A 2-seed? Nebraska Men’s Basketball Moves Up in Latest ESPN Bracketology

Nebraska’s undefeated men’s basketball team continues to shock the college basketball world. The Huskers are projected to be a 2-seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology, which was released Friday morning.

Not bad for a Nebraska team picked to finish 14th in a CBS Sports Big Ten preseason poll. The Huskers were picked to finish ahead of only Northwestern, Minnesota, Rutgers and Penn State.

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Gonzaga, Iowa State and Purdue as the other 2-seeds. Nebraska and Purdue are the only Big Ten teams undefeated in conference play.

Nebraska is 17-0 and ranked eighth in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. The Huskers are one of only three undefeated teams in the nation along with Arizona and Miami, Ohio.

The Huskers’ next game is Saturday at Northwestern (8-9, 0-6) at 3 p.m. CT (Big Ten Network).

Here are Nebraska’s last 11 Bracketology projections and you can see the Huskers’ progression through the season:

* Nov. 18: 11 (Last four in)
* Nov. 25: 10 (Last four byes)
* Dec. 2: 8
* Dec. 9: 7
* Dec. 16: 5
* Dec. 23: 4
* Dec. 30: 4
* Jan. 6: 3
* Jan. 9: 3
* Jan. 13: 3
* Jan. 16: 2

Huskers in the NCAA

For now, Lunardi has the second-seeded Huskers playing 15-seed North Dakota State in a first-round South Region game at Oklahoma City. The Nebraska-North Dakota State winner would play the winner of 7-seed UCF vs. 10-seed Texas A&M, also in Oklahoma City.

Duke is the No. 1 seed in the South, BYU is the 3-seed, and defending national champion Florida is the 4-seed. South Region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Houston.

Lunardi’s other No. 1 seeds are: Arizona (West), Michigan (Midwest) and UConn (East).

Lunardi’s ”Last Four Byes” are Kentucky, Auburn, USC and Texas A&M. “Last Four Bye” teams skip the First Four round.

His “Last Four In” are Indiana, Ohio State, New Mexico and Texas. “Last Four In” teams play in the First Four round.

Indiana's Nick Dorn (7) shoots over Nebraska's Pryce Sandfort on Jan. 10 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lunardi’s “First Four Out” are UCLA, Missouri, TCU and Stanford. UCLA was projected in the tournament in Lunardi’s previous Bracketology, which was released Tuesday.

His “Next Four Out” are Virginia Tech, San Diego State, Creighton and Baylor.

Lunardi has 10 Big Ten teams — tied with the SEC for the most from any conference — in his latest Bracketology projections (with seeding and projected first-round opponents in parentheses):

* Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 Prairie View vs. Maryland Eastern Shore)
*Nebraska (2 vs. 15 North Dakota State)
* Purdue (2 vs. 15 Winthrop)
* Illinois (3 vs. 14 Wright State)
* Michigan State (4 vs. 13 UNC Wilmington)
* Iowa (8 vs. 9 Georgia)
* Wisconsin (9 vs. 8 Saint Louis)
* USC (10 vs. 7 Utah State)
* Indiana (11 vs. 11 New Mexico in First Four; winner vs. 6 Villanova)
* Ohio State (11 vs. 11 Texas in First Four; winner vs. 6 Louisville)

Selection Sunday is March 15. The Final Four is April 4-6 in Indianapolis.

ESPN’s power rankings

Nebraska improved three places to 20 from 23 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Seven weeks ago, Nebraska was 38th.

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses is slightly better than the last rankings: 25.9 wins and 5.1 losses. Last week’s projections were 25.3 wins and 5.7 losses. In the Big Ten, the projection for Nebraska is better at 14.9 wins and 5.1 losses. Last week’s projection was 14.3 wins and 5.7 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship increased to 20.2 percent from 14.6 percent.

Four Big Ten teams are ranked ahead of Nebraska in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Nebraska has defeated two of the teams ranked ahead of it: Illinois and Michigan State. The Huskers visit Michigan on Jan. 27, and play host to Purdue on Feb. 10.

* Michigan: 2
* Purdue: 7
* Illinois: 8
* Michigan State: 18
* Nebraska: 20

Duke (16-1) is the top-ranked team with Michigan (15-1) second, Gonzaga (18-1) third, Arizona (17-0) fourth, and Houston (16-1) fifth.

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