Nebraska Men’s Basketball Earns Strong Ranking From Another National ‘Way-Too-Early Poll’

Nebraska shocked the college basketball world last winter with a record 28 wins and a run to the Sweet 16. The Huskers were the talk of the sport. They were called the best story in the nation by national writers.

They deserved such acclaim. They earned it.

Media wasn’t just looking for a story. It wanted a good story and the Huskers provided it. Turned out to be a great story from a school with scant relevant basketball history. Nebraska roared out to a 20-0 start, fueled by entertaining and aesthetically pleasing basketball.

The goodwill the Huskers realized carried over and is paying dividends. When national media compiles their “way-too-early” polls, Nebraska meritoriously is mentioned. And it's been that way since the season ended. Nebraska, clearly, has entered the national college basketball chat.

As we head toward the Fourth of July, that’s where Husker basketball is. The Husker program has showed offseason resilience and that has been noticed by the national media. That’s where Husker basketball should be — even though it’s four months until opening tipoff.

Huskers chillin’ at No. 22

Jeff Borzello is one of ESPN’s college basketball writers and a good one. When he writes a story, or puts out a poll, you can believe what he writes, and have trust in his research-based assessments.

Borzello just published a “Way-Too-Early Top 25” poll that emphasized “most impactful newcomer for each team.” In this transfer portal era, impactful newcomers often determine a team’s success.

Nebraska, which finished 14th in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll in April, was ranked No. 22 by Borzello. This ranking actually dropped from 18 in Borzello's last ranking in June. He singled out Utah Valley transfer point guard Trevan Leonhardt. Nebraska has an enormous hole at point guard with the graduation of all-everything Sam Hoiberg.

Borzello wrote: “We’ve written a couple of times this offseason about coach Fred Hoiberg’s transfer class being a bit underrated, and Leonhardt is a prime example.

“He was a first-team All-WAC selection at Utah Valley and brings an intriguing profile to Lincoln: 6-4 point guard who averaged 6.0 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting nearly 37% from 3-point range. He should rack up a slew of easy assists with Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager next to him.”

Leonhardt, a senior, started 50 games with Utah Valley, which won two consecutive Western Athletic Conference regular-season championships with Leonhardt running the show. He averaged 11.9 points per game last season.

“He is a bigger guard who provides us with positional size in the backcourt,” Huskers coach Fred Hoiberg said when Leonhardt signed.

“Trevan led the WAC in both assists and assist-to-turnover ratio the last two seasons which shows his ability to run an offense and facilitate.”

There is added significance to this poll, as the transfer portal is all but finished. Rosters probably are set. Expectations are established.

What Nebraska’s ranking means

Nebraska is the fourth-highest Big Ten team in Borzello’s rankings. The three teams above the Huskers are the usual suspects, the Big Ten powers that have dominated the conference for what seems like decades: Illinois (No. 3), defending national champion Michigan (No. 5), and Michigan State (No. 9).

Among Borzello’s “next five” are Purdue and Indiana, also teams with a long pedigree of success.

Beyond the respect Nebraska received for next year’s team, consider the bigger picture. Imagine, one skinny year ago, that Nebraska men’s basketball would be talked about in the same breath as Michigan State, Illinois and the defending champs.

Did anyone have the Huskers so highly regarded on their proverbial bingo card?

Nebraska (28-7) was two wins from the Final Four last year and its chances to get there weren’t a million-to-one. AP Coach of the Year Fred Hoiberg made believers out of his team, his team performed, and the nation followed along. The Huskers’ stingy defense, flowing offense and three-point success were admired. Opponents had to game-plan beyond the obvious to specifically combat Nebraska’s uniqueness.

Nebraska was one win away from the Elite Eight, losing its Sweet 16 game in Houston to Iowa, 77-71, a team the Huskers defeated in Lincoln and lost to in Iowa City. In getting to the Sweet 16, Nebraska won its first NCAA Tournament game after eight tries.

Just imagine the national media’s adoration for Nebraska if the Huskers had knocked off Iowa in the Sweet 16, an up-for-grabs game nearly the whole way.

Fred Hoiberg last season established the Huskers as a successful program and an attractive one, too. There is potential for growth and sustained success. His charge is to make that happen, to build off that success and make Nebraska a basketball destination, not a one-season wonder.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

Add us as a preferred source on Google