Bombs away for No. 24 Nebraska, Wisconsin as Huskers seek 14th straight

No. 23 Nebraska can match the longest winning streak in school history when it hosts Wisconsin in a Big Ten game on Wednesday night in Lincoln, Neb.

The Cornhuskers (9-0) moved into the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday for the first time since 2018 after crushing in-state rival Creighton on Sunday. They have won 13 in a row dating back to last season, one off the school record set in 1990-91, and their nine consecutive wins to start this season are one behind the school mark set in 1977.

The No. 23 ranking is their highest since 2014, which also was the last time Nebraska was ranked in consecutive polls.

"This is a really hard week," said Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg. "Not only with Wisconsin, but then you get two days to prepare for our first true road game at (No. 13) Illinois."

Nebraska will be playing its conference opener while Wisconsin (7-2, 1-0) already has a league win over Northwestern. The Badgers are also coming off a victory over an in-state rival, beating Marquette on Saturday, but will be playing their first true road game after losing neutral-site contests to TCU and No. 10 BYU.

"I think there's still things we have to get better at," said Wisconsin coach Greg Gard. "I just think the consistency of the pace is what keeps us going. We've got a lot of weapons."

The Badgers are averaging 87.9 points per game, by far the highest rate during Gard's 10 seasons. Guards John Blackwell and Nick Boyd are combining for 41.2 points per game, while forward Nolan Winter nearly averages a double-double at 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Blackwell, a junior, is averaging 28.8 points over his last three games, getting to the line 27 times and making 24 free throws. He earned the Big Ten's Player of the Week award after scoring 26 points at Northwestern and 30 against Marquette.

"We were the only high major to recruit him, and that's everybody's else's fault, I guess," Gard said of Blackwell, who recently passed 1,000 career points.

Nebraska holds opponents to 37.9% shooting as only two foes have topped the 40% mark. Creighton had only two points in the first eight minutes on Sunday, with its 50 points tied for its smallest output this season.

"We were very locked in on defense, and that gives you time if you're not hitting shots early to get it going," said Nebraska senior guard Sam Hoiberg, Fred's son.

Senior forward Rienk Mast leads the Cornhuskers in scoring (18.1 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.1 rpg) while Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort contributes 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Both teams emphasize scoring from the perimeter as Nebraska has taken 51.9 percent of its shots from 3-point range - 10th-highest in the nation - while Wisconsin ranks 12th nationally with 51.4 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. Wisconsin has hit at least 11 triples on six occasions while Nebraska has hit double figures six times -- including 17 against FIU on Nov. 8.

Nebraska seeks its first win in a Big Ten opener since the 2018-19 season. Wisconsin last began 2-0 in league play in 2023-24 on the way to a 5-0 start.

--Field Level Media