How Will the Nebraska Cornhuskers Perform in Washington D.C.?

Nebraska enters the Big Ten Tournament on a five-game losing streak. Their last win was a 58-57 victory at Ohio State on February 18th. Although they're seeded 11 in the conference and will play on Wednesday at the Big Ten tournament, Nebraska has the potential to make some noise.

The Cornhuskers have done so in previous years, and could easily do so again this year. Let’s take a look at whether Nebraska can get it done this year.

Opening Round

Nebraska finished the season with a conference record of 6-12, so they enter the Big Ten Tournament as the league’s 12 seed.

In the opening round, they will face Penn State, the 13 seed. In the regular season, they met Penn State once at home and won by a score of 82-66. Nebraska has been able to make runs in the Big Ten Tournament in the past, so it is very possible they could walk away with another win against Penn State.

Nebraska’s backcourt is composed of Tai Webster and Glynn Watson Jr., who average 30.7 points per game combined. Nebraska had a surprise loss in the off-season, when Andrew White III left due to the graduate transfer rule.

They’ve also faced quite a few tough injuries this season, including the season-ending injury to Anton Gill, a guard transfer from Louisville who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Despite all of this, Nebraska’s backcourt is arguably one of the best in the Big Ten. When Webster and Watson Jr. are both playing well, Nebraska is hard to stop.

Both Penn State and Nebraska are evenly matched and this game could end either way.

If They Advance

If the Cornhuskers advance, they’ll face #4 seeded Michigan State. The Huskers faced the Spartans at home and on the road this season. Both times, they lost the matchup. Although Michigan State lost Eron Harris for the remainder of the season with an injury, Nebraska will have a tough time pulling the upset.

If they advance, they would face Minnesota, whom they split their two games with this past season. The Huskers beat Minnesota 67- 65 at home, but lost to them 88-73 when they traveled to The Barn.

If Nebraska advances to the semi-finals, they’d likely face Purdue or Michigan. Michigan blew out Nebraska in their recent meeting on senior night, but they upset Purdue at home at the end of January.

After playing two tough games in two days it may be very hard to see the Huskers pulling another upset because of their tough schedule the first two days. But, in the Big Ten Tournament, anything is possible.

Overall

Nebraska has a tough test ahead in the Big Ten Tournament. Last year, they made quite a run and upset Wisconsin to advance to playing Maryland after beating Rutgers in the first round. They also entered in a similar situation last year, coming off of a tough loss at Northwestern.

Tim Miles knows how to coach in Tournaments, so Nebraska has a chance to pull some upsets and make noise.

How far will they go and just how much noise will they make?

The wait is only a day away.