The Nebraska basketball team is 10-0 on the season. It continues to have the longest active winning streak in the sport, dating back to its Crown Championship. Perhaps more important than that, the Huskers are 1-0 in the Big Ten and showed that their hot start to the season wasn't a fluke with a 90-60 win over Wisconsin.
Some might have thought that NU would be flat on Wednesday night after a big, emotional win over Creighton that allowed them to jump into the AP Top 25 at No. 23 in the country. Instead, they made a statement and got their first win over a Top 50 team with the Badgers.
Nebraska basketball's defense came on after a slow start
Early in the game, it looked like it was going to be a long night down low. Wisconsin looked like it was going to make things painful in the paint as they scored easy buckets to open the game.
However, as the game really started to roll, Nebraska was red hot on both ends of the court. They hit their shots for sure, but a lot of the momentum came from a very active defense that held Wisconsin to just 34% from the field and 22% from beyond the arc. Wisconsin came into tonight as the best three-point shooting team in the Big Ten.
Berke, Berke, Berke
Berke Buyuktuncel isn't always a star for Nebraska, but he was on Wednesday night. Against Wisconsin, he scored 14 points and hauled down 5 rebounds. He was also 2-for-2 from 3-point land.
Where Berke really stood out was as an emotional leader. There were several times when the big man turned to the Nebraska crowd and attempted to pump them up. At one point, he did it with blood pouring out of his mouth.
When the PBA threatened to get quiet, Berke was able to get things rolling again.
Rienk Mast is the difference this season for Nebraska basketball
While the Huskers were thought to be a team that could contend for an NCAA tournament berth, they ended up finishing so poorly that they even missed the Big Ten Tournament.
It's clear now that Rienk Mast not being there is why they flailed down the stretch. Mast is leading the team in scoring, coming into tonight at 18.1 points per game.
On Wednesday night, he scored 17 points, but also hauled down 10 rebounds. More than that, he's someone that Nebraska can look to when they need someone to get them going. That he's someone they can also look to in the lane is a huge bonus.