Iowa–Nebraska men's basketball rivalry
American college basketball rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iowa–Nebraska men's basketball rivalry is an intra-conference college basketball border rivalry between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The programs represent the University of Iowa and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Nebraska, 27–17
Iowa, 77–71
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| First meeting | January 28, 1907 Nebraska, 27–17 |
| Latest meeting | March 26, 2026 Iowa, 77–71 |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Stadiums | Carver-Hawkeye Arena Pinnacle Bank Arena |
| Statistics | |
| Total meetings | 45 |
All-time series | Iowa leads, 29–16 |
Largest victory | Iowa, 102–64 (2021) |
Longest win streak | Iowa, 5 (2013–2016) |
Current win streak | Iowa, 1 (2026) |
Series history
Nonconference series
Although Iowa and Nebraska first met on the football field in 1891, the two teams did not meet on the basketball court until January 28, 1907, a game played in Lincoln, Nebraska, which resulted in a 27-17 Nebraska victory.[7] Iowa then twice defeated Nebraska in Iowa City in a game later that year and in another the following year in 1908.[8] The two schools would go on to schedule several series throughout the twentieth century, including three games in the early 1930s, a yearly series from 1941 to 1945, another yearly series from 1953 to 1956, and two home-and-home sets in 1970–71 and 1975–76. There were a total of 19 games played between Iowa and Nebraska during the twentieth century, with Iowa leading the series 12–7.
Conference series
After a hiatus of 35 years during which Nebraska and Iowa did not face off in men's basketball, the series was renewed when Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Iowa has won the majority of the games against Nebraska as members of the Big Ten Conference, several of which have been decided in overtime. The only ranked matchup between the two schools came in 2019 when #24 Nebraska was defeated by #25 Iowa. The most lopsided victory came in 2021, when #5 Iowa defeated Nebraska 102–64. On February 17, 2026, unranked Iowa upset #9 Nebraska in Iowa City, winning a low-scoring 57–52 game which resulted in Iowa fans storming the court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.[9] The game was made more acrimonious due to the fact that former Iowa player Pryce Sandfort had transferred to Nebraska before the start of the season.[9][10]
Until 2026, Nebraska and Iowa had never met in any postseason tournament play. In the 2026 NCAA Tournament, 4th-seeded Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt and 9th-seeded Iowa upset 1st-seeded Florida to both reach the Sweet Sixteen.[1][2] In a game in which Nebraska led or was tied with Iowa for all but the final two minutes and ten seconds, Iowa secured the 77–71 win to advance to its first Elite Eight appearance since 1987.[11]
Game results
| Iowa victories | Nebraska victories | Tie games |
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