The Big Ten released its men’s basketball conference schedule on Thursday. Wilson Moore’s three takes on the 20-game league slate.
Balance in difficulty
Nebraska’s games against the expected top of the conference are relatively spaced out. Illinois is the second of the two December opponents, then comes to Lincoln in early February. Michigan State is in early January, with Michigan three weeks later. The Huskers will play Purdue on Feb. 10, nine days after its second matchup with Illinois. Nebraska’s west coast trip to UCLA and USC is in late February and early March.
Having its toughest opponents spread out reduces the likelihood that Nebraska goes through a tailspin and drowns in a constantly rising tide of top 25 teams. It also means there aren’t many soft stretches in which NU can stack wins on top of each other, like the way it sealed its tournament berth in 2024 by winning six of seven games over non-NCAA tournament teams to close the regular season.
Finally, a home opener
The last time Nebraska began Big Ten play at Pinnacle Bank Arena was Dec. 2, 2018. The Huskers beat Illinois that night. Tim Miles was in his last season as Nebraska’s coach.
Nebraska has lost every Big Ten opener since, all on the road. Last season, Fred Hoiberg publicly expressed his displeasure, and this season he gets a home game to begin conference play for the first time in his Nebraska tenure.
Wisconsin visits Dec 10. The Badgers made the NCAA tournament last season but lost All-Big Ten wing and Omaha Central graduate John Tonje to the NBA draft. Still, John Blackwell and Nolan Winter are back, and Nebraska will get a solid home test as it wades into the conference season.
The Iowa of March
The Huskers’ 2024-25 regular season ended with a thud. They were at home facing Iowa. The winner went to the Big Ten tournament. The loser stayed home, and Nebraska played 40 minutes of lifeless basketball, Juwan Gary tearfully walking off the PBA court for the last time the defining image of the afternoon.
Once again, Nebraska’s regular season will end with a home game against Iowa. It won’t have the same stakes — every team will make the conference tournament this year — but NU has the chance to close the year with the kind of weekend rivalry environment that was absent last March. The PBA crowd was timid as the Huskers slogged to the finish line.
There’s no telling what the trajectory of either team will look like by then or whether the game will have NCAA tournament implications, but it will be their second meeting in less than a month. Iowa has a new coach in Ben McCollum, so there could be some new life in the rivalry.
Schedule
Dec. 10 Wisconsin
Dec. 13 at Illinois
Jan. 2 Michigan State
Jan. 5 at Ohio State
Jan. 10 at Indiana
Jan. 13 Oregon
Jan. 17 at Northwestern
Jan. 21 Washington
Jan. 24 at Minnesota
Jan. 27 at Michigan
Feb. 1 Illinois
Feb. 7 at Rutgers
Feb. 10 Purdue
Feb. 14 Northwestern
Feb. 17 at Iowa
Feb. 21 Penn State
Feb. 25 Maryland
Feb. 28 at USC
March 3 at UCLA
March 8 Iowa
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