Less than a month ago, Nebraska basketball was dead and buried. By comparison, where the Huskers stand after a gnarly 49-46 defeat Monday night against Big Ten co-leader Michigan looks encouraging.
It does not feel that way, though.
The feel of this season for Nebraska has turned ominous.
Coach Fred Hoiberg’s Huskers returned home to face a pivotal moment after road games last week in which they played about 15 good minutes of basketball but managed to escape with a split against Northwestern and Penn State.
The requirement Monday for the Huskers was to plant their heels in the ground. They had to defend their home court to answer growing questions about this team’s direction. Was it veering off course to enter March, despite five wins in seven games before Michigan came to Pinnacle Bank Arena?
Or did Hoiberg, who’s made so many right moves over the past two years, have another winning card to play?
He did not. Aside from Brice Williams, who scored 26 points, the Huskers shot 7-for-41 from the field (17.1 percent) and 2-for-19 for 3-point range en route to a 49-46 defeat.
Nebraska’s first half at home tonight against Michigan isn’t any better offensively — maybe worse — than its brutal first halves at Northwestern and Penn State. But the defense is better. No one scoring except Brice Williams. He has 13. Michigan leads 21-16.
— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) February 25, 2025
“I’ll say this, I’m proud of this team,” the sixth-year Nebraska coach said. “I’m proud of the guys for going out there and giving themselves a chance. When you had about as poor of an offensive night as you could possibly have, when the ball doesn’t go in the basket, it’s not easy to go out there and continue to have a spirit defensively.
“But our guys fought like hell all game long.”
They held Michigan to 29.5 percent shooting and 5-for-27 from 3. The defensive effort was there.
“If we play with that kind of energy, that type of spirit, we’re going be fine,” Hoiberg said.
But are they fine? Can they play with the same intensity? The calling card for Nebraska, 17-11 overall and 7-10 in the Big Ten, is its volatility. The Huskers own four wins against ranked opponents to equal a school record, but they lost six consecutive games in January to almost derail the season. Rutgers snapped a 20-game home winning streak for Nebraska less than six weeks ago. USC, Maryland and now No. 15 Michigan have followed with wins in Lincoln.
The Wolverines moved Monday into a tie with Michigan State at 13-3 atop the Big Ten standings. With a frontline of 7-footer Danny Wolf and 7-1 Vlad Goldin, Michigan shut down space near the basket and forced Nebraska to extend its offense.
Sharpshooter Connor Essegian missed an open 3 in transition in the closing seconds with the Huskers down one. Berke Buyuktuncel could not hit a good look at the buzzer to force overtime.
Big men Buyuktuncel, Juwan Gary, Andrew Morgan and Braxton Meah finished 2-for-27 from the field.
The victory for Michigan was its 11th by four points or fewer this season. After a last-place league finish a year ago, the Wolverines are well positioned for March, with three home games before a regular-season finale at fellow Big Ten frontrunner MSU.
The Spartans beat Michigan last Friday in Ann Arbor.
Despite scoring a season-low 49 points in Lincoln, the Wolverines simply found a way to win.
Nebraska, meanwhile, is just confounding its fans after losing four games by 17 points or more. Hoiberg spent time after the 89-72 loss at Penn State last Wednesday working to repair the Huskers’ mindsets.
He was at it again Monday night in defeat, telling the Nebraska players that he didn’t want to see any of them hang their heads.
“We’ll keep fighting,” Hoiberg said. “We’ll keep battling.”
He’s fighting a psychological battle, trying to convince the Huskers that they’re up to this task. The more he’s implored them to clean up their play, the uglier things have turned on the court. The basketball against Michigan was painful to watch.
Before the tip, 96 of 97 projections on BracketMatrix.com listed Nebraska — which owns five Quad 1 victories — in the 68-team NCAA Tournament field. It may fall out of a few this week, but a chance to rebound arrives Saturday as Minnesota visits.
The Huskers close the regular season at Ohio State and against Iowa in Lincoln. They can’t afford many more slips. These Huskers are fighting to take Nebraska to a second consecutive NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994 — and to collect the program’s first win in the Big Dance.
I predicted as 2025 began that Nebraska would make history and clear the hurdle. For the breakthrough to arrive at the end of a season so often difficult to watch would, in fact, befit Nebraska basketball.
But some forecasts are just destined to pass — perhaps like this campaign for Nebraska — with a whimper and darkness at the end.
(Photo of Brice Williams: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)
