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It seemed as though everybody in Nebraska was calling for Fred Hoiberg’s job just a few years ago, when it also seemed as though the former Iowa State coach would be unable to replicate the success he had years earlier with the Cyclones.
The Huskers won seven games his first season. Seven the next. Won just 10 games in Year 3.
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In the win-now era of college sports, those three years are an eternity, and it feels even longer when they are losing years.
Yet the administration in Lincoln stuck by Hoiberg, and the patience finally is paying off. Four more years down the road, Nebraska begins the week as one of six remaining unbeaten teams in Division I men’s college basketball, and the Huskers barged into 10th in the AP Top 25 poll, the highest they’ve been since they were No. 9 on Feb. 28, 1966.
Their latest three-spot jump came after a 58-55 win over then-No. 9 Michigan State, while a 72-69 victory at Ohio State pushed the Huskers to a program-best 15-0 to start the season.
Their nation-leading win streak is 19 games dating to last season.
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“Happy for Fred Hoiberg. Not that many years ago, everybody was on his butt,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said after their rough-and-tumble Big Ten tussle. “He did a hell of a job. Nebraska did a hell of a job. That was probably the best game — their biggest game in 36 years — (and) they responded.”
Now, the question is whether they can keep responding in one of the toughest leagues in the country.
The Big Ten has six teams in the Top 25 — just one behind the Big 12 — and five of those are in the top 10. The others are fellow unbeaten Michigan at No. 2 and Purdue, the national runner-up two years ago, which is holding onto fifth place.
Nebraska plays both of them later this season. But up next is a trip to Indiana.
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Another poll buster
While the Huskers are making waves in the Big Ten, another program with little men’s basketball success is making a big statement in the SEC: Vanderbilt, which remained at No. 11 amid its own 14-0 start to the season.
That’s the best ranking of anybody in the conference, and the best for the Commodores since they were No. 7 in the preseason poll in 2011-12. It’s also their best in-season ranking since they finished eighth following the 1992-93 season.
“SEC play comes at you fast, and now we know the difficulty of this league and what’s ahead of us,” said Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington, who led James Madison to the NCAA Tournament two years ago and took Vanderbilt to the round of 64 last season.
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Vanderbilt opened league play with a win over South Carolina. It begins a two-game homestand against No. 14 Alabama with LSU coming to Nashville, Tennessee.
Top of the poll
Arizona, which held onto No. 1 over Michigan by a single point in the poll, gets a visit from Kansas State, then heads to TCU. The Wolverines visit Penn State and Wisconsin.
Iowa State remained at No. 3. It heads to Baylor before playing Oklahoma State.
Ranked on ranked
There are a couple of heavyweight matchups, headlined by sixth-ranked Duke’s trip to No. 20 Louisville in the ACC and No. 14 Texas Tech heading to seventh-ranked Houston for a showdown between Big 12 favorites.
The Big Ten takes center stage when No. 19 Iowa gets a visit from No. 16 Illinois at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
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