Nebraska Men’s Basketball Scoops Up National Media Attention

“Yep, Nebraska was voted to finish 14th in the Big Ten, with the Purdues and Michigans of the world small dots on the horizon. But now…

“The Cornhuskers are one of the last seven unbeaten teams and their 15-game winning streak is the longest in the nation. They’re 11-0 for the first time in 48 years and started 2-0 in the Big Ten for the first time in nine years … Their shiny new No. 15 ranking is their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in nearly 35 years.

“Three more months of this and Nebraska will find itself a very nice seed in the bracket in March.

"And then maybe the Cornhuskers can do something about that 0-8 NCAA tournament record. Not one win, which is something 239 current Division I members own, including every other member of the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big Ten, Big East, Big 12 and SEC. That’s not the way a program wants to be conspicuous.”

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander led off his “College Hoops Insider Notebook” yesterday with the Huskers.

”Nebraska is the feel-good story of the first six weeks of the college basketball season,” Norlander wrote. “The undefeated Cornhuskers own the nation’s longest winning streak (15 games), which doubles as the longest winning streak in program history.

“In October, Fred Hoiberg's team was ranked outside the top 50 in advance metrics and was picked 14th in the Big Ten preview here at CBS Sports. Oops!

“They fooled just about everybody.

“Every year, like clockwork, we get a couple of schools that emerge in the first month-plus that overshoot expectations and present an uplifting plot twist. Nebraska is that team for 2025-26.”

Deadspin also is on-board with the Huskers. Adam Zielonka wrote: “If you don’t feel that 11-0 Nebraska is the feel-good story of the college basketball season so far, consider Kent Pavelka.

“He’s the Cornhuskers’ radio announcer of more than 40 years. Meaning he’s sat through a litany of pretty forgettable seasons of basketball.

“And Pavelka sounded like he was having a heart attack when he called Jamarques Lawrence’s dramatic 3-pointer at the buzzer for Nebraska to stun then-No. 13 Illinois over the weekend.

“I’m gonna pass out!” Pavelka is able to sputter as Lawrence’s teammates mob him on the court.

“If you’re just catching up, the Cornhuskers’ season just went from promising to attention-grabbing. They beat rival Creighton by 21, opened Big Ten play with a 30-point thrashing of Wisconsin, then took down Illinois on the road on Lawrence’s heroic shot.”

ESPN’s take on the Huskers

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello has the Huskers ranked 13th in his latest Power Rankings.

Borzello wrote: “Nebraska is off to its best start in program history after Saturday's win at Illinois, the Cornhuskers' first victory in a ranked vs. ranked matchup since 1991, per ESPN Research.

While Pryce Sandfort’s 32-point performance — more specifically, his 15 straight points to start the game and 26 in the first half — drew headlines, it mostly highlighted the fantastic season he’s been having through 11 games. After hitting 20 points just once in his two seasons at Iowa, Sandfort has scored at least 20 in five games. He has also doubled his previous career-high average in assists (1.3 to 2.7).”

Enjoy, Husker fans. The big, mean Big Ten schedule starts in earnest on Jan. 2 with Michigan State coming to town.

In January, Nebraska plays (with current rankings):

Jan. 2: No. 9 Michigan State
Jan. 5: at Ohio State
Jan. 10: at Indiana
Jan. 13: Oregon
Jan. 17: at Northwestern
Jan. 21: Washington
Jan. 24: at Minnesota
Jan. 27: at No. 2 Michigan

That eight-game stretch — with five difficult road games — likely will define Nebraska’s season. It also might determine how many more national media stories about the Huskers we’ll read going into February.