The No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers achieved the program’s highest-ever AP Top 25 ranking after blowing out the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday evening. This season’s team has tied the 1965-1966 team’s program-high ranking at No. 8, but has now surpassed it while remaining perfect (18-0) for the season.
The Cornhuskers are just one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the country, a number that stood at five just a fortnight ago.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Playing With a Chip on Their Shoulder
Coach Fred Hoiberg’s team is riding a wave that has them on track to be a one seed during the NCAA Tournament, where he has a 0-1 record, and the Cornhuskers have the unenviable record of being the only power conference team to have never won a game at the Big Dance (0-8).
The Cornhuskers were predicted to finish No. 14 out of 18 in the Big Ten in a CBS preseason poll, but they have shocked the country by staying unbeaten so far. The roster is headlined by forward Pryce Sandfort, who is averaging 16.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, while shooting 47.7% from the field and an incredible 41.1% from beyond the arc.
Sandfort is flanked by senior forward Rienk Mast, who is averaging 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, and freshman forward Braden Frager, who is averaging 12.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists.
The Cornhuskers are a sound offensive team, shooting 47.4% from the field (No. 77) and 35.5% from beyond the arc (No. 103).
After Northwestern was outclassed by Hoiberg’s team on Saturday, Wildcats coach Chris Collins summarized the magic of the 2025-2026 Nebraska team during his postgame news conference.
“I told Fred [Hoiberg] before the game, I admire the way they play,” Collins said. “You got a bunch of guys who are just a collection of their parts. It’s really refreshing to watch and the purity that they play with, the joy they play with, the toughness they play with, and you saw firsthand today, it’s why they’re 18 and 0.”
“I thought that second half when the game got away from us, their toughness and kind of togetherness and kind of resolve just was able to wear us down over time.”
Nebraska’s 18-game winning streak is not built on cupcake victories, either, as the Cornhuskers beat the No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini and No. 10 Michigan State Spartans this season.
Furthermore, the Cornhuskers are projected as a 2-seed in ESPN expert Joe Lunardi’s bracketology for the NCAA Tournament.
The Cornhuskers’ championship mettle will be tested in the coming weeks when they travel to Ann Arbor to face the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines before hosting the No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini and No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
