Nebraska Men’s Basketball Drops in ESPN’s Bracketology After Second Consecutive Loss

Nebraska tumbled from a 2-seed to a 3-seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology projections released Tuesday morning.

The Huskers’ drop should be no surprise after back-to-back losses, albeit to top-10 teams Michigan and Illinois.

Nebraska lost its first home game of the season Sunday to hard-charging Illinois, 78-69. The victory was the 11th straight for Illini, projected as a 2-seed. Nebraska was vulnerable inside as Illinois outscored the Huskers, 28-18, in the paint and had a 40-27 rebounding advantage. Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler was brilliant with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists.

In CBS Sports’ Bracketology, dated Monday morning, Nebraska dropped from a 1-seed to a 2-seed. In CBS Sports’ scenario, Nebraska would play 15-seed Tennessee at Martin in the West Region.

Nebraska next plays at Rutgers on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, Big Ten Network). Rutgers isn’t much on paper (9-13, 2-9 Big Ten) but the Scarlet Knights can be a tough out at home, where they are 8-5.

The next ESPN Bracketology will be released Friday.

Huskers projected in Big Dance

Nebraska is ranked ninth in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, which was released Monday. The Huskers dropped from fifth.

Here are Nebraska’s last 16 Bracketology projections, where you can see the Huskers’ status 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
* Feb. 3: 3

For now, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the third-seeded Huskers playing 14-seed Portland State (Big Sky Conference) in a first-round South Region game at Oklahoma City. The Nebraska-Portland State winner would play the winner of 6-seed Arkansas (coached by John Calipari) vs. 11-seed Miami, also in Oklahoma City.

UConn is the No. 1 seed in the South, Houston is the 2-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). Arizona is Lunardi’s overall No. 1 seed.

Two Big Ten schools are in Lunardi’s ”Last Four Byes”: Indiana and UCLA … plus New Mexico and Miami. “Last Four Byes” teams skip the First Four round.

Lunardi’s “Last Four In” are USC, Ohio State, San Diego State and Texas. They play First Four games.

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

His “Next Four Out” are Missouri, TCU, George Mason and VCU. These teams are ranked 73-76.

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

Indiana's Lamar Wilkerson shoots over Nebraska's Sam Hoiberg in Huskers' 83-77 win on Jan. 10. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

* Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 Vermont vs. 16 Maryland Eastern Shore)
* Illinois (2 vs. 15 East Tennessee State)
* Nebraska (3 vs. 14 Portland State)
* Michigan State (3 vs. 14 Wright State)
* Purdue (3 vs. 14 Troy)
* Iowa (8 vs. 9 SMU)
* Wisconsin (9 vs. 8 NC State)
* UCLA (10 vs. 7 Kentucky)
* Indiana (10 vs. 7 Auburn)
* Ohio State (11 vs. 11 Texas; winner vs. 6 Louisville)
* USC (11 vs. 11 San Diego State; winner vs. 6 Clemson)

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

ESPN’s power rankings

Nebraska dropped two places to 18 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Twelve weeks ago, Nebraska was 38th.

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses dropped slightly to 26.4 wins and 4.6 losses, from 27.1 wins and 3.9 losses. In the Big Ten, Nebraska’s projections dropped slightly, too, to 15.4 wins and 4.6 losses from 16.1 wins and 3.9 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship dropped dramatically to 14.1 percent from 38.2 percent. The Huskers are tied for third place in the Big Ten, one game behind Michigan and Illinois.

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, and lost to Michigan and Illinois.

* Michigan: 3
* Purdue: 8
* Illinois: 9
* Michigan State: 12
* Nebraska: 18

Duke (20-1) is the top-ranked team with Arizona (22-0) second, Michigan (20-1) third, Houston (19-2) fourth and Iowa State (20-2) fifth.

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