Season-Defining Stretch on the Horizon for Undefeated Husker Men

The likelihood of Nebraska running the table for an undefeated regular season in men’s basketball is still low, but it’s not exactly 0% at this point either.

The Huskers still have two games to go before hitting what will likely be at least the regular-season-defining stretch of the season. After a Wednesday match-up against Washington and a trip up to Minneapolis Saturday to take on Minnesota, Nebraska enters a four-game stretch that will tell us all we need to know about the nationally-ranked Huskers.

From January 27 to February 10, Nebraska will take on No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue and will have a rematch with No. 13 Illinois. There may not be a team in college basketball that could make it through that run without a loss, but Nebraska has two more wins away from finding out if they could pull it off.

Each time Nebraska takes the floor, they know they have to continue to prove they're worth the top-10 ranking by their name. | David Banks-Imagn Images

The odds in Las Vegas won’t be in their favor, understandably, over that stretch. Right now, ESPN’s game predictor is giving Michigan an 82% chance to beat Nebraska, Illinois is getting an essential 50-50 game in Lincoln, no less, and Purdue is getting a 51% lean on NU at PBA in early February.

Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but nationally, the verdict seems to still be out on a Nebraska team that continues to have to prove itself despite its perfect record. However, Northwestern coach Chris Collins said he knew Nebraska was special before they came into Evanston and handed the Wildcats a 77-58 loss over the weekend.

“I admire the way they play,” Collins said in his postgame press conference. “(They’ve) got a bunch of guys who are just a collection of their parts. It’s really refreshing to watch the purity that they play with, the joy they play with, the toughness they play with, and you saw firsthand – it’s why they’re 18-0. We’re just not at that level.”

Northwestern coach Chris Collins heaped plenty of praise onto Nebraska following the Huskers' 77-58 win over the Wildcats. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Northwestern, like many teams this season, hung with Nebraska early and even found themselves down only five in the second half. For the 18th time this season, that’s when Nebraska put their foot on the gas and pulled away, resulting in the 19-point win.

It was all keyed in a 17-3 run Nebraska had in the second half that put the game out of reach for the upset-minded Wildcats.

“We got stops, and we rebounded the ball and that was my message to them at halftime,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said during his postgame press conference. “If we can come out and take care of the glass, they were up eight at halftime, and if we could flip that in the second half, I thought we’d have a really good chance to win the game.”

Northwestern more than hung around against Nebraska in the first half, but the Huskers put their foot on the gas in the 2nd. — Northwestern more than hung around against Nebraska in the first half, but the Huskers put their foot on the gas in the second half to pull away for the 19-point win. | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Huskers ended up being outrebounded in the game by two, but that also meant a six-board edge in the second half. Along with the second-half rebound edge came Nebraska’s stingy defense. Northwestern committed 11 turnovers in the game, and it even came as somewhat of a surprise to Hoiberg.

“We’re so much more effective and efficient when we get that ball off the rim or force the turnover,” Hoiberg said. “Northwestern – they’re really hard to turn over. They’re the number one team in the country in taking care of the basketball and turning them over in the second half got us going a little bit.”

It’s been a trademark of the 2025-26 Huskers all season, and it showed up again against Northwestern. Unsurprisingly, the name Sam Hoiberg was floated once again by the opposing coach, as Collins admitted that the senior guard lived in their paint during the game. The fifth-year senior led Nebraska with seven rebounds in the win.

Despite being the smallest guy on the floor, Nebraska senior guard Sam Hoiberg led the team in rebounding with seven. — Despite being the smallest guy on the floor, Nebraska senior guard Sam Hoiberg led the team in rebounding with seven in NU's win over Northwestern. | David Banks-Imagn Images

His continuous scrappy play has been noticed by every coach in the Big Ten Conference by now, including the likes of Tom Izzo, who said Sam was his favorite player on Nebraska’s roster. Izzo said if his team had to lose, he was okay with them losing to Sam and the Huskers.

It’s praise that is awfully uncommon at this level of basketball, and even Sam’s dad admitted this has become quite a special season for him and his son.

“If he was 6’8, he’d be Dennis Rodman – just kidding,” Fred Hoiberg quipped after the Northwestern win. “He just has a way going, not only the rebounds, but getting loose balls. I think he’s one of the top guys in the league. I think before the game, he was a leading steals guy in the Big Ten. He just finds a way to make an impact. Even though he’s not the biggest guy out there, he plays with a ton of heart, and it’s good to see how he’s grown over the years.”

CBS Sports picked Nebraska to finish 14th in league play this season. They're now the lone unbeaten and 18-0 on the year. | David Banks-Imagn Images

As for the team as a whole, what they’ve accomplished so far this season was unthinkable at the beginning of the year. You might remember that several major outlets didn’t exactly have the hype train revved up for the Huskers back in October. CBS Sports picked the Huskers to finish 14th in league play this year, and they weren’t alone in expecting a “status quo” year from the Big Red.

What’s come out of it is anything but, and Nebraska will look to run their winning streak up to 23-straight games dating back to last season if they can handle a midweek contest against Washington in Lincoln Wednesday.

Northwestern was the latest team to get a front row seat to NU’s magical run, and Collins didn’t shy away from heaping praise on the team and what they’ve been able to do so far this season.

“Those things that they bring are all things we’ve prided ourselves (on),” Collins has said about his team’s style of play. “Even Fred and I were talking before the game, watching them play, and I mean, we were never 18-0, but just watching how they play reminded me a lot of our best teams where everybody was just locked in and helping each other out and playing off each other.”

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