As the NCAA Tournament unfolds, it is easy to focus on the North Carolinas, Dukes and Pittsburghs of the world and forget about this state's only two Division I programs.
Creighton and Nebraska both passed their first-round tests in the NIT this week. The Huskers trounced Charlotte while the Jays battled back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Rhode Island.
The NIT is often called the "No one is interested tournament" or "Non-Intriguing Tournament." While it is true that the NIT is a weak sister of the NCAA event, it is still basketball and it gives young teams like the Huskers and Jays extra games.
Dana Altman's Jays have served notice that they will be a force in the Missouri Valley Conference in the next few years. It is no secret that Altman can flat-out coach and he has some young talent that will only mature and blossom in upcoming seasons.
Doc Sadler has done a solid job with the Huskers. Although center Aleks Maric will be missed next year, Sadler is slowly assembling a team that could make a jump from respectable to contender next year. Granted, the Huskers probably won't be making any Final Four reservations in 2009, but players like Cookie Miller and Ryan Anderson give NU a solid nucleus.
Sadler also has some promising newcomers who redshirted this season which only heighten the optimism.
It is OK to scoff at the NIT appearances, but remember that Altman and Sadler expect more from their respective teams. Both the Huskers and Jays have the potential to be in the "Big Dance" next year. I don't think their coaches will be happy with anything less.

Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini has put the finishing touches on his first recruiting class with the Huskers.
While the group may not impress national recruiting analysts, Pelini appears to have put together a class that has a good blend of size and speed. More importantly, these are athletes that Pelini and his staff believe they can turn into solid collegians.
The previous staff was great at recruiting athletes that would put Nebraska in the top 10 on national recruiting services, but not anywhere close to the top 10 on the field in the fall.
Players like Will Compton, Ben Cotton, Baker Steinkuhler and Josh Williams come in with solid credentials, but you can't judge the true impact of a class until three or four years down the road.

Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky announced Tuesday that he will return for his senior season, instead of opting for the National Football League Draft.
In an offseason that has included losing the commitments of several high profile recruits, this was good news for the Big Red.
Lucky, a junior from North Hollywood, Calif., rushed for 1,019 yards and caught a school-record 75 passes last fall. There was speculation after the Huskers' season-finale to Colorado that Lucky might follow the same path of Brandon Jackson.
A starter in 2006, Jackson decided to forego his final season at NU and enter the NFL draft. He was a second-round pick of the Green Bay Packers and will play in this weekend's NFL Championship game.
Although no one can predict the future, it appears as though Lucky made a great decision for himself and also the program. Along with quarterback Joe Ganz, he gives new head coach Bo Pelini a couple of bona fide threats in one of the nation's toughest conferences.
While it would've been easy for Lucky to skip his last year and take whatever money the NFL could give him, he is wise to wait. The 2008 draft is loaded with talented running backs – Darren McFadden and Felix Jones of Arkansas to name two – and Lucky's stock should only rise this year.
He likely would've been drafted in rounds 4-6 this year. By coming back, he could find himself as one of the most coveted backs in the 2009 draft.

National recruiting experts are having a heyday commenting about Nebraska's dwindling 2008 class in wake of the firing of head coach Bill Callahan.
While decommits like running back Jonas Gray (Notre Dame), quarterback Blaine Gabbert (Missouri) and junior college defensive end Simi Kuli (Oregon State) are highly regarded, recruiting is far from an exact science.
Gerry Faust, who was the head coach at Notre Dame from 1981-85, perenially had the top recruiting class in the nation. That translated to a 30-26-1 record with one bowl victory in five seasons.
Callahan also enjoyed blue chip classes that were lauded by recruiting gurus. There were many so called four-star and five-star recruits that signed with NU during the past four years. The problem was - save for running back Marlon Lucky - none of them lived up to the hype.
Tom Osborne proved that prep and junior college scouting services aren't worth much. The recruiting classes that comprised the bulk of his 1994 and 1995 national championship teams weren't cluttered with tons of blue chip prospects. Osborne and his staff recruited football players and taught them fundamentals. They did quite well.
The same can be said about Mark Mangino's current team at Kansas. Not a lot of names that three, four or five years ago would cause recruiting services to drool. The Jayhawks, though, are playing in a BCS bowl game.
Players like Gray and Gabbert may go on to have fine collegiate careers, but the jury should wait a few years to see if Nebraska really lost anything in these recent decommitments.

The wait is over.
LSU Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini was introduced Sunday afternoon as the new head football coach for the University of Nebraska. The hiring came eight days after NU Interim Athletic Director Tom Osborne fired Bill Callahan.
While the impact of Pelini's hiring can't truly be measured for another three to five years, there are several things that should be encouraging to Nebraska fans.
Unlike the AD he replaced, Osborne acted swiftly. This should help Nebraska retain a chunk of its current recruiting class and will give Pelini time to land some players on his own.
More importantly, Pelini showed class by thanking the coaches he learned the profession from, including Mike Sherman, Pete Carroll and Frank Solich. By recognizing the latter, Pelini is already showing that he is embracing the Nebraska tradition and culture. Several times Sunday afternoon, the new coach paid homage to Solich and the job he did as the Huskers' head coach from 1998-2003. That small gesture is a sign that this coach will embrace what the Nebraska program has stood for instead of ignoring it like a certain former NFL head coach did.
Several former NU players said during the last week that they didn't know whom Tom Osborne would hire, but they had complete trust in him.
Although it is extremely early, T.O. looks like he hasn't lost his touch at making good decisions.