It’s already been a bit of a dream season for the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball season. The Huskers have one game left and should they win it, they’d have at least 22 wins for just the second time since the 1990-91 campaign.
But there’s much more at stake than racking up wins this year. There’s the NCAA Tournament (even if they seem a shoo-in at this point) and the Big Ten tournament seed to think about.
Thanks to Wisconsin’s loss last Saturday and Northwestern’s loss to Michigan State on Wednesday night, the Nebraska Cornhuskers currently find themselves in third place. Those losses also mean that Hoiberg’s Heroes control their own destiny, to a degree.
Win on Saturday against a Michigan team that currently sits at 8-22, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are at worst, the 4th seed in the Big Ten Tournament. That does indeed get them a double bye. A win paired with a Wisconsin loss in either of their last two games, and they’re the 3-seed.
Wisconsin’s season finale is against Purdue. Normally you’d think maybe the Boilermakers would take it easy on the Badgers since they’ve clinched the Big Ten regular season title. But they’ll be playing for the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The way Wisconsin has been playing, they’re not even guaranteed a win over Rutgers on Thursday.
Nebraska Cornhuskers control their own destiny for a double bye
Northwestern’s chances at a double bye took a real hit on Wednesday night. They cannot beat out the Huskers, as long as NU takes care of business.
They are going to have to hope that they can get a win over Minnesota on Saturday and then pray for a big upset from the Wolverines.
There is of course, no guarantee that the Nebraska Cornhuskers will take care of business on the road. Their lackluster performance against Ohio State last Thursday showed they haven’t excorcised whatever demons plague them away from PBA.
But if someone told you the Huskers needed to get a Big Ten win on the road, you’d almost certainly pick Michigan as the opponent this year.