Nebraska Men’s Basketball Continues to Rise in Bracketology

Nebraska’s men’s basketball team continues to make a statement in ESPN’s Bracketology.

Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology has the Huskers as a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament, up from an 8-seed last week. In the last four weeks, the Huskers have gone from an 11-seed (last four in), to a 10-seed (last four byes), an 8-seed, and this week’s 7-seed designation.

Nebraska’s rise is no surprise. The Huskers are 9-0, one of only eight undefeated teams in the nation. Nebraska is coming off an impressive, 71-50 victory over rival Creighton on Sunday afternoon. Nebraska is ranked 23rd in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Nebraska has an entire Big Ten schedule of 20 games to play, and those games ultimately will determine the Huskers’ NCAA viability. But a victory over traditionally strong Creighton, and by a 21-point margin, should weigh in the Huskers’ favor when March rolls around.

The Huskers enjoy the nation’s longest winning streak at 13 games thanks to last season’s College Basketball Crown championship. That streak could be in jeopardy Wednesday night when Wisconsin comes to Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Most years, the Badgers are a strong basketball team. This season, Wisconsin is 7-2. They have routed in-state rival Marquette, 96-76, and opened their Big Ten schedule with an 85-73 home win over Northwestern.

Nebraska will be further tested, in a big way, Saturday with a trip to No. 13 Illinois.

Where Huskers stand in Bracketology

According to this week’s Bracketology, 7-seed Nebraska would play 10-seed North Carolina State at Portland in the Midwest Region. The winner would play the winner of the Gonzaga (2-seed) vs. Colgate (15-seed) game.

Michigan is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Other No. 1 seeds are Duke in the East, Arizona in the West and Iowa State in the South.

Selection Sunday, when the tournament field will be selected, is March 15.

Big Ten in NCAA Tournament

Eleven Big Ten teams are projected to make the tournament by Lunardi (with seeding in parentheses):

Michigan (1)
Purdue (2)
Michigan State (3)
Illinois (4)
USC (6)
Iowa (7)
Nebraska (7)
Indiana (8)
UCLA (8)
Wisconsin (9)
Ohio State (10)

Charting the unbeaten teams

The nation’s undefeated teams, with AP Poll ranking and record:

1. Arizona: 8-0
2. Michigan: 9-0
3. Duke: 10-0
4. Iowa State: 9-0
15. Vanderbilt: 9-0
23. Nebraska: 9-0
(NR) Oklahoma State: 9-0
(NR) Miami (Ohio): 8-0

Oklahoma State and Miami are not ranked but among others receiving votes by AP voters.

With conference play beginning, it won’t be easy for the undefeated teams to remain unblemished.

Power rankings

Nebraska is ranked 38th in ESPN’s Men’s College Basketball Power Index. The Huskers are projected to finish with a 21-10 record, and a 10-10 record in the Big Ten. They are projected to have a 0.4 percent chance of winning the Big Ten.

Four Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 15: Michigan (4), Purdue (10), Illinois (13) and Indiana (15).

Wisconsin, Nebraska’s opponent on Wednesday, is ranked 24th.

Michigan is given the best chance of winning the Big Ten at 69.1 percent, followed by Illinois at 21.9 and Purdue at 16.5.

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