NCAA basketball: Bubble implications of the past weekend’s games

Nebraska

It wasn’t just a win over Penn State that made this weekend a really strong one for Nebraska. It’s the fact that now, with the regular season complete, the Huskers have clinched a double bye and the fourth seed in the Big Ten tournament. What does that mean? For one thing, it means that they won’t have to play until Friday. But more importantly, it eliminates the chance of Nebraska suffering a major upset in the early rounds of the tournament, and it gives them the opportunity to win the conference tournament with just three wins.

But going back to their win this weekend, that’s nothing to sneeze at either. Penn State has had its ups and downs this season, but have been competitive lately, on the road at Purdue last Sunday especially. They’ve also beaten Ohio State twice. And if there was any chance Nebraska would struggle with the Nittany Lions, they put that to rest early, outscoring Penn State 34-17 in the first half.

It seems ridiculous to even consider leaving the fourth best team in the strong Big Ten tournament out of the big dance, but they still sit in Lunardi’s “First Four out”. Nebraska’s resume does lack the type of win that stands out as a sure-fire tournament clinching win, but they are 22-9 overall and have played consistently throughout the conference season. Only the Big Ten tournament will determine the fate of the Huskers, but they certainly put themselves in a much more favorable position this weekend.