2023 College Basketball Preview: Nebraska Cornhuskers

The college basketball season is less than three weeks away, and here at FTN Bets we have you covered for what promises to be another thrilling year of upsets and incredible finishes. I will be taking you around the country with a betting preview of the major conferences. I recap the betting trends from last season, list projected starters, preview the season, identify a key player, and reveal how I’m backing or fading each team. 

Let’s continue our preview with the Big Ten. Always competitive each season, the Big Ten has developed a reputation for early-round flameouts in the NCAA Tournament. Only Michigan State advanced past the second round last season, and No. 1 Purdue’s opening round loss to 16-seeded FDU is the greatest upset in NCAA Tournament history. With both Purdue and Michigan State opening the season ranked inside the AP top four teams, the conference again has Final Four contenders. Just eight years ago the Big Ten put two teams in the Final Four (Wisconsin, Michigan State), and 24 seasons since a Big Ten team was crowned overall champion (Michigan State, 2000). 

Let’s start with our betting preview for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

2023-2024 Nebraska Cornhuskers Betting Preview

Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg (5th season)
2022-2023 Record: 16-16 (9-11) 
ATS: 13-19
O/U: 14-17-1
Projected Starters: G Jamarques Lawrence; G Keisei Tominaga; G Brice Williams; F Josiah Allick; F Rienk Mast

While Hoiberg’s tenure in Nebraska cannot be characterized as “successful,” the Cornhuskers have increased their wins in each of the first four seasons, both overall and within the Big Ten conference. After sitting at 3-9 in conference following a loss to Illinois Jan. 31, Nebraska won six of their last eight games to end the regular season. This includes road wins at Rutgers and Iowa, and home victories over Penn State, Wisconsin and Maryland. Despite a rough finishing record, it is worth noting Nebraska has improved their wins in each of Hoiberg’s prior three seasons. Nebraska returns veteran players and brings in experienced transfers, but they need to replace three starters in Derrick Walker, Sam Griesel and Emmanuel Bandoumel who combined for over 33 PPG. 

Key Player: Keisei Tominaga 

Tominanga was one of the best stories in college basketball last season, experiencing huge increases in field-goal percentage (37% to 50%), three-point accuracy (33% to 40%) and scoring (5.7 to 13.1 PPG). Can he take an even bigger leap this season? Nebraska is weak in the backcourt, a direct result of Iowa transfer Ahron Ulis uncertain status due to gambling probe. Nebraska will patch together the point guard position with Jamarques Lawrence and Ball State transfer Jarron Coleman. They also added Charlotte transfer Brice Williams, who is a versatile scorer, but Tominaga needs to be the key to this Nebraska offense. 

Projection: Nebraska is predicted 12th in the Big Ten preseason poll but could inch higher due to their plethora of veterans. Hoiberg is an excellent coach and has kept the Cornhuskers competitive (especially at home), even with inferior talent. The Nebraska fan base wants to see improvement, and an above .500 record in conference play is not out of the range of outcomes. Forward Juwan Gary started 17 games before a shoulder injury ended his season, which is a nice bench piece to add to this group. Nebraska is not in the top half of the conference in terms of talent but will be one of most experienced teams in the Big Ten. Given the uncertainty of many rosters with the transfer portal, a seventh- or eighth-place finish would again be another positive step for Hoiberg. 

How I’m Betting Nebraska: Be careful with this team, as they have produced a variety of betting results over the past two seasons. They were 19-12-1 to the over two years ago, but 14-17-1 to the under last season. They were 18-14 ATS two years ago, but 13-19 ATS last season. The one spot I always like to bet on Nebraska is as a home underdog, where they are 18-12 (60%) ATS the past three seasons. Over the past two years, that number is even better at 13-7 (65%) ATS. With a veteran team that brings experience, that will be my betting focus yet again.