Nebraska Men’s Basketball Among Big Ten Teams Mentioned as National Title Contenders in ESPN’s latest Bracketology

Michigan men’s basketball remained a 2-seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology released Tuesday morning, and author Joe Lunardi mentioned the Huskers among the Big Ten teams that could finally end the conference’s 25-year run without an NCAA Tournament title.

“With four of the top seven teams in this bracket -- along with 10 bids overall -- the league's quarter-century of NCAA tournament disappointment may finally be coming to an end ... We've never had an overload of top seeds like this,” Lunardi wrote. “With Michigan still a 1-seed, followed by Nebraska, Illinois and Michigan State as 2-seeds, the Big Ten is positioned not unlike last year’s SEC at the top of the board. And that’s not counting preseason favorite Purdue, still lingering as a 3-seed.”

Michigan State won the conference’s last national title in 2000.

In CBS Sports’ Bracketology, also dated Tuesday morning, Nebraska is a 1-seed along with Michigan, Arizona and Duke. In a battle of No. 1 seeds Tuesday, Nebraska is at Michigan at 6 p.m. on Peacock, a true benchmark game for the Huskers.

Since Lunardi’s last Bracketology on Friday, Nebraska impressively rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to win at Minnesota, 76-57. After Tuesday night’s game at Michigan, Nebraska plays a home game Sunday against Illinois, a projected 2-seed by Lunardi.

Huskers projected in Big Dance

Illinois, Michigan State and Iowa State are the other 2-seeds in ESPN’s Bracketology. Nebraska (20–0, 9-0), the only Big Ten team undefeated in conference play, already has defeated the Illini and the Spartans this season.

Nebraska is ranked fifth in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, which was released Monday. No Nebraska men’s basketball team has ever been ranked higher. The Huskers are one of only three undefeated teams in the nation along with Arizona and Miami, Ohio.

Here are Nebraska’s last 14 Bracketology projections, where 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
Jan. 20: 2
Jan. 23: 2
Jan. 27: 2

For now, Lunardi has the second-seeded Huskers playing 15-seed University of Texas at Arlington (Western Athletic Conference) in a first-round South Region game at Oklahoma City. The Nebraska-UT Arlington winner would play the winner of 7-seed Auburn vs. 10-seed UCLA, also in Oklahoma City.

UConn is the No. 1 seed in the South, Houston is the 3-seed and BYU 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 Duke (East).

Three Big Ten schools are in Lunardi’s ”Last Four Byes”: Wisconsin, Ohio State, UCLA and Miami. “Last Four Byes” teams skip the First Four round.

His “Last Four In” are USC, New Mexico, Virginia Tech and Texas. “Last Four In” teams play in the First Four round.

Lunardi’s “First Four Out” are Seton Hall, Indiana, Santa Clara and TCU. These teams are ranked 69-72 and missed the cut for the 68-team field.

His “Next Four Out” are Missouri, Stanford, Creighton and California. These teams are ranked 73-76.

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

* Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 Merrimack vs. Vermont)
* Nebraska (2 vs. 15 UT Arlington)
* Michigan State (2 vs. 15 Lipscomb)
* Illinois (2 vs. 15 Navy)
* Purdue (3 vs. 14 East Tennessee State)
* Iowa (8 vs. 9 UCF)
* Wisconsin (10 vs. 7 Kentucky)
* Ohio State (10 vs. 7 Villanova)
* UCLA (10 vs. 7 Auburn)
* USC (11 vs. 11 Texas; winner vs. 6 Clemson)

In CBS Sports’ Bracketology, there is no opponent listed for 1-seeds Nebraska or Michigan. They would play against First Four winners.

If Nebraska were to win its opening game, the Huskers would play the winner of 8-seed Texas A&M vs. 9-seed Miami. Nebraska, which is 0-8 in NCAA Tournament games, is slotted in the Midwest Region.

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

Nebraska forward Rienk Mast looks to pass against Washington forward Hannes Steinbach during the second half. — Nebraska forward Rienk Mast looks to pass against Washington forward Hannes Steinbach during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

ESPN’s power rankings

Nebraska improved two places to 17 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Ten weeks ago, Nebraska was 38th.

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses continues to improve, as it has all season: 27.2 wins and 4.3 losses. Last week’s projections were 26.7 wins and 3.8 losses. In the Big Ten, Nebraska’s projections continue to improve, too: 16.2 wins and 3.8 losses. The previous projection was 15.7 wins and 4.3 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship increased to 41.7 percent from 32.8 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: 3
* Illinois: 7
* Purdue: 8
* Michigan State: 12
* Nebraska: 17

Duke (19-1) is the top-ranked team with Arizona (21-0) second, Michigan (18-1) third, Houston (17-2) fourth and Gonzaga (21-1) fifth.

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