Nebraska Basketball: Schedule gives Huskers shot at NCAA Tournament

It may seem like a big stretch but the Nebraska basketball team still has an outside shot at making the NCAA tournament if it can string together wins.

It might seem ridiculous to say that the Nebraska basketball team still has a chance of making the NCAA tournament. However, despite the Huskers 14-11 record and 4-10 mark in Big Ten play, with six challenging games left, there is still hope, however faint.

And the reason is that Nebraska basketball plays an extremely tough schedule over the final six games and if the Huskers can win six, five or maybe even four of those games, they could have a chance at an at-large berth heading to the Big Ten tournament.

If there is one goal for Nebraska over the next few weeks, it’s to work its way back on the bubble. That’s the first step and then, it needs to make a run and collect some signature victories.

It might sound nuts but after Nebraska came in at No. 39 in the latest NET rankings, a set of rankings which will be used by the committee, it might not be as crazy as it sounds.

Of course, winning six straight against Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa is basically impossible. Yet, if the Huskers won at least four of those games, they might be able to sneak in with 2-3 wins at the Big Ten tournament.

Beating Penn State and Northwestern is essential. The Huskers need to move up as far in the Big Ten standings as possible and those two wins are required. Then, Nebraska basketball needs to take care of business at home against Purdue and Iowa, which will be extremely difficult.

The tougher task might be winning at Michigan State or Michigan, although Tim Miles and Nebraska have won at Michigan State before. If the Huskers somehow did that again and beat Penn State on the road, as well as winning their other three home games, then an NCAA berth wouldn’t be so far-fetched.

Part of what gives Nebraska hope are solid wins over teams like Clemson, Creighton, Seton Hall, Indiana and Minnesota, all teams that have a chance to make the field. Now, the Huskers need to add some marquee wins, something they failed to do last season.

Without Isaac Copeland, beating any of the four ranked teams on the schedule is going to be tough, but as a Nebraska basketball fan, you have to like the fact that there is at least some hope.

At the very least, I’d rather not see the Huskers fall so far they don’t even make the NIT, so even with that in mind, winning two or three games in this stretch will be important, starting with a home game Saturday against Northwestern.