Why Nebraska basketball is a clear candidate for March Madness

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have been one of the biggest stories of the entire 2025-26 season. Fred Hoiberg has this team at 20-1 overall on the season. Nebraska started the season unranked and worked its way up to No. 5 in the nation by winning its first 20 games.

Hoiberg and the Cornhuskers lost their first contest of the year Wednesday against No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor. They led for most of the game, but the Wolverines rallied late to secure a three-point win at home. Nebraska led with just over two minutes remaining and led 91% of the game against one of the best teams in the country. There’s no question that this team is a clear contender for March Madness with just over a month left in the regular season.

Why Nebraska is a clear candidate for March Madness

The Cornhuskers are elite at creating great looks on offense. Hoiberg is one of the best coaches in the sport. He often puts his players in positions to be successful. His team is currently 13th in the nation in assists per game with 18.4 and is averaging just 9.0 turnovers per game, 7th fewest in the country. They don’t have any eye-opening stats, averaging just 80.5 points per game, but they play good basketball and have stepped up against elite teams.

Nebraska has wins over a good New Mexico team, against Oklahoma, Kansas State, Creighton, Wisconsin, No. 13 Illinois away, No. 9 Michigan State and Indiana away. Coming in, they battle No. 9 Illinois at home, followed by battles with Rutgers on the road and no. 12. Purdue at home. The schedule gets much lighter after that, taking in Northwestern, Iowa, Penn State, Maryland, USC, UCLA and then Iowa again to finish the regular season. Chances are, Nebraska wins all of those games and finishes the season with 30 wins. With the way the Big Ten schedule is set up for the Cornhuskers, they only had to play Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue once this season.

They are able to take advantage of it.

Four players are averaging double figures in points, led by Price Sandfort. In 31.5 minutes per game, he is averaging 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He shoots 47.6% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. His points per game have increased of late as the forward has scored 20+ points in five straight games, including 28 against Oregon. Sandfort plays Illinois on Sunday. He scored 32 points against them earlier this season.

Rienk Mast is second on the team with 14.6 points per game. The aging big man hasn’t scored nearly as well as he has of late. In the last four games, he scored a total of 34 points. Mast scored 31 against Winthrop in November. He had a streak of at least 15 points in eight straight games earlier this season. The the big man did not play against Michiganas Hoiberg said he was sick and throwing up before the game. The Cornhuskers need him back, as Mast’s good play is crucial to this team’s success.

Third-stringer Braden Frager also did not play against Michigan. He is averaging 12.2 points per game. So Nebraska was able to compete against the No. 3 team in the country without two of its top players and narrowly escaped Ann Arbor with a win.

There are four teams with a 9-1 record in conference play: Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois. The Big Ten is up for grabs, and with the remaining schedule Nebraska has, they have a real shot at winning the Big Ten regular season title with a shot at a No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a No. 1-2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan and Michigan State still have two games against each other this season, and if the Cornhuskers beat Illinois at home on Sunday, then they have the edge despite Michigan beating them this week.