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Nebraska Men's Basketball Falls Out of AP Top 10 After Seven Consecutive Weeks

After reeling a bit in February, the Huskers are no longer in the AP top 10. But a strong week will give them a chance to re-enter it.
Trevor Tarr|
Pryce Sandfort holds the Nebraska school record for three-point field goals made in a season.
Pryce Sandfort holds the Nebraska school record for three-point field goals made in a season. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska slid down three spots in the AP men's basketball poll after losing its fourth game of the year, but a strong upcoming week could give the Huskers a chance to rise back into the top 10.

After splitting last week's games, Nebraska fell to No. 12 in Monday's rankings, ending a streak of seven consecutive weeks in the top 10.


With four regular-season games left, the Huskers still have a chance to turn in the best record in program history. Here's a recap of what happened last week, and who Nebraska will need to defeat in order to gain ground in the next set of rankings a week from now.

Heading into last week, the Huskers were preparing to play their 15th and 16th conference games of the season, on the road against Iowa, then back home against Penn State. In Iowa City on Tuesday night, the Big Red were viewed as slight underdogs, but the game inside Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday was viewed as one in which the home team would win convincingly. To the oddsmakers' credit, the contests played out as projected.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena has long been a venue in which opposing teams struggle to emerge victorious, and even a then-ranked No. 9 Nebraska team failed to do that. The game saw the Big Red get outrebounded 37-24 on its way to suffering its fourth loss of the year. Falling 57-52, NU will look to enact revenge at home on March 8.

With a chance to rebound on Saturday afternoon, Nebraska pulled out a 23-point win against the Nittany Lions at home. Penn State, now 11-15 (2-15 Big Ten), has struggled heavily all year, and the Huskers were able to capitalize on playing an overwhelmed group. Still, good came from the result even though it felt as if it were a consolation prize for the week. Pryce Sandfort managed to score a career-high 33 points while shooting 8-for-14 from beyond the arc and further distanced himself from the rest of the pack while continuing his record-breaking season of three-point field goals made.

Looking ahead to the upcoming week, Nebraska will get ready to take on an 11-16 (4-12 Big Ten) Maryland Terrapins squad that handled them inside of Pinnacle Bank Arena last season. Though, unlike a year ago, this time, the Huskers will be one of the top teams in America. Still, they'll have to bring a level of urgency like no other, as the Big Red is a team with a target on its back. As it currently stands, NU is the heavy favorite in the upcoming matchup and will be expected to win convincingly before taking a trip out west.

After that, they'll get a three-day break before taking on a dangerous USC Trojan squad. Currently standing at 18-9 (7-9 Big Ten), the Trojans are a team that is comfortable playing in close contests this year and have lost six of their nine games by less than 10 points, two of which were by one. USC managed to keep it close with now-ranked No. 8 Purdue at home, and despite the loss, the Huskers should take note of what's at stake. Regardless, Nebraska is expected to win this game as well, possibly leading to a return to the top 10 at this time next week.

With the opportunity and odds currently favored to go 2-0 on the week, Nebraska no longer has the luxury of losing a game it is favored in for the remainder of the year. Handling business at home, then once again in their first of two road games on the West Coast, would appear to do wonders for this team's confidence after a rough two-week stretch, but a win against either conference foe will be far from handed to them.

Nebraska will need to have a get-right week, and it does currently appear that the final week of February is shaping up to be just that. Still, both contests will have to be earned, not given, and possible lineup changes after injuries and sickness will play a role as well. Even with the outside noise ramping up as the season goes on, the Huskers are still viewed as one of the best teams in America, and the change of pace from seasons of old is refreshing to say the least.

Regardless, this season would be all for naught unless an eventual NCAA Tournament win is obtained, and winning games like the upcoming two against Maryland and USC would go a long way towards showing Husker Nation that their team is not falling apart when it matters the most. The way Hoiberg's team played in December, while impressive, matters little as opposed to how they're playing right now, and two victories before a game against UCLA would weather the storm a bit for the Big Red.

Even after a top 10 win that Iowa managed to secure, the Huskers still won't play another ranked team for the remainder of the year, and that bodes well for a program that will need to reconvince the rest of the country exactly who they are. Winning out will be far from easy, but if any team in school history was capable of doing that, it would almost certainly be this year's squad. Hoiberg and company will certainly give it their best shot.

Men's Week 14 AP Top 25

  1. Duke
  2. Arizona
  3. Michigan
  4. Iowa State
  5. Houston
  6. UConn
  7. Florida
  8. Purdue
  9. Gonzaga
  10. Illinois
  11. Virginia
  12. Nebraska
  13. Michigan State
  14. Kansas
  15. St. John’s 
  16. Texas Tech
  17. Alabama
  18. North Carolina
  19. BYU
  20. Arkansas
  21. Miami (OH)
  22. Tennessee
  23. Saint Louis
  24. Louisville
  25. Vanderbilt

Nebraska Men's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

  • Oct. 18 Nebraska 90, BYU 89
  • Oct. 27 Nebraska 91, Midland 50
  • Nov. 3 Nebraska 86, West Georgia 53
  • Nov. 8 Nebraska 96, Florida International 66
  • Nov. 11 Nebarska 69, Maryland-Eastern Shore 50
  • Nov. 15 Nebraska 105, Oklahoma 99 (Sanford Pentagon)
  • Nov. 20 Nebraska 84, New Mexico 72 (Hall of Fame Classic)
  • Nov. 21 Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85 (Hall of Fame Classic)
  • Nov. 25 Nebraska 80, Winthrop 73
  • Nov. 29 Nebraska 72, South Carolina Upstate 63
  • Dec. 7 Nebraska 71, Creighton 50
  • Dec. 10 Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60
  • Dec. 13 Nebraska 83, Illinois 80
  • Dec. 21 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
  • Dec. 30 Nebraska 86, New Hampshire 55
  • Jan. 2 Nebraska 58, Michigan State 56
  • Jan. 5 Nebraska 72, Ohio State 69
  • Jan. 10 Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
  • Jan. 13 Nebraska 90, Oregon 55
  • Jan. 17 Nebraska 77, Northwestern 58
  • Jan. 21 Nebraska 76, Washington 66
  • Jan. 24 Nebraska 76, Minnesota 57
  • Jan. 27 Michigan 75, Nebraska 72
  • Feb. 1 Illinois 78, Nebraska 69
  • Feb. 7 Nebraska 80, Rutgers 68
  • Feb. 10 Purdue 80, Nebraska 77
  • Feb. 14 Nebraska 68, Northwestern 49
  • Feb. 17 Iowa 57, Nebraska 52
  • Feb. 21 Nebraska 87, Penn State 64
  • Feb. 25 Maryland 6 p.m. BTN
  • Feb. 28 USC 3 p.m. BTN
  • March 3 UCLA 10 p.m. FS1
  • March 8 Iowa 4 p.m. FOX
  • March 10-15 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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Trevor Tarr
TREVOR TARR

Trevor Tarr is the founder of Skers Scoop, a Nebraska football media outlet delivering original coverage through writing, graphics, and video content. He began his career in collegiate athletics at the University of South Dakota, producing media for the football team and assisting with athletic fundraising. A USD graduate with a background in journalism and sports marketing, Trevor focuses on creative, fan-driven storytelling in college football.

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