Big Ten Basketball: Each team’s worst performance of the last decade
By Joey Loose
Nebraska
March 5, 2017 (Michigan 93, at Nebraska 57) (GS: 9)
The only power conference program without an NCAA Tournament victory, Nebraska doesn’t exactly have an illustrious history. After a significant time in the Big 12, the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten earlier this decade, and they’ve yet to truly compete. This past season was a definite step in the right direction, and they were close to a Tournament appearance, but it was also a down year for several Big Ten teams (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Wisconsin were all down).
Tim Miles had what was likely his roughest season in Lincoln back in 2017, a season that ended 12-19 with just six Big Ten wins. There were definitely positives moments like road wins at Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio State, plus a home win against Purdue, but there was also the bad. They lost to sub-par teams like Gardner-Webb and Rutgers, but none of those games compared to their effort in the final home game of the season against Michigan.
Nebraska suffered their worst home loss in their history, falling out of the game very early. By the first media timeout, it was already 14-4. Michigan shot extremely well (63% from the field and 52% from 3), while Nebraska struggled with 3-pointers, making just 2-15. Derrick Walton Jr. led the way with 18 points for Michigan, who never had any issues in this game.
This team has had some alarming losses and isn’t close to becoming a consistent power anytime soon. Regardless of all that, you never know what the future could hold for the Cornhuskers. They did finish 13-5 in Big Ten play this last season and could contend again next year, so it’s not all bad for Nebraska. We’ll have to see what happens.