Nebraska Men’s Basketball Remains a 3-Seed in the Latest ESPN’s Bracketology Despite a Blowout Loss to UCLA

If Nebraska were going to drop a seed line in ESPN’s Bracketology, Friday was the day. Coming off its worst loss of the season — on the scoreboard and figuratively — Nebraska figured to drop from being a 3-seed.

Perhaps ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi was feeling benevolent. In today’s projections, Nebraska remained a 3-seed for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive time.

Nebraska (25-5, 14-5 Big Ten) was drilled at UCLA on Tuesday, 72-52, in a dominant performance by the Bruins without much pushback from the Huskers. It was Nebraska's first double-digit loss of the season.

There might be concern around the edges of the Huskers’ program for their recent play. If not, maybe there should be. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games — after a 20-0 start to the season. Four of the wins were over likely non-NCAA Tournament teams — Rutgers, Northwestern, Penn State and Maryland. Their fifth win was over a true bubble team, USC.

Three of those losses were against ranked teams — at No. 3 Michigan, vs. No. 9 Illinois and No. 13 Purdue. Their other losses were at Iowa and at UCLA.

This is not the trajectory a team that has earned higher expectations should be on as the calendar turns into March. Nebraska was ranked ninth in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, which was released a day before the UCLA game.

Nebraska’s final regular-season game will be Sunday at home against Iowa (4 p.m. CT, Fox). A victory over the Hawkeyes will give Nebraska one of the four triple byes for next week’s Big Ten Tournament at Chicago’s United Center.

In CBS Sports’ Bracketology, dated Friday morning, Nebraska dropped one spot to a 4-seed. In CBS Sports’ projections, Nebraska would play 13-seed Liberty, in the Midwest Region. The Nebraska-Liberty winner would play the winner of 5-seed St. John’s vs. 12-seed Yale.

Huskers projected in Big Dance

Here are Nebraska’s last 25 Bracketology projections, where you can see the Huskers’ projections through the season. Since Christmas, Nebraska has been no worse than a 4-seed.

* 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
* Feb. 17: 4
* Feb. 20: 4
* Feb. 24: 3
* Feb. 27: 3
* March 3: 3
* March 6: 3

For now, Lunardi has the third-seeded Huskers playing 14-seed Navy, of the Patriot League, in a first-round Midwest Region game at Greenville, S.C.

The Nebraska-Navy winner would play the winner of 6-seed Vanderbilt vs. 11-seed Miami, Ohio. The Redhawks remain the only undefeated team in the nation.

Big Ten champion Michigan is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Duke (East) is the top overall seed. The other No. 1 seeds are UConn (South) and Arizona (West).

Midwest Region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Chicago’s United Center.

Big Ten teams in the Big Dance

Lunardi’s “Last Four Byes” are Ohio State, Texas A&M, Missouri and Texas. These teams would not have to play a First Four game.

Nebraska's Cale Jacobsen fouls Indiana's Lamar Wilkerson in January meeting in Bloomington, Ind. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lunardi’s “Last Four In” are Santa Clara, SMU, Indiana and New Mexico, which is the last team in the field. These teams would play a First Four game.

The “First Four Out” are VCU, Auburn, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati. These teams are ranked 69-to-72 and missed the cut for the 68-team field.

The “Next Four Out” are California, San Diego State, Stanford and Seton Hall.

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

* Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 Howard vs. 16 Bethune-Cookman)
* Illinois (2 vs. 15 Portland State)
* Michigan State (2 vs. 15 Wright State)
* Nebraska (3 vs. 14 Navy)
* Purdue (3 vs. 14 North Dakota State)
* Wisconsin (6 vs. 11 Texas)
* Iowa (9 vs. 8 Saint Louis)
* UCLA (9 vs. 8 Utah State)
* Ohio State (10 vs. 7. Saint Mary’s)
* Indiana (11 vs. 11 SMU in First Four; winner to play 6 Kentucky)

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

ESPN’s power rankings

Nebraska dropped one spot to 16 in the latest ESPN College Basketball Power Index.

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses dropped since Tuesday: 25.7 wins and 5.3 losses, from 26.2 wins and 4.7 losses. In the Big Ten, Nebraska’s projections dropped to 14.7 wins and 5.3 losses from 15.3 wins and 4.7 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship is now less than 0.1 percent, same as the last rankings.

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: 6
* Purdue: 9
* Michigan State: 13
* Nebraska: 16

Duke (28-2) is the top-ranked team with Michigan (28-2) second, Arizona (28-2) third, defending champion Florida (24-6) fourth, and Houston (25-5) fifth.

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