HOUSTON — Nebraska fans painted Toyota Center red on Thursday night. Chants of “Go Big Red” thundered over attempts to start calls of “Let’s Go Hawks.”
But, Iowa got the last laugh as the Hawkeyes earned a 77-71 win and their first Elite 8 berth in 39 years.
As the final buzzer sounded, the cheers of Iowa fans dominated the air in Houston.
Head coach Ben McCollum said he preferred the opportunity to face a hostile crowd.
“I’m like that, a little strange like that,” McCollum said. “I don’t know, it gets me fired up, gets me juiced up. They got a good crowd. They got good fans. Florida had great fans, and it just gets me kind of lit and I just like it.”
Despite relishing the chance to face a hostile crowd, McCollum continued to downplay the rivalry and its importance to him.
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“I just appreciate all fans coming,” McCollum said. “It just makes for a great atmosphere. I appreciate the Iowa fans that made the trip. I appreciate the Husker fans, just because that's college basketball. That's why athletics was created, so that you can get away for two hours. There's no BS. They got a great program, high character kids, high character coach, you feel like we do as well.
“It's so fun to watch two teams like that. You can cheer for both. Obviously, Hawkeyes can't cheer for Huskers, and Huskers can’t cheer for Hawkeyes, but you kind of cheer for both programs because of the kids that they have in them.”
McCollum’s players were not quite as diplomatic.
Cooper Koch, who finished with 11 points, waved goodbye to the Husker-dominated crowd in the waning moments of Thursday’s contest.
“I like playing the villain,” Koch said. “Being the away team, and that’s definitely what it was today. It wasn’t a neutral site. So, to be able to come in here and take down the Huskers and send them home after a split regular season, it was big.”
After spending more than 32 minutes trailing, Kael Combs said hearing the cheers of the Iowa fans when the Hawkeyes took the lead helped power the team across the finish line.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Combs said. “I heard them. We heard them most of the game. They were beating us for 38 minutes of the game. So, to finally hear that, ‘Go Hawks,’ and their sea of red get quiet, it felt really good.”
Up Next: No. 9 seed Iowa (24-12, 10-10 Big Ten) faces No. 3 seed Illinois (27-8, 15-5 Big Ten) on Saturday at 5:09 p.m. with broadcast coverage provided by TBS and TruTV. The Hawkeye Radio Network will also provide coverage of the game.
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
