No. 8 Nebraska eyes 18-0 start vs. lowly Northwestern
Big Ten Conference teams headed in opposite directions meet up Saturday afternoon when Northwestern takes on No. 8 Nebraska in Evanston, Ill.
The visiting Cornhuskers (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) are off to their best start in school history, winners of 21 straight dating to last season, and have their best ranking in the Associated Press poll since being No. 8 in 1966. Nebraska is one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Division I along with No. 1 Arizona and Miami (Ohio).
On the flip side, Northwestern (8-9, 0-6) is off to its worst start in conference play since 2007-08 when it went 1-17. The Wildcats have dropped four in a row, most recently 79-68 at home to No. 13 Illinois on Wednesday.
"We're doing everything we can to find a way to win," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "We're playing really hard, and that's what's frustrating."
Nebraska is coming off a 90-55 home win over Oregon on Tuesday, its largest margin of victory since joining the Big Ten in 2011. That contrasted from the previous three games that they won by a combined 11 points, though once again the Cornhuskers started off slow and were tied late in the first half.
"I was really proud of how the guys responded, coming out and throwing the first punch, and then really keeping our foot on the gas for the entire 20 minutes in the second," said seventh-year Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, who has won more games this season than in any of his first four seasons at the school.
Northwestern has the top scorer in the Big Ten in Nick Martinelli, who averages 23.8 points per game and was also the conference scoring leader in 2024-25. He has three 30-point games this season and is averaging 25.7 points in league play.
But as a team the Wildcats don't shoot well, making 42.9% of their shots in Big Ten play while allowing 48.6%.
Nebraska has had 15 games of 20 or more points from four different players. Against Oregon it was Pryce Sandfort going for 28 and Braden Frager scoring a career-high 23, with each hitting seven 3-pointers.
The Cornhuskers are tops in the Big Ten in made 3-pointers per game (12.5) and 3-point shooting (39.1%) in conference games, which makes up for being at the bottom of the league in free throw attempts.
Northwestern has a history of knocking off Top 10 teams, particularly on its home court. Two years ago, it knocked off No. 10 Illinois at home and earlier that season downed No. 1 Purdue for the second consecutive year.
In addition to remaining unbeaten, a win for Nebraska would extend its streak of conference road victories to four. The Cornhuskers haven't won more than three consecutive league road games since the 1975-76 season when they were in the Big Eight, and their last 7-0 start in a conference was in the Big Eight in 1965-66.