Nebraska Basketball: How Cornhuskers can ensure NCAA Tournament bid

2. Win Conference Road Games

Nebraska fans have been tearing the team apart, for not only the coaching but the team’s inability to close games on the road. The Huskers have lost to three pretty good teams who are exceptional at protecting their home court. It should also be mentioned that it is very hard to win conference road games.  It is no secret that the committee does reward teams for winning away from their building. The Huskers do have three wins away from their building and two were against a power conference school.

The wins against Oklahoma State on a neutral court and the win at Clemson are pretty good wins right now for Nebraska. Those wins are both wins that are helping their resume, along with the wins over Creighton and Seton Hall. Those wins aside, the Huskers need to find a way to finish some games on the road in the conference. The Huskers have road games left on their schedule at Indiana, Rutgers, Illinois, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State.  Nebraska has to avoid the losses to the lesser teams in Rutgers, Illinois and Penn State, and to an extent Purdue. Those will all be good wins with the exception of Illinois but losing those games could be killer for their resume overall.

Many are in the camp that even if Nebraska does beat Rutgers, Illinois, and Penn State to go along with their wins against Clemson and the neutral win against Oklahoma State, the Huskers will still need to win a game on the road against a team that is going to be playing in the tournament. The Huskers can start with their game at Indiana to start the week. If the Huskers can win that game, all of the equity they had built up in their non-conference portion of the schedule will be reinstated. That win will also put the Huskers back to .500 in the conference as their schedule starts to lighten up a bit. The road wins are going to be a crucial piece to the resume for any team.