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The Nebraska Cornhuskers have looked more like a team hungry to reach the NCAA men’s basketball tournament than the second-worst team in the Big Ten lately.
Nebraska comes into the Big Ten tournament on a three-game winning streak that started after Fred Hoiberg’s return as head coach was confirmed for next season.
The Cornhuskers pulled off road victories over the Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin Badgers to close out the regular season. And that winning run should make Nebraska the most popular double-digit seed to bet on across the power-conference tournaments.
Nebraska opens its postseason campaign in Indianapolis against the Northwestern Wildcats, who have two wins in their past seven games.
Northwestern has two victories over Nebraska this season, but they both occurred before the latter’s hot run started.
Wednesday’s first-round nightcap features Penn State and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The 14th-seeded Gophers have one win since February 15 and look to be headed for an early exit.
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No. 13 Nebraska vs. No. 12 Northwestern (-4.5) (Over/Under: 144) (6 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)
No. 14 Minnesota vs. No. 11 Penn State (-3.5) (O/U: 125.5) (8:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Northwestern and Nebraska finished three games apart in the Big Ten regular-season standings, but the team with the worse record comes into Indianapolis in better form.
Nebraska’s surprising three-game winning streak puts it in position to earn one win at the Big Ten tournament.
The Cornhuskers’ heater has been a fun storyline in the Big Ten, but that likely will not spark a deep run in Indianapolis. After all, there are many reasons why Nebraska went 4-16 in Big Ten play.
Fred Hoiberg’s team could do enough to remain competitive against Northwestern, and potentially win outright, on Wednesday.
Nebraska reached the 74-point mark in each of its past three wins. That is a significant step up from the 65 and 63 points earned in its two meetings with Northwestern.
Northwestern needs its defense to be on point to win games. The Wildcats earned six of their seven Big Ten victories by holding opponents to 65 or fewer points. The Wildcats conceded at least 70 points in 11 of their 13 league defeats.
Nebraska’s offense played well even before the winning run. The Huskers eclipsed the 70-point mark in seven of their past eight contests, with the lone exception coming against Northwestern.
The Huskers shot 41.4 percent from the field and made 10 of their 12 foul shots in their most recent meeting with Northwestern. If they can improve their three-point shooting, they could play a tighter game against the Wildcats.
Alonzo Verge Jr. could be Nebraska’s key to beating Northwestern. He scored 26 points in the recent win over Wisconsin and has six straight double-digit performances.
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The outlook is more bleak for the lower-seeded team in Wednesday’s nightcap.
Minnesota produced just 46 points in its meeting with Penn State on February 17.
In total, the Golden Gophers were held under 60 points on four occasions in Big Ten play, and they suffered 11 double-digit defeats.
Minnesota was unable to contain Penn State’s best players in the teams’ two regular-season meetings. Jalen Pickett earned 20 points February 17, and Sam Sessoms produced 18 points off the bench February 12.
The Gophers had a single player record more than eight points in the second meeting, and a similar fate may await them against the Nittany Lions defense Wednesday.
Penn State ranks 21st in two-point defense, per KenPom.com, and inside the top 100 in defensive adjusted efficiency and effective field-goal percentage. The Nittany Lions also have more offensive depth, with four players averaging more than 10 points per game.
Minnesota has a nice one-two punch in Jamison Battle and Payton Willis, but it does not have many more reliable options if one or both get shut down. That was apparent in the February 17 loss to Penn State, as Willis managed just five points.
Penn State should use its scoring depth and defense to power past Minnesota and set up a second-round clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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