Death, taxes, and volleyball fans

The GIST: Last night’s semifinals saw overall No. 1–seed Nebraska and defending champ No. 2 Texas dig out spots on Sunday’s championship court. Here’s how it went down.

No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers silence the No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers: Turns out, third time’s not the charm for the Panthers, who fell in the NCAA semis for the third straight year. The Huskers’ brick-wall block party and back-court defense quieted Pitt’s typically stellar attack to log their first semifinal sweep since 2005. Must be the juice.

No. 2 Texas Longhorns hook the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers: After splitting the first two sets, it was all bad news for the Badgers — Texas posted an 11-point run in the third set, ultimately outscoring Wisconsin a whopping 50–29 in the final two sets to win 3-1. Plus, the Longhorns’ star outside hitter Madi Skinner’s six aces set the NCAA Final Four single-game record.

Sunday’s ’ship, 3 p.m. ET (ABC): Neither Nebraska nor Texas are strangers to the spotlight — this marks the Huskers’ 11th and Longhorns’ ninth title game appearances. But while Texas owns the all-time head-to-head record, Nebraska scored the last dub, taking down the Longhorns in 2021’s Elite Eight.

• Whether the defending champs or the season’s best record-holders hoist hardware, expect an instant classic.

The GIST: The FBS — the Power Five and Group of Five’s football teams — begin bowling tomorrow (and we’ll be sliding into your inbox with a breakdown on Sunday), but the real stars of this weekend’s gridiron? The FCS, where Division I’s other Final Four will fight tonight and tomorrow for a spot in the NCAA’s January 7th FCS National Championship title game.

No. 5 Albany Great Danes (11-3) vs. No. 1 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (13-0), tonight at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2): To call the defending champ Jackrabbits’ offense dominant would be an understatement. South Dakota State’s trounced their foes by an average of 26 points this season, and they’re heading into tonight on a 27-game (!!!) win streak.

• However, if anyone can catch these Jackrabbits, it’s the Great Danes, whose deep roster is laden with stars like touchdown-magician quarterback (QB) Reese Poffenbarger. Woof.

North Dakota State Bison (11-3) vs. No. 2 Montana Grizzlies (12-1), tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2): The North Dakota State dynasty has won nine of the last 12 trophies, and are a turnover machine. But Montana boasts a shut-down defense of their own and will be out for revenge considering the Bison have ousted them from the playoffs twice.

🤼 Wrestling: 2023 Senior Nationals — Today through Sunday, various times — FloWrestling

• The nation’s elite wrestlers — including some NCAAers — will be vying for a top-five finish to advance to April’s U.S. Olympic Trials. Keep an eye on No. 1 Penn State senior Greg Kerkvliet (125 kg.), who’s the most likely student to rep Team USA in Paris. Oh la la!

🏈 Football: Cricket Celebration Bowl: Howard Bison (6-5) vs. Florida A&M Rattlers (11-1) — Tomorrow at 12 p.m. ET — ABC

• The Rattlers are poised to become the second-ever SWAC team to win this de facto HBCU championship, which the MEAC has dominated since its 2015 inception. That said, don’t count out the MEAC champ Bison, whose defense could shake up those snakes.

🏀 Men’s basketball: No. 1 Arizona Wildcats (8-0) vs. No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers (9-1) — Tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. ET — Peacock

• In a week of major games, this is the marquee matchup. Arizona hasn’t defeated Purdue since 2001, but there’s good news for the near-unanimous No. 1 team: Thanks to No. 25 Northwestern, Wildcats are now the Boilermakers’ Achilles’ heel.

🏀 Women’s basketball: No. 10 Baylor Bears (8-0) vs. No. 24 Miami Hurricanes (8-0) — Tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET — ESPN+

• A Top-25 battle between two unbeaten teams? Yes, please. And the victor won’t just keep their undefeated label — these squads have only met twice before and have one win apiece, so all-time record bragging rights are also on the line. Spicy.

With the NCAA women’s basketball season racing towards conference play, the term “neighbor” will soon refer to the fiercest of regional rivalries. But off the court, State Farm is the best neighbor you could ask for, serving up year-round support of the women’s game.

They can’t protect against a heartbreaking loss to your conference foe, but they are ensuring equal coverage of the women’s game, so you’ll never miss another rivalry matchup. A good neighbor, indeed.