Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Michigan State, Wisconsin takes big jumps
By Joey Loose
14. Nebraska (5-6, 0-2)
In his third season as head coach, Fred Hoiberg still isn’t making any waves with the Cornhuskers. The program has been one of the worst in the conference since joining the Big Ten nearly a decade ago, and that certainly doesn’t show any signs of changing this season. The Cornhuskers dropped their opening game at home to Western Illinois, an omen of things to come in another dreary season.
Even when they ran their record up to 5-2, you knew that things were going to go south once the level of opponent was raised again. Among the teams that Nebraska has handled this season, the highlights are South Dakota and Sam Houston State.
They have been unable to win any games away from home or against solid competition, including losses in each of their last four games. They’re getting 16 points per game from Bryce McGowens and Alonzo Verge Jr., but it’s been the defense that has doomed them recently. If you take a closer look at these last four games, you can see just how bad things have gotten for Nebraska.
First, they came real close but fell at NC State in four overtimes nearly two weeks ago. Then they not only lost their first two Big Ten games but lost in abysmal fashion. They could only manage 55 points against Indiana before the team collapsed, losing 102-67 at home to Michigan. Throw in a 31-point blowout to a good Auburn team this past weekend and you can understand the cause for concern.
Looking ahead, there’s no real reason to expect Nebraska to turn things around in the near future. They’ve got a couple home games before Big Ten play gets started for real, but it certainly would be a surprise to see the Cornhuskers get to double-digit wins on the season.