Nebraska Men's Basketball Continues to Improve Seeding in ESPN’s Bracketology

Nebraska has improved its status in the latest ESPN’s Bracketology, which was published this week.

Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Huskers as one of the “last four byes” in the NCAA Tournament, along with Clemson, Virginia and Creighton, a step up for the Huskers from last week.

Lunardi has the Huskers as a 10 seed and playing 7th-seeded Saint Mary’s in Philadelphia. The winner of that game would play the winner of second-seeded Connecticut and No. 15 Siena.

Nebraska is placed in the East Region along with No. 1-seed Duke.

This week’s Bracketology was completed before Nebraska defeated visiting Winthrop, 80-73, on Tuesday night.

Last week, Lunardi had the Huskers as “last four in” with Georgia, Cincinnati and Utah State. That status earned Nebraska an 11 seed.

Huskers earn attention

The Huskers deserve what attention they are getting from Bracketology. They are 7-0. That includes a huge, comeback win over Oklahoma. The Huskers made 15 3-pointers as they rallied from a 16-point deficit to win, 105-99.

Nebraska also won the Hall of Fame Classic title in Kansas City last week by defeating New Mexico, 84-72, in the first game, and Kansas State in the title game, 86-85.

Lunardi’s top four seeds are Purdue, Duke, Arizona and Houston. He has 12 Big Ten teams in the NCAA field (seeding in parentheses):

* Purdue (1)
* Michigan (2)
* Illinois (3)
* UCLA (5)
* Ohio State (7)
* Indiana (8)
* USC (8)
* Wisconsin (8)
* Michigan State (9)
* Oregon (9)
* Nebraska (10)
* Iowa (10)

Twelve Big Ten teams are projected into the NCAA Tournament by ESPN's Bracketology. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In a loaded Big Ten, conference games will be the determining factor in how many teams — Nebraska included — earn NCAA Tournament berths.

In 2025, eight Big Ten teams were selected for the NCAA Tournament: Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA and Wisconsin.

A quick caveat: It’s late November, with a long way to go until Selection Sunday, which is March 15. Lunardi has an uncanny record of accuracy, but there are hundreds of games to be played. Lunardi’s Bracketology is a handy way to keep fans informed and adds to fun speculation about the NCAA field.

Nebraska’s next game is against visiting South Carolina Upstate (4-4) on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

The Huskers’ following game will be Dec. 7 against visiting Creighton (3-3).

Nebraska is led in scoring by Rienk Mast (18.3 points per game), Pryce Sandfort (15.6 points per game) and Braden Frager (12.7 points per game). The Huskers rank 90th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 86.6 points per game.

Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort (21) is the Huskers' second-leading scorer with an average of 15.6 points per game. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Nebraska’s last NCAA appearance was in 2024. The Huskers lost to Texas A&M, 98-83, in the first round in Memphis. Before that, the Huskers made the NCAA field in 2014 and lost to Baylor, 74-60, in San Antonio.

CBS Sports Bracketology

In the latest CBS Sports Bracketology — published last week — the Huskers were a 9 seed. Nebraska would play 8 seed Ole Miss in the first round, with the winner playing top-seeded Purdue.

Huskers’ tourney championship

In April, Nebraska won the postseason College Basketball Crown tournament defeating UCF, 77-66, in Las Vegas.

Along the way, Nebraska defeated Arizona State, 86-78 in the first round, then defeated Georgetown in the second round, 81-69. In the semifinals, the Huskers defeated Boise State, 79-69, to advance to play UCF in the final.

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