Nebraska Men’s Basketball Keeps Its 3-Seed in Latest ESPN Bracketology

Undefeated Nebraska maintained its 3-seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology, which was released Tuesday morning.

There was some speculation the Huskers could move up to a 2-seed after their impressive comeback victory at Indiana on Saturday. Nebraska trailed by 16 points in the second half before rallying to win, 83-77.

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Gonzaga, undefeated Vanderbilt, Duke and Purdue as the 2-seeds.

The Huskers, 16-0 and ranked No. 8 in the latest AP poll, are the last remaining undefeated team in the Big Ten. Nebraska and Purdue are tied for first place in the conference at 5-0.

The Huskers, who are 0-8 in NCAA Tournament games, next play Tuesday night against visiting Oregon (8-8, 1-4) at 8 CT (Big Ten Network).

Here are Nebraska’s last 10 Bracketology projections:

• 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

Nebraska remains one of only five undefeated teams in Division I, along with Arizona, Iowa State, Vanderbilt and Miami (Ohio). Michigan was undefeated until Saturday, when the Wolverines lost at home to Wisconsin.

Huskers in the NCAA Tournament

For now, Lunardi has the third-seeded Huskers playing 14-seed Temple in a first-round East Region game in Oklahoma City. The Nebraska-Temple winner would play the winner of 6-seed Kansas vs. 11-seed George Mason.

UConn is the No. 1 seed in the East, and Gonzaga is the second seed. East Region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Washington, D.C.

Lunardi’s other No. 1 seeds are: Arizona (West), Michigan (Midwest) and Iowa State (South).

Lunardi’s ”Last Four Byes” are USC, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Indiana. His “Last Four In” are Texas A&M, Ohio State, UCLA and New Mexico. His “First Four Out” are TCU, Creighton, LSU and Baylor. His “Next Four Out” are Oklahoma State, San Diego State, Stanford and Virginia Tech.

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

• Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 Merrimack and Mass Lowell)
• Purdue (2 vs. 15 Portland State)
• Nebraska (3 vs. 14 Temple)
• Illinois (3 vs. 14 Wright State)
• Michigan State (4 vs. 13 High Point)
• Iowa (8 vs. 9 NC State)
• USC (10 vs. 7 Utah State)
• Indiana (10 vs. 7 Georgia)
• Wisconsin (10 vs. 7 St. John’s)
• Ohio State (11 vs. 11 Texas A&M in First Four; winner vs. 6 Villanova)
• UCLA (12 vs. New Mexico in First Four; winner vs. 5 Clemson)

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

ESPN’s power rankings

Despite its impressive comeback win at Indiana, Nebraska remained at 23 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Seven weeks ago, Nebraska was 38th.

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses is 25.3 wins and 5.7 losses. Last week’s projections were 24.4 wins and 6.6 losses. In the Big Ten, the projection for Nebraska is 14.3 wins and 5.7 losses. Last week’s projection was 12.1 wins and 7.9 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship is 14.6 percent.

Five Big Ten teams are ranked ahead of Nebraska in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Nebraska has defeated three them: Illinois, Michigan State and Indiana.

• Michigan: 2
• Purdue: 7
• Illinois: 9
• Michigan State: 18
• Indiana: 20
• Nebraska: 23

Duke (15-1) is the index's top-ranked team with Michigan (14-1) second, Arizona (16-0) third, Gonzaga (17-1) fourth, and Iowa State (16-0) fifth.

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