The Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball team is looking toward a successful season, and along the way, play-by-play man Kent Pavelka will call the action. He's been a mainstay for Nebraska basketball, with over 30 seasons of radio broadcasting in his career. This coming NCAA basketball season he'll reach a major milestone that not many other college basketball radio announcers can lay claim to.

Pavelka heading towards milestone game

On Tuesday (November 6), the Nebraska Cornhuskers' latest basketball season begins. As it does, Kent Pavelka will be calling the action on the radio as part of his 32nd season.

He's also headed towards his 1,000th game called as part of the Huskers' program.

Pavelka has come a long way since originally working at Lincoln's first FM radio station, KMFQ, as a disc jockey, as a college student. He mentioned, that during his sophomore year, a trip to do a closed-circuit broadcast for KRNU helped him make his mind up about becoming a sports broadcaster. The rest was history.

Pavelka graduated in 1971, headed to Fremont, and called football or basketball for local high schools as well as Midland College.

He would go on to get a job with KFAB out of Omaha in 1974. At just the young age of 24, Pavelka was soon calling Huskers football and basketball games.

Pavelka wants another achievement

When Pavelka spoke with his colleague, L. Kent Wolgamott, of the Lincoln Journal Star, they spoke about another possibility. That would be calling an NCAA tournament victory.

Pavelka called it "the last piece of the puzzle" in his career. He previously called a national championship for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. It was his last game called for football too.

Pavelka said it's an emotional investment being linked to the basketball team for so long, so it would certainly make a great career-ending note for him.

Until then, Pavelka and Huskers fans will enjoy the ride as the Nebraska basketball season unfolds. Even though they lost a junior college transfer.

Huskers' season begins Tuesday

While the Nebraska football team has been looking solid over their past several games, and while the team may be changing defensive philosophies, many fans are also ready for basketball season. The team is ranked at No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, ahead of their first official game. That game is just a few days away.

On Tuesday, the Nebraska basketball squad gets their first action on the hardwood. The Huskers will host Mississippi Valley State at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Game time is slated for 7 PM local time (8 PM ET).

The Huskers have several other teams on the schedule that are ranked at the moment. They'll include Michigan State, Clemson, Michigan, and Purdue. Fans listening to the radio coverage will eagerly listen, as Kent Pavelka exclaims "Bangarang" with excitement during this latest campaign.
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