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We are living in a country where Indiana’s football program is ranked No. 1 and favored to win the national championship. That’s crazy. Similarly nutty, Nebraska’s men’s basketball program is undefeated and ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 1966.
As my colleague Tom Fornelli posted on X, it’s like a 90s funhouse mirror these days — not to mention evidence that, in this era of college athletics, the right coach with the right resources can win big anywhere at the power-conference level.
What you’ve been doesn’t really matter anymore. Hire the right coach, give the right coach the right resources and good things should follow. That’s the lesson of Curt Cignetti at Indiana, a traditional basketball power that’s never done much in football until now. It’s also the story of Fred Hoiberg at Nebraska, a traditional football power that’s never won a game in the NCAA Tournament but is still one of six undefeated teams left in the sport this season thanks to Monday night’s 72-69 victory at Ohio State that improved the Cornhuskers to 15-0.
Did it take Hoiberg longer than expected to get it going at Nebraska?
Yeah, I guess. But who cares?
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He’s clearly got it going now. And with every Quad-1 win — Nebraska is up to four, by the way — it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Cornhuskers should have the type of seed in the NCAA Tournament that makes them favorites in the first round, making it likely they’ll be positioned to win a game in that event for what would be, again, the first time in school history.
Nebraska is No. 9 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Michigan remains No. 1 for the 28th consecutive day. Next up for the Cornhuskers’ is Saturday’s game at Indiana. A victory there will extend the program’s winning streak to 20 games because, remember, Nebraska closed last season by winning four straight in the inaugural College Basketball Crown Tournament.
Top 25 And 1 rankings