Nebraska Men’s Basketball Doesn’t Drop in ESPN’s Bracketology After First Loss

Nebraska maintained its 2-seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology projections released Friday morning.

The 20-1 Huskers lost their first game of the season at Michigan on Tuesday, 75-72. Nebraska played the game without two of its top three scorers — Rienk Mast (illness) and Braden Frager (day-to-day with an ankle sprain).

Despite not having these players, Nebraska led in Ann Arbor for most of the game and had a chance to tie the score on the final possession.

The Huskers have been so dominant throughout the season, informed speculation suggested they wouldn’t lose any ground in Bracketology — especially playing such a tight road game without two if its star players and against a projected 1-seed in the Wolverines.

In CBS Sports’ Bracketology, also dated Friday morning, Nebraska remains a 1-seed along with Michigan, Arizona and Duke. In CBS Sports’ scenario, Nebraska would play a 16-seed to be determined.

Nebraska faces another major test on Sunday (3 p.m. CT, FS1) against visiting Illinois, a projected 2-seed, which is 18-3 overall and 9-1 in the Big Ten. The Illini’s conference loss was to visiting Nebraska on Dec. 13.

The next ESPN Bracketology will be released Tuesday. The Nebraska-Illinois outcome should have a bearing on those projections, as will Friday night’s Michigan at Michigan State game. The Wolverines are a projected 1-seed and Michigan State are a projected 2-seed.

Huskers projected in Big Dance

Nebraska is ranked fifth in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, which was released Monday. No Nebraska men’s basketball team has been ranked higher.

Here are Nebraska’s last 15 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
* Jan. 30: 2

For now, ESPN Bracketologist Joe 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 SMU 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, UCLA and Ohio State … plus Miami. “Last Four Byes” teams skip the First Four round.

Lunardi’s “Last Four In” are New Mexico, USC, Texas and Indiana. They play First Four games.

Lunardi’s “First Four Out” are Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, 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, California, Stanford and George Mason. These teams are ranked 73-76.

Lunardi has 11 Big Ten teams — more than any conference and one more team from his Tuesday projections — in his latest Bracketology (with seeding and projected first-round opponents in parentheses):

* Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 Long Island vs. 16 Vermont)
* Nebraska (2 vs. 15 UT Arlington)
* Michigan State (2 vs. 15 Navy)
* Illinois (2 vs. 15 Wright State)
* Purdue (3 vs. 14 East Tennessee State)
* Iowa (8 vs. 9 Georgia)
* Wisconsin (10 vs. 7 Saint Louis)
* UCLA (10 vs. 7 SMU)
* Ohio State (11 vs. 6 Clemson)
* USC (11 vs. 11 New Mexico; winner vs. 6 North Carolina)
* Indiana (11 vs. 11 Texas; winner vs. 6 Louisville)

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

ESPN’s power rankings

Nebraska improved one place to 16 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Eleven weeks ago, Nebraska was 38th.

Nebraska guard Jamarques Lawrence gets a hand after hitting the game-winning shot against Illinois in December. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses dropped slightly to 27.1 wins and 3.9 losses. In the Big Ten, Nebraska’s projections dropped slightly, too: 16.1 wins and 3.9 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship dropped to 38.2 from 41.7 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.

* Michigan: 3
* Illinois: 8
* Purdue: 9
* Michigan State: 12
* Nebraska: 16

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

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