At the start of the week, Nebraska clearly had the Big Ten’s toughest task: Knock off No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 14 Illinois to prove it belongs in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.
The Cornhuskers achieved the first half of that improbable double with an 80-72 overtime win against the visiting Badgers on Thursday. Nebraska jumped from No. 60 to No. 55 in the NET rankings that influence the NCAA Tournament committee.
Now comes the tougher part.
After expending endless energy to rally from a 19-point deficit on Thursday, the Cornhuskers (16-6, 6-5 Big Ten) had little time to recover ahead of their Sunday clash at Illinois (16-5, 7-3). The Illini haven’t played since Tuesday.
“It’s too bad,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said after the Wisconsin triumph. “We’ve had two great wins over Top 10 teams (the Cornhuskers beat then-No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 9) and you don’t get to celebrate. We’ve got to bounce back, get back in the gym, put a game plan together and hopefully go out and execute on the road.”