Nebraska basketball says good-bye to Devaney Center victorious
We had the privilege of being among the 12,500 fans taking in the final college basketball game at the Bob Devaney Sports Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln March 6th. The Huskers basketball program will plays its games at the new Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Haymarket district starting next season.
The 14-16 (5-12 in B1G)Huskers closed out the “Bob” in winning fashion, upsetting the likely NCAA tournament-bound Minnesota Gophers 53-51 in Big Ten action.
The Devaney Center opened in 1976, with a 71-57 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was named after then-Athletic Director and former football coach Bob Devaney. The coach led the Huskers to the school’s first two national championships in football in 1970-71.
Nebraska never trailed during the game. Just when it appeared the Huskers would put the game out of reach, they went on a cold streak, and the Gophers rallied to either tie the game or pull within a basket. On his post game radio show, NU Coach Tm Miles said the cold spells coincided with taking freshman guard Shevon Shields out of the game. For some reason, the Husker offense went into slump during those times.
The Huskers led 23-21 at the intermission on senior night.
The seniors on the team contributed to a stronger second half. Forward Brandon Ubel scored all 15 of his points in the second 20 minutes of action. The senior from Overland Park, KS, went 4 of 7 from the field, including a three-point basket. He was perfect at the free throw line, hitting all six of his attempts.
Dylan Talley scored nine of his 12 points in the second half. The senior from Camden, NJ, connected on three of 10 shots from the field, including two treys. He was four of four at the charity stripe.
The remaining senior on the Husker roster, Andre Almedia, used his 6-11, 340-lbs, frame to muscle inside for three rebounds, two blocked shots and four points in coming off the bench. Before the game, the Sao Paulo, Brazil, native was honored with his country’s national anthem played before the American anthem. 
Minnesota (20-10, 8-9 in B1G) was led by Trevor Mbawke with 15 points.
The crowd was energetic from the start. Herbie Husker (team mascot) rappelled to the court from the ceiling, which started getting fans into a frenzy. They never let up.
Fans stood on their feet for the first few minutes of the game, before settling into their seats. Throughout the game, they jumped up with cheers and fist pumps when the Huskers hit a 3-point shot or made a key play.
It was reminiscent of watching Nebraska in the glory days of the 1990s, when the Huskers made a few trips to March Madness.
The 5-member All-Devaney Center Husker team was announced during halftime. Three players were in attendance – Dave Hoppen (1980s), Eric Piatkowski and Eric Strickland (both from the 1990s). All three played in the NBA after their Husker careers. Tyron Lue could not attend as he is an assistant coach with the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics. Venson Hamilton was the fifth member of the team.
As the clock hit zero and the final game played at the “Bob” ended, the college kids gave it one last rush to the court. The court has been the scene of 33 upsets of highly ranked teams, including No. 1 rated Kansas and Texas squads.
The Bob was home to 595 men’s basketball games. The Huskers enjoyed victories there 75 percent of the time (447-148). Nebraska never had a losing home record in 37 years of playing there.
This marked only the second college hoops game I attended there (the first was a NU win over Nebraska-Omaha in the late 1980s). Living in Omaha, I am more apt to go to a Creighton or UNO game.
But, I have watched high school basketball at the “Bob.” The Nebraska boys and girls basketball state tournament championships are played on the court.
After 37 years, the Devaney Center will be converted to a volleyball arena. It will be the new home for the perennial NCAA powerhouse Husker netters. Plans call it to sit about 9,000 fans, three times what the Huskers get at the old Coliseum. 
The Devaney has hosted other events – concerts and conventions – through the years.
Two stand out for me personally. My wife and I attended a Garth Brooks concert there in the mid-1990s. Garth kicked off his concert tour in Lincoln, playing before a packed house for something like 6 or 7 straight nights. It was one of the best concerts I have ever attended. Garth was energetic and fun. You could tell he loved entertaining people.
The second fond memory was taking my oldest daughter to listen to President George H.W. Bush deliver a speech on the use of corn in gasoline as an energy improvement for the United States. This had to be in 1989 or 90 (can’t recall the exact year). I worked in newspaper back then, and a local political party chairman gave me a couple of tickets.
Regardless of one’s political views, it is usually a positive experience to see a sitting president. My daughter was 8 or 9 then, and it was important to me for her to experience that.
I remember we made a day of it. She came to work with me; all dressed up like a professional journalist. We had lunch in Lincoln, and then headed to the Devaney Center to get a good seat to view the speech.
As the “Bob” comes to a close for basketball and other events, we can look forward to new memories being made at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Haymarket area of the state capital. But, the neat thing is the Devaney will remain, albeit serving a new role.
