Early 2027 Bracketology: Nebraska Men’s Basketball Program Gets Validation

After a historic 28-7 season, Nebraska men’s basketball appears in a position to run it back.

Program foundations Pryce Sandfort, Cale Jacobsen and Braden Frager are scheduled to return to Lincoln. Coach Fred Hoiberg is coming off a national Coach of the Year honor from the Associated Press. Recruiting looks promising. The transfer portal brought in five players after the Huskers lost four.

CBS Sports has the Huskers ranked 24th in its recent preseason poll. Other way-too-early polls also are giving the Huskers validation.

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi is already on the case for next season’s NCAA Tournament, one of the great spectacles on America’s sports calendar. Next season is more than six months away, so these projections shouldn’t be engraved. Admired, not engraved.

Lunardi recently published his first Bracketology of the 2026-27 season. He promised occasional updates throughout the offseason as he “monitor[s] transfer commitments, NBA draft entries and withdrawals along with other news from the now 32 conferences — welcome back, Pac-12! — that comprises the 2027 NCAA Tournament field.”

And in that field, solidly, according to Lunardi? The Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Nebraska a 5-seed

Lunardi has the Huskers as a 5-seed in his first way-too-early NCAA Tournament projections. More good news for Huskers fans — Lunardi has Nebraska playing at Omaha, site of the first two rounds. Creighton’s CHI Health Center is one of eight locations for the first two rounds of the tournament.

Lunardi projects the Huskers to play 12-seed High Point, with the winner to play the winner of 4-seed Houston and 13-seed UNC Wilmington.

Bracketology can be fun to monitor — even in the offseason, as developments warrant — after college basketball made a booming return to Lincoln in 2025-26.

Program strength?

Last season, the Huskers were picked to be in the NCAA Tournament in 25 consecutive Lunardi projections. The Huskers’ seed ranged from 11 and “last four in” on Nov. 18, to a 2-seed five consecutive times (Jan. 16 to Jan. 30) and two more times (Feb. 6 and Feb. 10).

From Dec. 23 on, the Huskers never were higher than a 4-seed. Nebraska, which entered the tournament as a 4-seed, justified that projection by winning its first NCAA Tournament game in history (over Troy, ending an 0-8 NCAA streak) and a second-round win over Vanderbilt in one of the tournament’s best games. The Huskers lost in the Sweet 16 to rival Iowa, a 9-seed.

Hoiberg has stacked three consecutive 20-win seasons. Is that the beginning of an elevated program status where going to the NCAA Tournament is the expectation, not the exception?

The Huskers’ style of play was an attractive watch on television, and in person at an often-frenzied Pinnacle Bank Arena. Potential recruits and portal players could see that, too. Some could envision themselves wearing Husker red.

When the Huskers click, when distance shots drop and Nebraska forces turnovers, Pinnacle Bank Arena looks like a fun place to play — and win.

Coming and going

So far, and subject to change, Nebraska saw action in the transfer portal. Plus, Huskers starters Sam Hoiberg and Rienk Mast, two dynamic and fiery players who helped fuel the Huskers’ success last season, are out of eligibility.

Leaving, or expected to leave, Nebraska are:

* Starting forward Berke Buyuktuncel, who is headed to Vanderbilt
* Redshirt guard Quentin Rhymes
* Reserve forward Justin Hollis
* Forward Ugnius Jarusevicius, who was injured last season and played only one game.

Coming, or expected to come to Lincoln are:

* Forward Sam Orme, from Belmont
* Forward Kadyn Betts, from Montana
* Guard Trevan Leonhardt, from Utah Valley
* Center Boden Kapok, from Boston College
* Guard Taj DeGourville, from San Diego State

College basketball’s elite

Year-to-year, college basketball as a whole runs it back. Brackets looks somewhat similar every season, populated roughly by the same teams, the same exceptional programs that established themselves among the sport’s forces.

That’s the exclusive club Nebraska hopes to join. Nebraska was a few plays, a few missed baskets, from advancing to the Elite Eight, where they would have played Illinois, a team they defeated in Champaign in December.

The biggest tournament change, year-to-year, is in the 32 automatic qualifiers, the bulk of which come from the non-power conferences.

Power conferences dominate at-large invitations. Nine schools from the Big Ten made the tournament this year. SEC schools had 10 teams in the Big Dance. National champion Michigan and Illinois made the Final Four.

Lunardi has Michigan and Michigan State as top seeds in 2027, with Duke and Florida. Sound familiar?

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