At 11-0 and Nationally Ranked, Nebraska Faces its Quietest Test of the Season

The Nebraska men's basketball team is still riding high from its upset of No. 13 Illinois, but now it has to find a way to keep the momentum through practices instead of games.

The Huskers are 11-0 and have shot up to a No. 15 national ranking, but can they maintain the excitement during a December lull in the schedule? | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

This is a weird part of the season for the Nebraska men’s basketball team.

They’re a perfect 11-0 on the season, ranked No. 15 in the country, and they’re now in the heart of a 16-day stretch where they play just one basketball game. That comes in the form of a home game against North Dakota on Sunday.

This past Saturday, the Huskers' early-season momentum rode them to one of their biggest wins since the early 90s – an 83-80 win over then-No. 13 Illinois. The win pushed them to 11-0, which has never been done in school history.

Dating back to last season, Nebraska has now won 15-straight games, breaking the previous school record of 14, which was set in both 1990-91 and 1912-13. If we’re dusting up school records from 1912, you know it’s already been a year.

Nebraska hasn't lost a game since falling to Iowa to end their regular season in the 2024-25 season, which eventually culminated in winning the inaugural College Basketball Crown Tournament. | College Basketball Crown/Intersport

It’s what also makes this rather empty stretch of the season all the more important. It certainly helps that the team they’re playing is North Dakota, who nearly upset NU just two years ago in this same exact spot, and I mean same exact spot.

During the 2023-24 season, the Huskers shot out to a respectable 9-2 record and were fresh off a 62-46 win over Kansas State on December 17 of that season. Over the next 12 days, all that was in Nebraska’s way was North Dakota, which didn’t seem like much of a lift for NU.

That was until the Fighting Hawks flew into Lincoln and stormed out to a 42-32 halftime lead and even opened it up to 46-32 early in the second half before Nebraska snapped out of it and came back for the win. The Huskers improved to 10-2 and ended up making a trip to the NCAA Tournament that season. Now, two years later, this team certainly hasn’t forgotten about it.

North Dakota gave Nebraska all it could handle just two years ago in a game the Huskers would escape with a mere 8-point win. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“When you’re playing a team like North Dakota, they may not on paper look like a tough opponent, but two years ago we were down 14 points in the second half and almost threw that one away,” Nebraska senior guard Sam Hoiberg said during his weekly press conference. “I know we are going to be ready for them, and we’re not looking forward to Christmas.”

Two years ago, North Dakota represented NU’s final game before the holiday break, and it’s the same role the Fighting Hawks will be playing this season, but Husker coach Fred Hoiberg won’t let his team start dreaming about the Christmas cookies quite yet.

“Believe me, we’re talking a lot about that going into this one that the getaway game is always a dangerous one,” Hoiberg said during his weekly press conference. “I dealt with it in the NBA with the All-Star break. It’s human nature. You look forward to having a few days off and getting an opportunity to spend time with your family, but you have to stay focused and go out and take care of business before your semi-vacation starts.”

Nebraska's off to its best start in school history and has also strung together its most consecutive wins ever, but is it enough? | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

It's hard to imagine any Christmas gift could beat what Nebraska’s currently experiencing this season. At this point, they’re only adding to new school records for consecutive wins and wins to start a season, but you wouldn’t know it from their demeanor.

For a team that hasn’t “been there before,” they’re sure acting like it, and both coaches and players say that’s a credit to the overall team maturity.

“We’ve got age, we’ve got experience,” Fred Hoiberg said. “You’ve got guys that have been in the NCAA Tournament. That’s where we want to get back, and we want to continue on this path and accomplish something that’s never been done in this program before. We’ve done it already with the streak, and we’ve got a long ways to go.”

Nebraska senior guard Sam Hoiberg has credited the team's maturity as a driving force behind its 11-0 record. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

“I think we’ve done a good job of it,” Sam Hoiberg added when asked about the team turning the page from the Illinois win. “We have a really mature group. We’ve had a lot of experience, and you can’t look ahead in this league, in this game at all.”

Unlike two years ago, Nebraska is playing under its brightest spotlight in more than a decade – an undefeated record and No. 15 national ranking will do that to you. The Huskers are also being projected as high as a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN expert Joe Lunardi. In his most recent column, he said it might not be if Nebraska wins its first tournament game in school history. He suggests a better question might be how many wins they’ll have this year.

However, any common fan of NU will know that it is putting the cart very far ahead of the horse for the only Power-Four conference team to have never won an NCAA Tournament game. Nonetheless, the national spotlight is there, and it’s something the team will need to contend with as they look to stay hot.

Nebraska remains winless in the NCAA Tournament. Their last appearance resulted in a loss to Texas A&M during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

“I’m trying to make sure they’re not looking at it, but they’re human, and those phones are right here,” Fred Hoiberg said. “I think they’re doing a pretty good job because all I can tell is how they prepare and how they practice. I don’t think it affects them once they get in between those lines, and that’s what it’s all about. I’m glad they’re getting some recognition – certainly don’t want to discount what they’ve accomplished to this point, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

The next step in that maturation process is that showdown with North Dakota on Sunday. The game will also mark Nebraska’s second-to-last regular-season non-conference game of the year. If this past weekend’s Illinois game is any indicator, the Big Ten portion of the schedule will be a heck of a grind.

An undefeated start to the season and a flashy national ranking are fine and dandy, but this team is looking for a lot more than headlines over the holiday season.

“We signed up for a marathon, and we just finished a 10K,” Fred Hoiberg said. “If we’re satisfied now, we’ve got no chance. We’re going to keep grinding them, keep going out there looking for ways to improve because we’re going to have to if we want to continue on this path. We’re going to have to become a better team all across the board.”

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