Josh Pastner names Nebraska most dangerous 'under-the-radar' team in NCAA Tournament

ESPN’s Josh Pastner named Nebraska as his most dangerous under the radar team for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The Huskers fell to Illinois in the Big Ten semifinals Saturday, but make no mistake, this team is ready to go. This is the best season under fifth-year head coach Fred Hoiberg and they’re poised to finally make the tournament.

Pastner detailed why on Sunday morning’s edition of SportsCenter.

“I was looking at a team like Nebraska,” Pastner said. “I think they’re an under the radar team and Fred Hoiberg was Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year and the way they play offensively is a very NBA style a type of play. They run great offensive sets and their five man , Rienk Mast, who’s a transfer from Bradley, can flat out pass the ball and rebound. 

“He’s their leading assists man at the five spot, the way he passes the play through him. He’s literally like their point guard and in his five years for Fred Hoiberg, this is their best defensive team. I like Nebraska to have a couple of wins in the tournament.”

Despite missing out on a chance at a Big Ten title, Nebraska and Hoiberg are ready to turn the page.

“Like Sam said, we’re going to do the exact same thing we’ve done all year,” Hoiberg said postgame. “We’re going to learn from this one and start focusing on whoever our opponent will be, and we’ll know that tomorrow at probably 5:30 or 6:00. Coaches will get in the film room and start working on the game plan, and we’ll get the guys in there and present a first look to them and start working that way.

“We haven’t played a back-to-back all year. Our MTE last year was different than last year when we’ve had the experience of a back-to-back. Especially the late game to the early game. That is hard. That is really, really hard. Especially when you have one of the main guys out of the lineup. Again, I give the guys a lot of credit for the way we came out of the gate. They were phenomenal for the first 25 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to sustain it. Give Illinois credit, they had a lot to do with it.”

Nebraska awaits its final postseason fate on Selection Sunday after a great run in 2023-24. Although playing for a Big Ten title would’ve been nice, the Huskers still have more work to do.