It’s been a while — over three months, to be exact.
A lot has changed since then; Nebraska and Miami-Ohio are a combined 40-0 heading into the last week of January; Florida, the defending national champion, dropped out of the poll entirely before upsetting top 10 and undefeated Vanderbilt to reclaim its throne in the SEC; Michigan looked like The Monstars for a month but lost to unranked Wisconsin at home.
There’s a lot to unpack, and it’ll start with some questions.
Is this Nebraska team for real? Like, actually for real? – Jason
We will see tonight, when No. 5 Nebraska (20-0, 9-0) travels to Ann Arbor for a bout for first place in the Big 10 with No. 3 Michigan (18-1, 8-1).
But it’s hard not to look at the Cornhuskers’ resumé and think they’ll finally get over the hump in 2026 (the metaphorical hump being winning an NCAA Tournament game, of course, which the school hasn’t done in its 130 years of existence). Fred Hoiberg’s squad hung 105 points on Oklahoma, detonated in-state rival Creighton by 21, walked off now-No. 9 Illinois in Champaign and downed Michigan State by a basket.
Hoiberg’s assembled a rock-solid nucleus in Lincoln, comprising a duo of experienced forwards in Pryce Sandfort and Rienk Mast with hardy freshman Braden Frager and uber-consistent Jamarques Lawrence. But there’s still questions, like there are with every team.
Can Nebraska rebound at a serviceable rate offensively? Can it play outside of a slow tempo if someone speeds them up? Will its 3-point surrendering defense survive a red-hot No. 15 seed in March?
Nebrasketball has quite literally never been better. That doesn’t mean it’ll be on the fast track to the Final Four, however.
Virginia Tech is sneaky. No. 10 seed to the Elite 8. – Unanimous
That’s quite audacious of you, Unanimous, but I’m inclined to agree.
The Hokies have stumbled since they upset its nemesis Virginia in triple-overtime on New Year’s Eve, losing four of seven and falling flat defensively in losses to Louisville and Wake Forest.
If it can survive the rest of ACC play, which won’t get easier with Duke, NC State, Clemson and Miami in a five- game stretch, Virginia Tech could sneak into the tournament through the backdoor in Dayton.
Freshman forward Neoklis Avdalas is an NBA-caliber forward weathering a tough shooting stretch but has shown his scoring chops in wins over Providence and Virginia. Tobiu Lawal is still adjusting to being reinserted into the lineup but is a powerful post player who scored 22 in the win over Notre Dame.
Add leading scorer Amani Hansberry and supplemental scorers Ben Hammond and Jailen Bedford into the mix, who all average over 10 points per game, and the Hokies have one of the ACC’s most potent offenses at their disposal.
And we know how far offense can get you in the NCAA Tournament.
How would you assess St. Louis and Miami-Ohio to this point? Do they have a clear seeding ceiling? – Mid Major Fan
It’s hard to deny sustained success, regardless of competition. St. Louis is a freak 3-pointer away from being, like Miami-Ohio, undefeated through the last week of January. The RedHawks, meanwhile, have beaten the second, third, fourth and sixth best teams in the MAC in the past three weeks.
Whether or not that success transcends the rest of conference play, known notoriously throughout college basketball as anarchy’s playground, remains to be seen.
Will Miami-Ohio really enter March an undefeated 34-0? Will St. Louis really upset a reeling SEC team in an eight-over-nine or seven-over-ten matchup? It’s becoming harder and harder to say no.
Miami’s shooting the ball at one of the nation’s highest clips (second in effective FG%, fourth in 2P%), which has served as its lifeline in late-game comeback wins over Akron, Buffalo and Kent State. St. Louis, buoyed by its six double-figure scorers, is ninth in the country in points per game (91.5) and has perfected Josh Schertz’s breakneck tempo.
Both teams have proven the ability to win – in close or in blowout fashion. Until they lose, which all but 11 have done in conference play, there’s no reason why their seeding should be stunted.