Nebraska’s 13–0 Start Faces Ultimate Reality Check Test Against Michigan State

Nebraska is 13–0 and ranked in the top 15, but history says something always gives. Friday night against Michigan State will tell us if this team is different.

After yet another slow start, the Husker men's basketball team pulled away in the second half against New Hampshire to improve to 13-0 on the year. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

It’s officially time to find out if the Nebraska men’s basketball team’s perfect 13-0 record to start the year is a fluke.

Fans of Nebraska basketball and, frankly, Nebraska sports in general, as of late, are used to waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Nebraska football team was 6-2 this season before ending the year 7-6. The volleyball team ran the table through the regular season as the No. 1 team in the country before getting bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the Elite 8. Following their own perfect start to the season, the once 12-0 women’s basketball team is now 12-2 after a loss to Iowa on Thursday.

Husker fans are used to things being “too good to be true.”

🎶🎥 GAhhh ahhh ahhhhhh ah!!! 🎶☠️

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— 𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔯𝔱 𝔐𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔞 ☠️ (@BlackshirtMedia) December 14, 2025

However, Fred Hoiberg’s team this season has had a few flashes in the 13-0 start. They have wins over in-state rival Creighton, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and most notably a road win over then-No. 13 Illinois in dramatic fashion. (As far as we know, play-by-play commentator Kent Pavelka didn’t pass out)

Next up though is their toughest test yet – No. 9 Michigan State.

“If you’re not committed to going in there and playing a physical battle and being ready for a war, it gets ugly in a hurry,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said in a Thursday press conference. “If we go out there and have a lack of urgency getting back in transition, it gets ugly in a hurry.  It’s always the same thing when you play Michigan State, and every year it seems you go into the huddle at the first time out and you say, ‘I told you do, guys.’”

Using the term war when it comes to playing MSU might not be an understatement. Both Hoiberg and senior forward Rienk Mast admitted Thursday that the Spartans will likely be the fastest and most physical team they face all season, which adds extra importance to the Huskers matching the intensity early.

Michigan State is used to out-muscling teams this season, and they look to make Nebraska the latest victim Friday night. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“It’s going to be a challenge,” Mast said during Thursday’s press conference. “I look forward to that challenge. It’s going to be a very physical war. (Thursday) in practice, we worked a lot on that physicality. They bring it every night, so we’ve got to be ready for it. I take it as a challenge and challenges are fun.”

What makes the 9th-ranked Spartans so effective is their rebounding. MSU is currently 10th nationally in offensive rebounds and 20th in defensive boards. Essentially, their bigs…play big. However, it’s what Michigan State does after crashing the glass that makes them one of the best teams in the country year after year.

“They’re the number one defensive rebounding team from a percentage standpoint,” Hoiberg pointed out during his press conference. “When you cut garbage time out, we can’t chase balls that we have no chance of getting. That’s what gets them out – fuels their fast break. We can’t challenge their shot blockers. That’s a lay-up at the other end, and we have to value possessions and continue to do a good job taking care of the basketball.”

If Nebraska hopes to keep pace with Michigan State, they'll need to get off to a fast start. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

That mentality means Nebraska will need to hope for something they haven’t seen a lot of this season – a fast start. It’s what fueled Nebraska’s upset of Illinois, and it’s what they’ll need again if they hope to keep pace with Tom Izzo’s bunch Friday night in Lincoln.

The Huskers have gotten away with several slow starts this season, mainly thanks to the competition. It happened yet again in the most recent game against New Hampshire. At several times throughout the first half, the No. 13 Huskers were actually trailing a team that had just four wins coming in. At the half, Nebraska only led by three – 41-38.

That type of performance won’t work against the Spartans Friday, and NU is well aware of that.

“Obviously, some of that is the ball hasn’t gone in the basket,” Hoiberg said of the slow starts. “We still have defended even though the ball hasn’t gone in. We weren’t as good the other night against New Hampshire, but give them credit for making shots. Starts in this league are going to be very important. We’re going to have to get off to better starts, and part of that is trusting your shot, finishing your shot. We’ve got great shooters on this team.”

The Huskers upset #13 Illinois on the road thanks to a fast start, and they'll be looking for the same recipe against Michigan State. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

All of them will need to be firing on all cylinders if Nebraska’s going to validate the No. 13 national ranking and a perfect 13-0 start to the year. The Huskers will also have to prove they're tough enough to hang with the big boys.

Wins over Oklahoma, Creighton and a very good Illinois team are great and will likely help the Huskers in a multitude of ways come tourney selection time, but if Michigan State rolls into Lincoln and makes Nebraska look like a JV squad…again…then the hot start and national ranking will be viewed more like fool’s gold until the team can prove otherwise.

Let’s not forget the last time Nebraska faced off with the Spartans, it wasn’t close. MSU wiped the floor with the Huskers to the tune of 89-52 in East Lansing. For a Nebraska team that went on to win the first-ever Crown in Las Vegas to end the year, it was easily their least competitive game against higher-end talent.

Michigan State pummeled Nebraska by 37 the last time the two teams met. | Dale Young-Imagn Images

That blowout loss is still fresh in the minds of several Huskers, which has them even hungrier to set the record straight Friday night in Lincoln.

“It’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere and environment, and this is what it’s all about,” Hoiberg said. “These are the fun games. We knew this was going to be a tough week, and our last non-conference game – very important not to look past that. Now, (we’re) preparing for one of the most difficult teams that you have to prepare for all year because of their speed and their physicality. You just can’t simulate everything that Michigan State does to put you in a really tough position.”

The football season just ended for the Huskers, but MSU’s physicality on Friday night might make Nebraska fans think one more game got snuck in at the deadline. The Spartans are used to pushing around their opponents. So much so that they already have marquee wins over teams like North Carolina and Kentucky this season. In fact, the only team to withstand MSU’s toughness so far is Duke, who only edged the Spartans by six.

Michigan State already has wins over North Carolina and Kentucky this season, so a trip to Lincoln might not be too daunting. | Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s safe to say having the name Nebraska tossed around at the same level of those teams in college basketball isn’t commonplace, and Hoiberg admitted it’s impossible to fully simulate how aggressive MSU will be Friday – but he’s tried.

“I didn’t bring the shoulder pads out, but we had our scout team try to be as physical as they can, knowing that’s not going to simulate what they did,” Hoiberg said. “(Last year’s game), as that game went on, it got uglier and uglier because we just weren’t ready to match their speed and physicality.”

The Huskers will need to change that tune if they hope to keep up with Michigan State in what will end up being an historic game, no matter what the final score is. Friday night’s game between the No. 9 Spartans and No. 13 Huskers will mark the first-ever top-15 men’s basketball match-up in Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Nebraska's game against Michigan State Friday will be the first-ever Top-15 match-up in Pinnacle Bank Arena history. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“It’s another challenge for us that poses different things that we haven’t seen before,” Hoiberg said. “We won’t experience speed like this all year again. We have to embrace the challenge of it and go out there and execute the game plan. We have to be on for 40 minutes from here on out. If we’re not, we’re going to be in trouble.”

“I think we always talk about just taking one game at a time,” Mast added. “This is just one game. We’ve got to go 1-0. It doesn’t really matter what numbers we have next to our name. It’s just a very good team that comes into PBA, but we know that if we’re in PBA, we’ve got to defend home court and just win. That’s our focus. It doesn’t matter that there’s going to be (a few) more cameras. We still got to defend home court.”

Nebraska's Rienk Mast expects an electric atmosphere Friday, but says NU needs to simply go 1-0 and take things one game at a time. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

If Nebraska can find a way to pull off yet another upset this season, it may not be the last Top-15 showdown of the season. A win over Michigan State on Friday might open the door to the Top-10 for NU.

The game tips off at 8 p.m. CST and will be streamed nationally on Peacock.

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