BIG TEN TEAM PREVIEW #8 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS

Nebraska didn't reach the NCAA tournament last year, but they did win the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament. Nebraska finished last season with a 21-14 record. Head coach Fred Hoiberg will look to lead the Huskers to the tournament for the second time in his seventh season at the helm this upcoming season.

Projected Lineup:

G Jamarques Lawrence (Rhode Island transfer)

G Connor Essegian

G Pryce Sandfort (Iowa transfer)

F Rienk Mast

C Ugnius Jarusevicius (Central Michigan transfer)

Nebraska's best returning player, in 6-foot-9 forward Rienk Mast, missed all of last season due to having knee surgery. He's healthy this season and should start at the four for the Huskers. Mast was a key player on Nebraska's 2023-24 squad, which reached the NCAA tournament. He started in all 32 games and averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds, earning all-conference honors in the Big Ten. Nebraska's top returner, who played on last season's squad, is 6-foot-4 shooting guard Connor Essegian. He was Nebraska's third leading scorer last year, averaging 10.7 points and shooting 37.7 percent from three. 6-foot-10 forward Berke Buyuktuncel is another returner from last season's team. He averaged 6 points and 5.5 rebounds off the bench for them last season. Fred Hoiberg's son, Sam Hoiberg, is back for another season. The 6-foot point guard averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 steals off the bench last year.

Nebraska was pretty busy in the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in a total of 6 transfers. Their biggest portal addition should be 6-foot-10 Central Michigan transfer Ugnius Jarusevicius. He was one of the top players in the MAC last season, averaging 16.2 points and 7.3 rebounds, earning first-team all-conference honors. Iowa transfer Pryce Sanford was another big transfer portal addition from within the conference. Sandford was a four-star recruit out of high school and had been at Iowa for two seasons. He was a good player off the bench for the Hawkeyes last season, averaging 8.8 points on 40 percent shooting from three-point range. Nebraska also brought back 6-foot-2 Rhode Island transfer guard Jamarques Lawrence this offseason. Lawrence spent the first two seasons of his career at Nebraska before transferring to Rhode Island prior to last season, likely for a bigger role. He started in 23 of his 34 games there last season and averaged 9.9 points and 2.5 assists. Nebraska was also able to bring in some depth pieces from the portal. 6-foot-4 St. Thomas transfer guard Kendall Blue, as well as 6-foot-6 Air Force transfer forward Will Cooper and 6-foot-9 Tulsa transfer forward Jared Garcia, should all contribute off the bench.

My initial thoughts are that Nebraska should for sure have some depth this season. I think that Rienk Mast and Ugnius Jarusevicius are also a great frontcourt tandem that will be tough on opposing teams. Especially if Mast is able to get back to where he was two seasons ago. What concerns me is that their backcourt is probably among the worst in the conference. It's deep, but they don't really have any guard that can score beyond the arc and get to the rim. Jamarques Lawrence wasn't really that good at Rhode Island last season, and Essegian is really only a threat from three.

Prediction: 15th in Big Ten