Nebraska has officially made the Sweet 16! If you want, 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 1.5-point favorite. This is the third matchup between Nebraska and Iowa this season. Both teams won at home, with Iowa winning 57-52 on February 17th, and the Huskers winning 84-75 in overtime on March 8th.
Not to brag, but Nebraska is currently undefeated in school history after the
Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. That could change on Thursday, but the streak might continue as well. This game will come down purely to who can control the pace in my opinion. Just look at the two scores from this season, it will tell you quite a bit.
Thursday’s meeting between the Huskers and Hawkeyes is the first neutral-site meeting of the series. All 44 previous matchups have taken place on campus. Thursday’s game features the top two scoring defenses in the Big Ten. Nebraska leads the Big Ten at 65.8 ppg, while Iowa ranks second at 66.0 ppg. The Huskers and Hawkeyes are the only two Big Ten teams in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense entering the Sweet 16.
Nebraska is 52-10 (.839) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 43-7 mark over the last four seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of the 2022-23 season, four came in overtime. NU is 15-0 this season when scoring 80+ points. In Nebraska’s seven games against ranked opponents this season, Sam Hoiberg has a 40-to-3 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Again, this contest will come down who can control the tempo of this game. Also, keeping the Hawkeyes off the offensive glass. The Huskers were outrebounded in both contests but definitely lost the offensive rebound battle in the loss in Iowa City. The Huskers will look to move on to the Elite 8, where they will play the winner of #2 Seed Houston and #3 Seed Illinois. Go Big Red!
