Nebraska Players' Reactions To Court Storming Show They Have The DNA Of Winners

Opinions on storming the court after big wins in college basketball are varied, but not among players on the Nebraska Cornhuskers men’s basketball team.

On Friday night, the No. 9 Cornhuskers hosted the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans and won a gutsy game, 58-56. After, fans stormed the court to celebrate the marquee victory.

While beating a top-10 Tom Izzo team is certainly a big deal, the celebration did seem kind of strange. Nebraska is on an 18-game winning streak and is a top-15 team itself, so it doesn’t even qualify as an upset.

That was a point Rienk Mast tried to make in the postgame press conference: fans don’t need to treat that (or future moments) as a monumental achievement for the program.

"If you're the No. 13 against the No. 9 and you're at home, in my opinion, you're supposed to win that game," Mast said. "I don't blame the fans. They got excited for that win. From here on out, we've proven we belong in these games, and we're supposed to win these types of games."

"We're supposed to win that game, guys. No more court storms, please," Jamarques Lawrence added. I just got to say that."

Frankly, I like this attitude. Nebraska remains the only power conference school to not win a March Madness game. Getting over that hump involves winning big games like the one on Friday, a test the Cornhuskers passed with honors.

But part of creating a winning culture involves treating special moments with a level of moderation. Mast’s mindset about the outcome shows he and his teammates have bigger goals in mind, and they want the fans to emulate that.

What the future holds for Nebraska is uncertain, but this mindset can certainly help set the stage for winning.