Big Ten Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

Nebraska basketball had a not-so-memorable 2020-21 campaign, especially in the Big Ten basketball action, finishing 3-16 and 14th in the final standings. They finished the year with a 7-20 record and fans were left once again scratching their heads.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg and the Cornhuskers will look to turn things around with the addition of eight new faces, including three instant-impact potential players out of the transfer portal.

The Cornhuskers will return three starters (Trey McGowens, Derrick Walker & Lat Mayen) from a season ago, but they’ll have plenty to work with behind them especially with Keon Edwards (DePaul), Alonzo Verge Jr. (Arizona State), and C.J. Wilcher (Xavier) joining the lineup.

They’ll need to put it together in a hurry though to improve on last year’s production. Nebraska basketball finished 10th in the Big Ten basketball rankings in 3-point field goal percentage (33.3 percent), 12th in field goal percentage (48.2 percent), ninth in scoring offense (70.0 ppg) and last in scoring defense (74.2 ppg).

McGowens, Walker, and Mayen are the tip of the iceberg in the Nebraska basketball equation. It’s hard to forecast a higher ranking, for now, but with Bryce McGowens roaming the floor and eager to crack into the rotation, this team could surprise some people in 2021-22.