Nebraska Men’s Basketball Still a 2-Seed in Latest ESPN Bracketology; CBS Sports lists Huskers as a No. 1 seed

Nebraska maintained its 2-seed in ESPN’s Bracketology on Friday morning, not taking a hit for Braden Frager’s ankle injury.

And in another Bracketology, by CBS Sports, Nebraska is a 1-seed, along with Michigan, Duke and Arizona. CBS Sports’ Bracketology was released Friday morning.

Frager suffered a sprained left ankle on Wednesday night in a 76-66 win over Washington. He is considered day-to-day. This is the third consecutive Bracketology that Joe Lunardi slotted the Huskers as a 2-seed for the 68-team field.

Nebraska’s lofty Bracketology status will be tested in its two-game road trip that starts Saturday. The Huskers are at Minnesota on Saturday, then play No. 3-ranked Michigan on Tuesday in Ann Arbor.

Michigan is expected to be Nebraska's most difficult game so far this season.

Huskers projected in Big Dance

ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Gonzaga, Houston and Purdue as the other 2-seeds. Nebraska (19-0, 8-0) is the only Big Ten team undefeated in conference play. Purdue suffered its first conference loss at UCLA on Tuesday, 69-67.

Nebraska is ranked seventh in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. The Huskers are one of only three undefeated teams in the nation along with Arizona and Miami, Ohio.

Here are Nebraska’s last 13 Bracketology projections where you can see the Huskers’ progression through the season:

* 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

For now, Lunardi has the second-seeded Huskers playing 15-seed East Tennessee State in a first-round South Region game at Oklahoma City. The Nebraska-East Tennessee winner would play the winner of 7-seed Georgia vs. 10-seed Miami (Fla.), also in Oklahoma City.

UConn is the No. 1 seed in the South, BYU is the 3-seed, and Florida is the 4-seed. South Region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Houston.

Lunardi’s other No. 1 seeds are: Arizona (West), Michigan (Midwest) and Duke (East).

Lunardi’s ”Last Four Byes” are NC State, Miami (Fla.), Seton Hall and Ohio State. “Last Four Bye” teams skip the First Four round.

His “Last Four In” are UCLA, New Mexico, USC and Virginia Tech. “Last Four In” teams play in the First Four round.

Lunardi’s “First Four Out” are Stanford, Santa Clara, Texas and Indiana. These teams are ranked 69-72 and missed the cut for the 68-team field.

His “Next Four Out” are Missouri, Creighton, Baylor and TCU. These teams are ranked 73-76.

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

* Michigan (1 vs. winner of 16 Saint Peter’s vs. Vermont)
* Nebraska (2 vs. 15 East Tennessee State)
* Purdue (2 vs. 15 Wright State)
* Illinois (3 vs. 14 UNC Wilmington)
* Michigan State (3 vs. 14 Winthrop)
* Iowa (8 vs. 9 Texas A&M)
* Wisconsin (8 vs. 9 Saint Mary’s)
* USC (10 vs. 10 New Mexico; winner vs. 7 North Carolina)
* Ohio State (10 vs. 7 Tennessee)
* UCLA (11 vs. 11 New Mexico; winner to play 6 Louisville)

In CBS Sports’ Bracketology, there is no opponent listed for 1-seeds Nebraska or Arizona. They would play against First Four winners.

If Nebraska were to win its opening game, the Huskers would play the winner of 8-seed Auburn vs. 9-seed Stanford. Nebraska, which is 0-8 in NCAA Tournament games, is slotted in the South Region.

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

ESPN’s power rankings

Nebraska stayed at 19 in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index. Nine weeks ago, Nebraska was 38th.

The projection for the Huskers’ wins and losses is slightly better than the last rankings: 26.7 wins and 4.3 losses. Last week’s projections were 26.5 wins and 4.5 losses. In the Big Ten, the projection for Nebraska is better at 15.7 wins and 4.3 losses. The previous projection was 15.5 wins and 4.5 losses.

Nebraska’s projection to win the Big Ten championship increased to 32.8 percent from 27.3 percent.

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. The Huskers visit Michigan on Jan. 27, and play host to Purdue on Feb. 10.

* Michigan: 2
* Purdue: 7
* Illinois: 9
* Michigan State: 13
* Nebraska: 19

Duke (17-1) is the top-ranked team with Michigan (16-1) second, Arizona (19-0) third, Houston (17-1) fourth and Gonzaga (20-1) fifth.

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