Nebraska Cornhuskers Basketball: NCAA Tournament Resume

The Nebraska Cornhusker Men’s Basketball team lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini last weekend.

That sentence pretty much sums up where my head is at in regards to the NCAA tournament right now, but there are still a few positives in play for Nebraska. Mainly, they’ve just amassed a massive amount of wins in a Power 5 conference. While these sad profiles have proven that this might not be all that impressive of a feat, no Big Ten team with this many wins has been left out. Will it be enough? Well, that remains to be seen, but let’s look at the numbers for the fun of it.

Team: Nebraska Cornhuskers

Record: 21-9 (12-5)

Games Left: Penn State Nittany Lions (2/25)

Rankings: RPI - 59, KenPom - 55

Good Wins: Uh, Michigan I guess?

Bad Losses: Did I mention we just dropped a game to Illinois?

Look, this is pretty simple. I - along with much of Nebraska - realize that the lack of any Tier 1 teams makes the RPI look terrible. Despite going after some pretty big names, the bottom of the barrel part of the schedule is bringing down SOS which is ridiculous, but the way it is played. Nebraska is a crazy last second three by Kansas away from being firmly on the right side of the bubble to not really having much to grasp at, but get two more wins and I think they’re in.

As of now, they’re tied for the 4 seed with Michigan and hold the tiebreaker. Beat Penn State, get the double bye, and probably face the Wolverines for a chance at another good win and 23 wins. The rest will be gravy. Lose to Penn State and NIT here we come. It’s worth noting that Tim Miles lost almost all of his production last year and has taken this team for a ride. I’d love to see them make the tournament and think they can win a game finally, but I’m happy for the progress. Should be fun to watch.