College basketball rankings: Undefeated Nebraska rises in Top 25 And 1 ahead of stiff test against Illinois
The Cornhuskers are still undefeated after another dominant victory, now a showdown with No. 16 Illinois looms
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Out of 365 Division I men's basketball teams, only two woke up Thursday morning with a 10-0 record. One is Duke, a program with 126 NCAA Tournament wins and five national championships. The other is Nebraska -- the only power-conference school that has never won a single NCAA Tournament game.
Historically, these teams come from very different places. But both are off to impressive starts this season, with Nebraska's latest outing doubling as its most convincing.
Final score: Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60.
Rienk Mast delivered a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday night's Big Ten opener inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. After missing all of last season with a knee injury, the 6-foot-10 forward is now averaging 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 28.4 minutes per game.
"We have a very mature group," Mast said late Wednesday. "I liked our talk even after this game in the locker room. It was like, 'Hey, we're supposed to defend home court. … Now we have to go on the road and get a tough one.'"
That tough one comes Saturday, when Nebraska visits Illinois. The Cornhuskers are No. 18 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings; Illinois is No. 16. So, yes, that'll be a challenge -- especially considering Illinois is undefeated inside Assembly Hall.
Regardless, the Cornhuskers are turning into quite the story. They've won 14 straight dating back to last season, when they closed with four straight to claim the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. Now they're rolling in a way that could yield the highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history -- the first step toward improving on their 0-8 all-time record in NCAA Tournament games.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
1
SMU
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Elliot Cadeau finished with 18 points and four assists in Tuesday's 89-61 win over Villanova. The Wolverines' next game is Saturday at Maryland. | -- | 9-0 |
| 2 |  | Koa Peat finished with 18 points and five assists in Saturday's 97-68 win over Auburn. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 8-0 |
| 3 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 66-60 win at Michigan State. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Lipscomb. | -- | 10-0 |
| 4 |  | Milan Momcilovic finished with 20 points and two steals in Saturday's 81-58 win at Purdue. The Cyclones' next game is Thursday against Iowa. | -- | 9-0 |
| 5 |  | Solo Ball finished with 19 points and two assists in Tuesday's 77-73 win over Florida. The Huskies' next game is Friday against Texas. | -- | 9-1 |
| 6 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 28 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 67-64 win over Clemson. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against UC Riverside. | -- | 8-1 |
| 7 |  | Braden Smith finished with 15 points and 12 assists in Wednesday's 85-57 win over Minnesota. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Marquette. | -- | 9-1 |
| 8 |  | Braden Huff finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 109-58 win over North Florida. The Zags' next game is Saturday against UCLA. | -- | 9-1 |
| 9 |  | Jeremy Fears missed each of the 10 shots he attempted in Saturday's 66-60 loss to Duke. The Spartans' next game is Saturday at Penn State. | -- | 8-1 |
| 10 |  | Labaron Philon finished with 20 points and six assists in Sunday's 97-55 win over UTSA. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Arizona. | -- | 7-2 |
| 11 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday's 81-61 win over Georgetown. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against USC Upstate. | -- | 8-1 |
| 12 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 18 points and eight assists in Saturday's 82-58 win over Fresno State. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday against Texas Tech. | -- | 7-2 |
| 13 |  | Ryan Conwell finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 87-78 win over Indiana. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Memphis. | -- | 8-1 |
| 14 |  | Tre White finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday's 80-60 win over Missouri. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at NC State. | -- | 7-3 |
| 15 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 23 points and three assists in Wednesday/s 80-38 win over Jackson State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against New Orleans. | -- | 9-1 |
| 16 |  | Keaton Wagler finished with 23 points and five assists in Tuesday's 88-80 win at Ohio State. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Nebraska. | -- | 8-2 |
| 17 |  | Christian Anderson finished with 27 points and eight assists in Sunday's 82-58 win over LSU. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 7-2 |
| 18 |  | Rienk Mast finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 90-60 win over Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers' next game is Saturday at Illinois. | -- | 10-0 |
| 19 |  | Ja'Kobi Gillespie missed 14 of the 20 shots he attempted in Saturday's 75-62 loss to Illinois. The Vols' next game is Dec. 16 against Louisville. | -- | 7-3 |
| 20 |  | Tyler Tanner finished with 26 points and six assists in Wednesday's 88-69 win over SMU. The Commodores' next game is Saturday against Central Arkansas. | -- | 9-0 |
| 21 |  | Kevin Overton missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday's 97-68 loss at Arizona. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Chattanooga. | -- | 7-3 |
| 22 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 63-58 over Ole Miss. The Red Storm''s next game is Saturday against Iona. | -- | 5-3 |
| 23 |  | Bennett Stirtz finished with 25 points and two steals in Saturday's 83-64 win over Maryland. The Hawkeyes' next game is Thursday at Iowa State. | -- | 8-1 |
| 24 |  | Sam Lewis finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 84-60 win over Maryland Eastern Shore. The Cavaliers' next game is Dec. 20 against Maryland. | -- | 9-1 |
| 25 |  | Joshua Dent finished with 21 points and five assists in Sunday's 70-61 win over Davidson. The Gaels' next game is Sunday against Boise State. | 1 | 9-1 |
| 26 |  | Jaron Pierre Jr. finished with 35 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 93-80 overtime win over Texas A&M. SMU's next game is Saturday against LSU. | NR | 9-1 |
