Nebrasketball Meme of the Game: Fall of Troy Edition

Over the last few seasons, the long-suffering Nebraska basketball fan base has celebrated wins by flooding the responses of their opponent with memes, GIFs, gags and trolling with surgical precision.

The game goes final, the other school's social media team posts the final score on Twitter, and then the real fun begins.

It is unclear when the first postgame meme was sent, but there is agreement as to when the phenomenon exploded: after Nebraska's 63-53 upset of No. 7 Creighton in December 2022.

Since then, the regular participants have adopted a collective name: The Nebrasketball Meme Army. Thousands of Husker fans now seek out these memes and share their favorites.

But most of us lead busy lives and don't have time to scroll through 300+ responses (many of which are repeats). That is where the Nebrasketball Meme Army Meme of the Game (NMAMG) comes in.

We at the NMAMG believe that by celebrating excellence in the art of meme-making we can collectively elevate the Nebrasketball fan meme game to keep pace with the rapidly improving product on the court.

The Nebraska Meme Army Meme of the Game committee rewards: 

• Humor. Does it make us laugh?
• Originality. The "Rienk Mast / Bottom Text" meme format is a classic, but creativity is key.
• Topical relevance. Bonus points for references to opponents, star players, or key moments. The meme about Berke Büyüktuncel's bloody lip from the Wisconsin game is a great example.
• Little to no AI usage. We prefer our memes to be organic, farm-to-table creations.
• Does not cross the line. The committee understands that the memes are — at their core — intended to troll the opponent after a loss. But this can be done without being demeaning, obscene or any type of -ist. Keisei Tominaga flipping off Penn State is a classic image, but we're going to keep it PG-13.

In the eyes of the committee, the classic "You just lost to Gary, Indiana" meme (featuring forward Juwan Gary, and used after defeating Indiana) is the gold standard. It checks every box.

Without further ado, let's get to the Memes of the Game!

No. 12 Nebraska traveled out to the West Coast for two games in Los Angeles. First up was the Southern Cal Trojans, who were playing to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. The Huskers got off to one of their patented slow starts, but had a five-point lead when Sam Hoiberg went to the bench with his second personal foul.

With Hoiberg out – and USC playing well at both ends of the court – Nebraska struggled to get good shots and committed several uncharacteristic turnovers. The Huskers were fortunate to be down by only five at the half.

But Nebraska is a second-half team. NU stormed out of the locker room and quickly retook the lead. Trojan guard Chad Baker-Mazara, who led USC with 14 points, missed most of the second half after landing awkwardly. Strangely, he sat in the courtside seats between two female fans, and not on the USC bench.

Nebraska’s second-half dominance was built on defensive intensity and an eagerness to attack the rim on offense. Multiple Huskers – including Rienk Mast! – had dunks, and Nebraska accumulated 16 more rebounds than USC, leading to a sizable advantage in second-chance points.

Pryce Sandfort led the way with 32 points, including five three-pointers. Braden Frager came off the bench to score 17. The Huskers led by 20 at one point and won by a comfortable 15-point margin, 82-67. NU plays at UCLA on Tuesday night.

Nebrasketball Meme Army Meme of the Game 

“Exciting White Bronco” - @Stibbs