Nebraska Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Cornhuskers
By Bryan Mauro
Everyone has heard the stories of the Nebraska Basketball program and how they have never won an NCAA tournament game. The Huskers are the only power five team to never win an NCAA tournament game. That is something that Nebraska’s rivals will be the first thing to tell you and the faithful fans in Lincoln wish that little tidbit about the program was back page news. That is why the Nebraska athletic department keeps trying to find the right combination of coaches to get them to the NCAA tournament and win some games.
Fred Hoiberg was hired as the guy to do exactly that. His job was to rebuild the Nebraska program into a true perennial contender in the Big Ten and finally win a game in the NCAA tournament. The first three seasons under coach Hoiberg were a disaster there is no other way to put it. The Huskers struggled to keep games close every night and even with a lot of talent like he had two seasons ago every player was out for themselves and there was zero leadership.
That caused Coach Hoiberg to change his philosophies about recruiting and he started to switch to guys who are known for leadership and defense and then sandwiched those guys around talented shooters. Hoiberg also made a lot of changes with his coaching staff to get guys who are more aligned with coach Hoiberg and what he wants to do.
Last season Coach Hoiberg and the staff seemed to find something. Nebraska only finished 16-16 but it was the 6 wins in the last 8 games that put the Huskers firmly on the NIT bubble and started to tell the fans in Lincoln that maybe Nebraska and coach Hoiberg have turned a corner. Heading into the 2023-2024 season there are expectations for the Huskers.
This is by far the most complete roster that coach Hoiberg has ever assembled, and they come in with their highest analytical ranking at Kenpom in quite some time. Nebraska and their fans desperately need a good season with a positive outlook. Why is there such a positive view of the Huskers this year? Lets dive deeper into the starters, key reserves, and their overall outlook for 2023-2024.