Busting Brackets
Fansided

Nebraska Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Cornhuskers

By Bryan Mauro

BLOOMINGTON, IN - DECEMBER 28: Ed Morrow #30 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers attempts a free throw in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on December 28, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - DECEMBER 28: Ed Morrow #30 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers attempts a free throw in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on December 28, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
BLOOMINGTON, IN – DECEMBER 28: Head coach Tim Miles of the Nebraska Cornhuskers watches the game from the sideline in the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on December 28, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – DECEMBER 28: Head coach Tim Miles of the Nebraska Cornhuskers watches the game from the sideline in the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on December 28, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Schedule, Overview and Projection

The Huskers went 22-11 last season and finished 13-5 in the Big Ten, which was good enough for 4th place overall. How then did Nebraska not make the NCAA tournament?  It all came down to their schedule and who they beat, as well as who the team lost to. Nebraska did have some tournament opponents on their schedule, but the one problem was they beat only one of them. That being a 20-point win in Lincoln over National runner-up Michigan. The Huskers did take Kansas to the wire last year only to be defeated by a last second three-point basket.

The schedule appears to be different and much more challenging for Coach Miles group. The Huskers have non-conference home games against many NCAA tournament qualifiers. Those games are against Cal State Fullerton, Creighton and Seton Hall. All of these are winnable games for the Huskers that will go a long way to further solidifying their NCAA tournament seeding. If the Huskers do not win these games, it may be tough for the committee to put them into the tournament again.

The Huskers also have their share of neutral site games against quality opponents as well as one quality road game in the non-conference. Those games are Missouri State and either Texas Tech or USC in the Hall of Fame Classic. Oklahoma State in Sioux Falls, SD and the road game is in the Big Ten/ ACC challenge at Clemson. These road and neutral site games are ripe with opportunity for Nebraska to pick up quality wins away from Lincoln. These games and not the home games will be the key factor in how the committee will view Nebraska resume.

The Big Ten has gone to a 20 game conference schedule. The 20 game conference schedule has many more double plays than in the years past. The Huskers drew the following teams for their double plays. Penn State, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Purdue and Michigan State. They will play a single game against the rest of the conference. The Huskers have a nice mix of top teams and middle tier teams in the Big Ten with their double plays. It appears they are going to be playing a lot of bubble teams as well.

Next. Preseason Big Ten Rankings for 2018-19. dark

The Huskers return a team that is projected to finish near the top of the Big Ten. They have some question marks and a more challenging schedule. Nebraska has the talent to win 20 or more games for the second year in a row. Nebraska should make the NCAA tournament and probably end up somewhere on the 8 to 11 seed line. They are going to be a team that no one wants to see on the seed line across from them. The Huskers will have a great chance to get the monkey off their back and win the first tournament game in school history.

Home/Nebraska Cornhuskers