Nebraska Cornhuskers Bubble Watch: Double bye and the dance get closer
The Nebraska Cornhuskers keep inching towards being a "lock" to get into the tournament every day. It certainly seems like being one of the top four seeds in the Big Ten tournament would make it near impossible for the committee to leave them out.
The win over Minnesota on Sunday means that the Huskers took a big step towards finising 3rd or 4th in the Big Ten. While it didn't do as much for their NCAA Tournament chances, no one wants to see a school on the bubble look shaky against an overmatched opponent.
The Nebraska basketball team's resume at the moment is this:
As of Tuesday morning, they are ranked 41st on the NET. But their also all the way up to 34th on KenPom. CBS Sports' latest Bracketology has the Huskers safely in. Things are looking up.
Jerry Palm now believes that the Huskers are a 10 seed and will face off against 7th seeded BYU. That certainly seems like a favorable draw for Fred Hoiberg's team. And best of all, it means they aren't last four in, or last four byes.
When looking at ESPN, the latest Bracketology hasn't updated since Feb 23, so it doesn't take what's happened over the weekend into account, but the Huskers are on solid footing there. In fact, they're considered a 10-seed by that organization too and rated as "should be in" alongside Northwestern, Michigan State and Northwestern.
#Huskers rated as "should be in" and a 10-seed by ESPN pic.twitter.com/6QvGro5gEh
— Oliver VanDervoort (@itmeolliev) February 27, 2024
Nebraska Cornhuskers get closer to tournament lock
As far as getting the double bye, things could actually take a big step in that direction on Tuesday night. The Wisconsin Badgers, who are not playing their best basketball of late, will take on Indiana.
The Badgers should absolutely win that game. However, if they don't, then the Nebraska Cornhuskers will hold a half game lead when it comes to being in the top 4. Wednesday night is equally as big, as Northwestern travels to Maryland.
This game too, should be won by the Wildcats, but if the Terps pull off the upset, the Huskers will be sitting pretty ahead of their Thursday night game at Ohio State. Take care of business there, and things get into a "near lock" situation.