2014 NCAA Tournament: Nebraska Basketball Wants Creighton Bluejays, Not Baylor

Let’s be honest for a moment. The NCAA Selection Committee loves a good storyline. We all know that. What better way to reward the Nebraska Cornhuskers with their first win in program history than to give them a second chance at defeating the Creighton Bluejays (assuming they take care of business against the Louisiana Rajin’ Cajuns)?

Tack on another win for the Big Red and the Huskers won’t only have beaten the Bluejays. They’d be in the Sweet 16 having knocked Doug McDermott out of the tournament in the process.

Regarding taking care of business, the Huskers do have to escort the Baylor Bears from the ball to even get that opportunity. I understand Big Red fans who say “take it one game at a time,” but that’s for Tim Miles to instill in his team. During the post-announcement press conference, the obvious question about such a matchup was tossed in Terran Petteway‘s direction.

Petteway asked about potential Creighton game. Miles leaned over and whispered in his ear: “Don’t answer that.” And he didn’t really.

— Brian Rosenthal (@HuskerExtraBR) March 16, 2014

My respect for Miles as a coach runs deep. The guy made $150,000 once it was announced that his team was in the Big Dance. He’s got a plan for dealing with the Bears. No fan (or writer) needs one.

Speaking of handling Baylor, former Nebraska head coach Doc Sadler is an assistant coach for the Iowa State Cyclones. You know, the Cyclones that defeated Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament title game last Sunday. Think Miles might make a phone call to the Ames, IA area code?

The 2013-14 season has been oh so good for the Nebraska-Creighton rivalry, and it is just that. A dormant one due to the Cornhuskers’ lack of success in recent years, but the smack talk is palpable now. Bluejay fans taunted Big Red backers for cheering on a “bubble team”. Nebraska fans fired back pointing out the Big Ten‘s struggles in The Vault, looking forward to what Creighton can (or can’t) do there next year.

Taking the smack to a new level, this was flat out gorgeous:

@HuskerExtraBC if it’s cold the Creighton fans will be wearing husker red tho. Ya know, their fall gear…

— TB (@TBinOmaha) March 16, 2014

A reference to the Cornhusker State’s well known term “Jaysker”. A Nebraska football fan and a Creighton basketball fan. Bravo, TB, bravo. I don’t envy Miles or his Creighton counterpart, Greg McDermott. They’ll be doing everything they can to keep their teams’ minds where they should be. The players, on the other hand, will be lying if they say there’s no thought of the potential clash.

If you thought Selection Sunday was wild for the Cornhuskers, you’ll have seen nothing should they grab their first win and get to face the ‘Jays yet again.

Brandon Cavanaugh is a Big 10 writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @eightlaces, like his Facebook page and add him to your Google+ network.