At the beginning of the season, I laid out a preview of my thoughts for the year. You can find them here. Now that we are almost entirely out of non-conference play, I figured I would revisit some of the things that have happened so far. It didn’t take long for the Huskers to begin its reign with the nation’s longest winning streak when Florida lost the opening game of the season to Arizona. That’s right, Nebraska’s victory in last year’s College Basketball Crown tournament gave Nebraska the longest win streak at 4 games.
The beyond great news is this, the Huskers surprisingly have not given up that win streak. Nebraska has gone on to set a couple of school records, one of which is the longest win streak (currently residing at 16 games) and the best start to a season in school history (currently residing at 12-0). The Huskers next opportunity to extend both of those records comes on December 30th, when New Hampshire comes into town.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven’t given much thought to the basketball season, I implore you to consider it. Your fandom shouldn’t stop at just the football or volleyball team. You should be full-throated and blood-pumping in the wintertime for wrestling, men’s and women’s basketball, and then again in the spring for baseball and softball. Obviously, don’t forget about the gymnastics, track and field, rifle and bowling team. EVERYONE needs your support.
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The fact of the matter is this, Fred Hoiberg has his team running wild in many different ways. Yes, the season isn’t quite to the halfway point, especially with the remaining gauntlet that is the Big Ten awaiting. 18 conference games await this team still, but I’m making a bold new prediction. I stated at the beginning of the year Nebraska would finish 19-12 (9-11 in B1G). I’m amending that now to 24-7 (13-7 in B1G). I’ve decided to go a little bolder because I’ve seen what this team can do.
It won tough games against New Mexico and Kansas State down in KC earlier, with grit, solid defense and a late free-throw to win it. I’ve seen the win against Oklahoma, the 105 point explosion put up by Big Red. I’ve seen the beatdowns administered to both Creighton and Wisconsin, both teams who have been a big bugaboo to Nebraska in recent years. I’ve watched Nebraska control games from start to finish, including the recent win at Illinois, where Nebraska trailed for just 15 seconds in that game.
There have been times when the Huskers have played down to its opponent, chiefly Maryland-Eastern Shore and most recently against North Dakota. Sometimes, you just don’t shoot the ball well and have to find other ways to win. Nebraska has been smart enough to figure all of that out so far.
The return of both Rienk Mast and Jamarques Lawrence, both of whom missed last season (knee surgery and transferred to Rhode Island respectively), has given Nebraska a huge boost in both talent and maturity. Mast can do it all; shoot, pass, dribble and rebound. Lawrence has gained valuable experience, and by returning to run the offense has done wonders with limiting turnovers while driving up his assists. He commands the offense to be smart.
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The transfer of Pryce Sandfort and Jared Garcia have done a lot to help Nebraska. Sandfort is the leading scorer for the Huskers, while Garcia does some damage in the limited time he gets. If it wasn’t for Garcia, Nebraska loses that game against Illinois. His 10 points were critical in keeping the Illini at bay in that second half. Sandfort has taken over the Brice Williams role from last year, being the pure scorer that the Huskers need. He put up a career high 32 against Illinois, 26 of which came in the first half.
Berke Buyuktuncel and Sam Hoiberg have definitely played a vital role in the team. Buyuktuncel has excelled as the leading rebounder and hustle guy, while Hoiberg is the glue that holds everything together. Without these two diving all over the place, bloodying themselves and being a general menace to opponents, Nebraska wouldn’t have the extra possessions it does.
I fully expect the Huskers to go into the new year with a 13-0 record. If you haven’t yet, again, watch this team. You have already missed something special early in the season, but don’t miss out on what is yet to come. This team is fun to watch. If you remember what happened with the team two years ago, I’ll tell you now, this one is better. This team will be the best one in Nebraska’s long-suffering history to hopefully finally break the NCAA Tournament curse.
The Huskers haven’t been ranked this high since the 1991 season; it has never started better. It hasn’t challenged the upper echelon of the Big Ten Conference since the Tim Miles era. All of this is happening because of the team Fred Hoiberg has put together. It has already exceeded my expectations, and I can’t wait to see how high they can really go. Go Big Red!
