Nebraska basketball might be on its last legs when it comes to having a successful season. And that’s after a start that looked it was a shoo-in for a return to the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, any great start can be wiped out by four straight conference losses. Especially if one of those losses is at home, where the Huskers are supposed to be godlike.
That’s why Wednesday night’s game for the Nebraska basketbal team is about as important as they come in January. The Cornhuskers face off against the USC Trojans and the game against one of the newest Big Ten squads is a must win, in part because it’s once again at home.
Nebraska basketball’s last chance to dance
No, the Huskers aren’t punching their ticket to the big dance if the beat USC. The Trojans aren’t good enough for that. But a loss, in Pinnacle Bank, to a very not good Southern Calfiornia team would do some serious damage.
Nebraska is currently sitting at No. 51 on NET ratings. That’s after being a season high No. 33 not that long ago.
It’s also worth pointing out that USC might not be as bad as their record shows so far. Their losses are to Wisconsin, Indiana, Oregon and Michigan. They also have wins over then No. 13 Illinois, and a 10–point victory over the same Iowa team the Nebraska basketball team couldn’t beat.
On the other hand, the Trojans are No. 78 on the NET. That means that for now, this is a Quad 3 game for NU.
In order to win, the Huskers have two guys they’ll need to find a way to shut down. Desmond Claude is leading his squad with 16.1 points per game. The other one is Saint Thomas, who just happens to hail from Omaha. It’s a safe bet he’ll have a fire under him. And he didn’t really need extra reasons to play well.
While the forward is averaging 11 points per game, he’s also leading USC in rebounds (6.1), assists (4.1) and steals (1.4) on the year.
While the USC Trojans aren’t a pushover, the Nebraska basketball team will need to find a way to beat them regardless. A win, and NU has gotten off the snide. A loss on Wednesday night and the Huskers will have lost five in a row with three straight games against Top 25 teams on the horizon.