Nebraska Men’s Basketball Falls to a 3-Seed After Overtime Loss to Purdue

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

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi projects the Huskers will open NCAA Tournament play in Buffalo. Nebraska had been targeted for Oklahoma City for weeks. Nebraska is ranked seventh in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

Nebraska lost to Purdue — now a projected 2-seed — in overtime Tuesday night, 80-77. In a remarkable comeback, the Huskers overcame a 22-point deficit before losing in the extra session. The loss was the Huskers' third in the last four games.

It truly was March Madness in February, a game that had nearly every element of exhausting, high-level tournament basketball, including mood swings.

Each team looked unstoppable at times. Purdue, the preseason No. 1 team in the nation led at halftime, 40-24. Nebraska outscored Purdue in the second half, 44-28.

Nebraska (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten) next plays Northwestern at noon (CT) Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Big Ten Network. Northwestern is 10-15, 2-12, but held a 16-point, second-half lead over Michigan on Wednesday before the Big Ten-leading Wolverines rallied for an 87-75 win. Nothing is easy in Big Ten basketball.

In CBS Sports’ Bracketology, dated Friday morning, Nebraska moved from a 3-seed to a 2-seed. In CBS Sports’ projections, Nebraska would play 15-seed Navy in the South Region. The Nebraska-Navy winner would play the winner of 7-seed Clemson vs. 10-seed USC.

Huskers projected in Big Dance

Here are Nebraska’s last 19 Bracketology projections, where you can see the Huskers’ status through the season. Nebraska hasn't been higher than a 3-seed in all of 2026.

* 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
* Feb. 6: 2
* Feb. 10: 2
* Feb. 13: 3

For now, Lunardi has the third-seeded Huskers playing 14-seed North Dakota State, of the Summit League, in a first-round South Region game at Buffalo. The Nebraska-North Dakota State winner would play the winner of 6-seed BYU vs. the winner between 11-seeds Texas and USC in a First Four game.

Nebraska guard Jamarques Lawrence drives against Purdue guard Jack Benter (14) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

UConn is the No. 1 seed in the South, Houston is the 2-seed and Texas Tech is the 4-seed. South Region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Houston.

Arizona (West) is the overall No. 1 seed. Michigan is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, and Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East.

Big Ten teams in the Big Dance

UCLA is the only Big Ten school in Lunardi’s ”Last Four Byes.” The others: Georgia, UCF and Miami. “Last Four Byes” teams skip the First Four round.

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

Lunardi’s “First Four Out” are TCU, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and New Mexico. These teams are ranked 69-72 and would miss the cut for the 68-team field.

His “Next Four Out” are California, Oklahoma State, VCU and Seton Hall. These teams are ranked 73-76.

Lunardi has 10 Big Ten teams — the second-most of any conference behind the SEC with 11— in his latest Bracketology (with seeding and projected first-round opponents in parentheses):

* Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 New Jersey Institute of Technology vs. 16 Morgan State)
* Purdue (2 vs. 15 Wright State)
* Illinois (2 vs. 15 Navy)
* Nebraska (3 vs. 14 North Dakota State)
* Michigan State (3 vs. 14 East Tennessee State)
* Iowa (8 vs. 9 Texas A&M)
* Wisconsin (8 vs. 9 SMU)
* Indiana (9 vs. 8 Auburn)
* UCLA (10 vs. 7 NC State)
* USC (11 vs. 11 Texas; winner to play 6 BYU)

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

ESPN’s power rankings

Nebraska dropped two spots to 19 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index.

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses decreased slightly: 26.0 wins and 5.0 losses, from 26.6 wins and 4.4 losses. In the Big Ten, Nebraska’s projections decreased slightly: 15.0 wins and 5.0 losses, from 15.6 wins and 4.4 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship decreased to 7.6 percent from 14.5 percent.

Nebraska forward Berke Buyuktuncel shoots the ball during the first half against Purdue at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

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, Illinois and Purdue.

* Michigan: 2
* Illinois: 8
* Purdue: 10
* Michigan State: 12
* Nebraska: 19

Duke (22-2) is the top-ranked team, Michigan (23-1) second, Arizona (23-1) third, Houston (22-2) fourth and defending national champion Florida (18-6) fifth.

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