The 2013-2014 season of Nebraska Men’s Basketball was inspiring. Behind a brand new state of the art facility, the Pinnacle Bank Arena, Nebraska burst into the national spotlight. Nebraska had an impressive 10-1 record at home, and battled their way to upsets over #17 Ohio State, #10 Michigan State, and #9 Wisconsin. The Huskers surged for a final record of 19-13. Nebraska made their first NCAA tournament in fourteen years, and Nebraska was no longer viewed as the underdog.

It was wondered by many how the team would handle being the hunted instead of the hunter. Coach Tim Miles and the team’s attitude seemed like they were prepared, the team motto for the year was “Heart over hype” in addition to their usual motto of “us always.” Nebraska was picked to finish in the top four in the Big Ten by many writers and it was believed that they would make their second consecutive NCAA tournament. Nebraska entered the pre season top 25, climbing as high as 22 in the polls. The season had high hopes, and Nebraska has failed to meet the hype. Starting off shaky the whole way, Nebraska has lacked the offense production that it needs to match its defense to be good. Marked by disappointing losses to Incarnate Word at home, Rhode Island on the road, as well as many other embarrassing losses, Nebraska has a problem, and the hope is that Coach Miles knows how to turn this ship around.

Miles took the step to the extreme after an embarrassing home loss to Iowa by banning his players from the luxurious locker room that the players have come accustomed. When asked about how players will prepare for practice, Miles responded, “I don’t know, they’re young and creative, they’ll figure it out.”

This measure may seem extreme to some, but it might just do exactly as Miles hopes, humble the young team that was under the spotlight for so long, that they got a little distracted once they were viewed as one of the top dogs. Reminding the team, that is returning a large number of players for next year, the importance of remaining humble and never losing the fighting attitude that the team built it’s success on the previous year.

Nebraska looks to prepare for the Big Ten tournament, hopefully winning a game or two, then head in to the offseason ready to prepare to battle next season, as the Big Red will once again find themselves where they’re used to—being the underdogs.