Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Iowa, Wisconsin joining top-tier

By Austin Walther

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 09: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with Charles Matthews as he leaves the game while playing the Wisconsin Badgers at Crisler Arena on February 09, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 61-52. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 09: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with Charles Matthews as he leaves the game while playing the Wisconsin Badgers at Crisler Arena on February 09, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 61-52. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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LINCOLN, NE – FEBRUARY 6: Head coach Tim Miles of the Nebraska Cornhuskers talks with Isaiah Roby #15 during a break in the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Pinnacle Bank Arena on February 6, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE – FEBRUARY 6: Head coach Tim Miles of the Nebraska Cornhuskers talks with Isaiah Roby #15 during a break in the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Pinnacle Bank Arena on February 6, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /

12. Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-11)

Previous rank: 9

What could have been for Nebraska this season. It goes all the way back to the bad luck from non-conference opponents. They beat Seton Hall, Creighton and Oklahoma State. The two Big East teams are hanging onto the bubble and the Cowboys aren’t having a good season.

The loss to Texas Tech has been forgiven and you could say the same to Minnesota on the road. The Cornhuskers responded to a two-game winning streak when Big Ten season resumed, but hasn’t won a game in almost a month.

After they won at Assembly Hall, Nebraska returned home to host sixth-ranked Michigan State. They thought it was a perfect opportunity to pick up a signature win which would secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Instead they lost and things began to unravel. The defeats to Illinois and Rutgers could be chalked up to, life on the road in conference play, but Nebraska couldn’t buy a win. Just when you thought Nebraska had some depth, the Cornhuskers started losing production outside of their top-three. And to make matters worse, one of the top-three guys is out for the year.

Isaac Copeland was already a fifth-year senior and when he went down against Ohio State, he announced on Twitter that his collegiate career was done. With a key guy like Copeland going down really puts a wrench in things when Nebraska was struggling to find scorers. But the issues started before he went down.

Isaiah Roby failed to score in double-figures four out of seven times during the losing streak. In the three games where he did go off, Nebraska was already down a man so the rotation wasn’t there. James Palmer is a great scorer and Glynn Watson is a good point guard, but after those two and Roby, there’s not much more production to be had. Despite the seven-game winning streak, Nebraska still stacks up as a top-50 team and is right around the cut line.

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