Despite Three Losses, Huskers Remain In Top Ten

Four Big Ten teams ranked this week in the AP Top Ten. NU falls from #7 to No. 9 after losing to Purdue 80-77 and beating Northwestern 68-49.

The other Big Ten teams in this week's Top Ten rankings are #1 Michigan (24-1), #7 Purdue (21-4) and #10 Illinois (21-5).

So does Nebraska have a chance to win this year's Big Ten regular season conference championship?

Let's look at the remaining regular season schedules of those four contending teams.

#1 Michigan (14-1 conference record)
The Woverines have the toughest schedule of the four teams. But the big advantage for them is they have only one league loss. That's going to be really tough to overcome.

Remaining games:
@ #7 Purdue (11-3), @#3 Duke (non-conference), Minnesota (4-10), @ #10 Illinois (12-3), Iowa (8-6) and #15 Michigan State (10-4).
Note: Michigan's only loss of the season was to Wisconsin (91-88)

#7 Purdue (11-3)
The Boilermakers may have the second most difficult schedule of the four teams.

Remaining games:
#1 Michigan (14-1), Indiana (8-7), #15 Michigan State (10-4), @Ohio State (8-6), @Northwestern (2-13) and Wisconsin (10-4)

#10 Illinois (12-3)
Has at least one big game remaining:
@ USC (7-7), @UCLA (9-5), #1 Michigan (14-1), Oregon (2-12) and @Maryland (3-11)

Nebraska (11-3)
The most difficult part of Nebraska's schedule might be in their rearview mirror. It's possible NU could go 6-0 the rest of the way.
Remaining games:
@Iowa (8-6), @Penn State (2-13), Maryland (3-11), @USC (7-7), @UCLA (9-5) and Iowa (8-6).

For Nebraska to tie for the crown, it needs the Wolverines to lose two conference games. If NU wins out and MU drops two, the two teams would finish the reguar season with identical 17-3 records. In Nebraska's favor, Michigan has at least three potential losses: Purdue, Illinois and Michigan State.

But what about the Big Ten's tie-breaking rule? If NU and MU tie, wouldn't Michigan win the crown because it beat Nebraska earlier in the season?

No. The Big Ten rule says If two or more teams tie at the end of the regular season, they would be treated as co-champions.

So what does Nebraska need to do to win the championship? Michigan is going to have to lose three conference games. (Not likely.) But if the Wolverines stumble and the Huskers win out, Nebraska would win the crown 17-3 to Michigan's 16-4 record.

Why not think big?

Is it possible for NU to win the crown? Absolutely.

Hey, stranger things than that have happened. With a championship on the line, Husker fans are going to have ample reason to follow both Nebraska and Michigan for the rest of the regular season.

Going For Two

Last week I congratulated Rhonda Revelle and the Husker softball team for downing the then #1 Texas Longhorns (8-5) in the UTSA Invitational that was held in San Antonio, Texas.

So what did her team do over this past weekend? They beat another #1 ranked team in the Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-2) in Clearwater, FL. I believe this is the first time the Husker softball team has defeated two #1 ranked teams in the same month. Congratulations to coach Revelle and her great team.

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