Despite some recent struggles, the Nebraska basketball team is still expected to be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. That's the first piece of good news for the Huskers. The second is that with a Purdue loss on Saturday, NU has already clinched a "triple bye" in the Big Ten Tournament. Judging by the roadmap to success in the Big Dance, it won't take much for Fred Hoiberg's squad to at least "qualify" for a chance at a national title.
In sports, history tends to repeat itself, and when it comes to who wins the national title, history has oddly repeated itself over the last 40 years. The history that the Huskers hope repeats itself? Since 1985, every team (that played in a conference tournament) that has won the title has first reached at least the semifinals of their conference tourney.
Should the trends continue, it won't take much for Nebraska to at least check that box off on its to-do list. With that triple bye locked in, the Huskers' first Big Ten Tournament game is Friday in the quarterfinals. If they win Friday's game, they've made the semifinals. Then who knows how much noise they can make in the NCAA Tournament?
Nebraska basketball clinched a Big Ten triple bye — and history says the road to a title runs right through it.
Correlation obviously does not equal causation. Getting to the semifinals doesn't mean the Huskers are destined to win the national title. But history shows that it's part of the roadmap to a long and successful run in the Big Dance.
To get ready to make some noise in the Big Ten tournament, it would be nice if Nebraska first finished off the regular season with a big win over Iowa. If they can get that, they'll likely cement a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. That would be another step on the road to the biggest win of all.