Look Out For the Surging Nebraska Cornhuskers in Big Ten Basketball Tournament

They may only be 19-11, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers are poised to make quite a run to the NCAA tournament. It’ll likely take them winning the Big Ten Conference tournament to get there, but don’t be too surprised if they make that happen.

It’s been an interesting season for head coach Tim Miles and his Cornhuskers. They have solid non-conference wins against Georgia and Miami but lost ugly to Creighton and Cincinnati. When they hit conference play, they started slow, but then turned things around to finish strong. Heading into the Big Ten tournament, they’ve secured the No. 4 seed.

After starting off their conference schedule 0-4, the Cornhuskers began to turn their season around with an upset win over then No. 17 ranked Ohio State. They went on to upset Michigan State, swept Indiana and upset Wisconsin in their season finale. In their final nine games of the season, Nebraska went 8-1. This is a team on a roll and at just the right time.

The Cornhuskers are led by sophomore Terran Petteway. In an average of 31.7 minuets per game, Petteway averages 18.1 points and 4.9 rebounds. He’s scored at least 30 points twice and averaged 19 points in their last nine games. Supporting him is fellow sophomore Shavon Shields. On the season, he averages 12.7 points per game. However, he has elevated his game lately, averaging 16.1 points per game in their last nine contests.

Nebraska is a team on the rise and just at the right time. Keep an eye on them throughout the Big 10 tournament. They just might be able to pull off the magical run they need to get to the big dance.

Brian Skinnell is a freelance sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter and add him to your network on Google.