12. Nebraska (14-0)
We’ve certainly past the point where we can ignore the Cornhuskers because this squad has shown us that they’re for real this season. Never before in this program’s history have they won a single game during the NCAA Tournament, but this edition of Nebraska basketball might be rewriting record books with the way this season has going. We were already impressed with big wins over Creighton and Wisconsin and that shocker at Illinois.
The opening salvo wasn’t incredible, but Nebraska used a strong second half to pull away for an 86-55 win over New Hampshire on Tuesday. Pryce Sandfort had 19 points while Braden Frager added 15 points off the bench in their final nonconference game. We became more impressed with the Cornhuskers on Friday as they held on late for a 58-56 win over ranked Michigan State. Rienk Mast stood out with 19 points and 7 rebounds as this team made a big impression against the Spartans.
The unbeaten streak continues and the Cornhuskers look like a real threat in the Big Ten. They’ve already dispatched of a pair of ranked teams in their conference and themselves are rapidly rising up metrics and these rankings. Fred Hoiberg has done perhaps the best coaching job of his entire career. The going gets tougher next week with road tests at Ohio State and Indiana.