What Would a Nebraska Win at Michigan Mean for the Husker Men’s Basketball Program?

Nebraska men’s basketball has a chance to make its most powerful statement of the season at Michigan on Tuesday night.

There are two simple conclusions to draw if the Huskers defeat Michigan in Ann Arbor: Nebraska can be a No. 1 seed. Nebraska can make the Final Four.

Why not, right?

The Huskers will have earned the 1-seed. If they continue to play this brand of entertaining, efficient and impressive basketball, well, the Final Four isn’t impossible. You need four NCAA Tournament wins to get there, but Nebraska is proving to be a team that can accomplish whatever comes in its way.

Especially if the Huskers win at Crisler Center. Doors previously locked will open. Confidence and momentum should soar. On Monday, Nebraska moved to a No. 5 ranking -- up from No. 7 -- in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Beating a top-3 team like Michigan on its home court will say something profound to a national media already paying attention and wanting this good story to continue.

Win Tuesday night’s game, and that’s where the Huskers will be on Wednesday morning.

What a start, what a season

Nebraska’s 20-0 start is potent, and the talk of college basketball. Winning at Illinois, defeating Michigan State, blowing out Wisconsin and Creighton at home stunned the college basketball world.

Interesting: The Illini haven’t lost since the Nebraska game, and won at No. 4 Purdue on Saturday, 88-82. Michigan State hasn’t lost since the Nebraska game.

Some of the Huskers’ blowout wins were unexpected back in November. Defeating good teams defines your program. Crushing other teams says something else, nearly as impressive as the prestigious wins. It says consistency, showing up no matter the quality of the competition, and playing defense — always.

Nebraska has impressive, double-digit wins over Creighton, Wisconsin, Oregon, Northwestern, Washington and Minnesota. The Huskers trailed host Minnesota by six at halftime and won by 76-57.

Still, college basketball experts and fans aren’t quite sure what to make of Nebraska. Nice team, well coached, good shooters, unselfish offense, tough defense. But really, how good are the Huskers? Could they compete against a team with a dominant inside game? We’ll see because Michigan is big and talented and might be the best team in the country.

How good can the Huskers be?

Are the Huskers this good, as good as they appear?

Results are results and Nebraska keeps stacking victories on top of victories. This is Big Ten basketball they’re storming through at 9-0, not a hand-picked series of easy non-conference games.

Winning all these games is fun and unprecedented. Is that enough? Not according to Huskers coach Fred Hoiberg, who says he frequently asks his team that very question.

Will the Huskers be satisfied with, say, a 26-5 regular season, a couple of wins in the Big Ten Tournament, an NCAA Tournament win or two?

They shouldn’t be. For a program with so little basketball heritage, the Huskers should grab for everything they can. In November — and December — a Final Four appearance sounded ludicrous. Now? Not so much.

Toughest test of the season

Nebraska might not face a sterner regular-season test than Tuesday night. But one minor detail could help Nebraska: Michigan has its biggest game of the season on Friday, the first of two meetings against Michigan State. Could the Wolverines look ahead to their state supremacy game against the dreaded Spartans?

The Huskers visit the Wolverines at 6 CT on Peacock. This meeting was scheduled … but the stakes weren’t. These are two top-5 teams on the same court at the same time.

Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg challenges shot by Minnesota forward Cade Tyson during the first half at Williams Arena. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

When you’re a newbie in this rarified air of college basketball, caution and apprehension are to be expected and that might show — especially early — against the Wolverines. Nebraska’s 2-seed projection, and top-5 ranking — that’s where Duke, Kansas and North Carolina normally live. Do the Huskers belong?

Nebraska has never been here, in this neighborhood. Never been 20-0. Never been ranked this high. Never been projected as a No. 2 seed in ESPN’s Bracketology.

CBS Sports’ latest Bracketology, released Friday, had the Huskers as a No. 1 seed in the South Region. The other No. 1 seeds, according to CBS Sports, are Arizona, Duke and Michigan.

Yes, this is college basketball’s upscale neighborhood: Beverly Hills, or the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This is an elite neighborhood where few dare to trespass.

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