebraska surged to a 43-17 halftime lead.
The Huskers hit the road to take on Kansas on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT) in Lawrence, Kan.
GRAMBLING HIRES FORMER HUSKER COACH MICKEY JOSEPH:
Multiple sources tell website FootballScoop that Grambling, a tradition-rich, longtime HBCU powerhouse program, is finalizing a deal to hire Mickey Joseph as the program’s next head coach.
Most recently, Joseph was on Scott Frost’s staff at Nebraska and then served as the Cornhuskers’ interim head coach during the 2022 season after Frost was fired.
STORM EVEN WEEKEND RECORD WITH STARS IN HOME WIN:
The Tri-City Storm downed the Lincoln Stars by a final score of 6-1 Saturday night at the Viaero Center in the team’s annual Concrete Cares Game presented by Kearney Concrete.
Blake Steenerson (2), Artemi Nizameyev, Seth Constance, Ryan Smith, and Owen Beckner scored goals in the Storm’s victory.
Cameron Korpi backstopped Tri-City to victory by making 29 saves on 30 shots in net during the rivalry matchup.
The Storm’s next home game will be played on Sunday, December 31st at 6:05pm CT against the Lincoln Stars.
EAGLES’ HURTS ILLNESS LISTS HIM AS QUESTIONABLE HEADING INTO MNF:
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is questionable for Monday night’s game at Seattle because of an illness. Hurts will travel separately from the team.
The Eagles (10-3) have lost two straight games but would secure the NFC East title if they beat the Seahawks (6-7) and win their final three games.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE SCHEDULE/RESULTS:
SUNDAY RESULTS:
Cincinnati Bengals 27-24 Minnesota Vikings (OT)
Indianapolis Colts 30-13 Pittsburgh Steelers
Detroit Lions 42-17 Denver Broncos
New Orleans Saints 24-6 New York Giants
Cleveland Browns 20-17 Chicago Bears
Carolina Panthers 9-7 Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-20 Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins 30-0 New York Jets
Kansas City Chiefs 27-17 New England Patriots
Houston Texans 19-16 Tennessee Titans (OT)
San Francisco 49ers 45-29 Arizona Cardinals
Los Angeles Rams 28-20 Washington Commanders
Buffalo Bills 31-10 Dallas Cowboys
Baltimore Ravens 23-7 Jacksonville Jaguars
MONDAY SCHEDULE:
Philadelphia Eagles @ Seattle Seahawks – 7:15 PM (ESPN)
Buffalo County Results & Schedules:
THIS WEEK IN BUFFALO COUNTY SPORTS:
MONDAY:
High School Sports:
- PLEASANTON:.
- Girls Basketball: v. Pleasanton Holiday Tournament v. Ravenna – 5:30 PM
- Boys Basketball: v. Pleasanton Holiday Tournament v. Ravenna – 12 PM
- Girls Wrestling: @ Summerland
- RAVENNA:
- Girls Basketball: v. Pleasanton Holiday Tournament @ Pleasanton – 5:30 PM
- Boys Basketball: v. Pleasanton Holiday Tournament @ Pleasanton – 12 PM
College Athletics:
- UNK LOPERS:
- Women’s Basketball: @ Central Oklahoma @ Edmond, OK – 1:30 PM
- HASTINGS COLLEGE BRONCOS:
- Men’s Basketball: @ Hawaii-Hilo @ Big Island Classic – 10 PM
KGFW Sports Schedule:
- KGFW High School Coaches Show (5 PM – 6 PM)
- Sports Nightly (6 PM – 8 PM)