Well, we have officially reached March Madness! Let the fun and chaos begin! As always, you can follow all of the madness right here with FanDuel. College Basketball Odds: NCAA Men’s Lines & Spreads | FanDuel. The Huskers will go into the contest as a 13.5-point favorite against the Trojans. The projected ceiling for the Huskers is the Final Four.
Yes, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. No, that isn’t a typo. Yes, we’re talking about basketball. I know we haven’t won a Tournament game (what are the odds of
that being mentioned over/under 10.5 times per day). More than 70 years after his grandfather was hired to coach the team, though, Fred Hoiberg became just the second coach in school history to lead it to two NCAA tournament appearances in three years.
But this isn’t just a feel-good story. The Cornhuskers were the best defensive team in Big Ten play, forcing turnovers on nearly one-fifth of their opponents’ possessions. They have wins over Illinois and Michigan State. Opposing teams made just 30% of their 3-point attempts against them. To go along with that collective prowess, Pryce Sandfort (17.9 PPG, 40% from beyond the arc) leads a trio of players averaging double figures.
Scott Cross had to weather late-season adversity to beat Georgia Southern for the Sun Belt tournament championship this year: His roster took a hit when the 6-9 Theo Seng (12.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG), Troy’s starting center for the bulk of the year, suffered a knee injury that has sidelined him for the past six games.
Opposing players have made just 32% of their shots around the rim against him this season, per Synergy Sports. But Cross and his team figured it out. In Seng’s six-game absence, they turned to 6-9 senior Jerrell Bellamy, who has averaged 15.3 PPG as the Trojans went 5-1. They’ve also made 61% of their shots inside the arc in that stretch.
This game will ultimately define Nebraska’s season. If the Huskers lose here, no one will remember the best start in school history. No one will remember the longest winning streak in school history. The record for conference wins and conference road wins won’t matter. Achieving the highest seed in the Big Ten Tournament will be an afterthought. Finally, tying the school record for wins in a season will feel like a giant let down.
Win, and this team will go down in Husker lore…FOR ALL OF IT. There is the running joke of whomever wins the first NCAA Tournament game for Nebraska will get a statue. Picture Fred and Sam Hoiberg standing together outside PBA like Tom Osborne and Brooke Berringer do outside of Memorial Stadium. We’ve made it to the dance, now dance like no one is looking (and hope the refs don’t call traveling or a foul). Go Big Red!
