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Nebraska Basketball does not deserve to go to NCAA Tournament

By Leigh Oleszczak

LINCOLN, NE - FEBRUARY 25: Nebraska head coach Tim Miles reacts to the referee for a call made against Nebraska in the game against Penn State during the second half of a college basketball game Sunday, February 25th at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska takes the win over Penn State 76 to 64. (Photo by John Peterson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - FEBRUARY 25: Nebraska head coach Tim Miles reacts to the referee for a call made against Nebraska in the game against Penn State during the second half of a college basketball game Sunday, February 25th at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska takes the win over Penn State 76 to 64. (Photo by John Peterson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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As much as it pains me to say this, Nebraska basketball doesn’t deserve to partake in March Madness this year. Their loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament proved that very point.

As a lifelong Nebraska Cornhusker fan, it sucks knowing that your favorite college will likely be missing out on the NCAA Tournament once again. Postseason success hasn’t been a thing for Nebraska basketball throughout their existence, but the 2018 season seemed promising.

The Huskers finished their 2017-2018 campaign with a 22-9 overall record and 13-5 record in the Big Ten. Even with a weak Big Ten this season, the Huskers really just had to win as many games as possible and a trip to go dancing would be on the horizon.

Nebraska would only record one respectable win throughout the regular season, that being against Michigan in January, where NU would not only win that game, but would DESTROY the Wolverines. Unfortunately, that was the only quality win the Cornhuskers would get.

Those 13 conference wins happened because Nebraska was in a weak conference.

Another way to help Nebraska punch their ticket in March would have been to win at least one game in the Big Ten Tournament. They were granted a four-seed, but were beaten by double digits by Michigan, the very same team whom they once dominated months ago.

The early Big Ten Tournament loss will likely lead to Nebraska basketball missing the NCAA Tournament and instead, they’ll get to play in the NIT. Not quite the same thrill that March Madness provides.

The only reason Nebraska would make it at this point would be because of their name and the fact that they’re a Power Five school. Their resumé does not suggest that they’re deserving of playing in March and they definitely benefitted from playing in a weak conference this season.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports wrote that he thinks Nebraska could be made an example of when it comes to Selection Sunday. He made several good points about Nebraska’s lack of quality wins and how they’ll be one of three teams to record 13 conference wins and fail to make the tournament.

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If we’re being entirely honest with ourselves, those 13 conference wins happened because Nebraska was in a weak conference. The Big Ten is normally pretty competitive, but this was a down year, and Nebraska capitalized on it. Unfortunately, that will work against them in the end.

"The fact Nebraska finished fourth in the Big Ten is immaterial to its standing with the committee. If anything, it could be argued in the selection room that Nebraska only finished fourth in the league because it did not have to play MSU, Ohio State or Purdue twice. Had it played a tougher league schedule, Nebraska could easily have tallied more losses and not even been on the bubble to begin with."

Sadly, I agree with all of this. It was a fun season and the journey toward getting a four-seed in the Big Ten Tournament was fun, but let’s face it… The Big Ten stunk this year.

It sucks to have to write this article, but after the gross loss to Michigan on Friday, it really did show that the Cornhuskers aren’t quite ready to play with the “big boys” just yet. Hopefully the regular season momentum will carry over into next season, but for now, let’s see what happens next. Perhaps we’ll get a pleasant surprise come Selection Sunday.

As always, Go Big Red!

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