Teams › Big Ten · Compare Nebraska with another team
Nebraska
Nebraska returns 42% of last season's minutes and rates #21 on offense and #10 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: +13.4 to +28.0.
Why we have them here
Nebraska's preseason projection of +20.7 (No. 12 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth +12.2, more than the +11.3 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 18 at the end of 2025-26) adds +3.4, about its neighbours' +3.8; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add +3.7. A stretch at the top of the scale adds +1.0, because a straight-line calibration shrinks elite teams. It returns 42% of last season's minutes, about the same as teams ranked near it (34%). The projection leans most on Pryce Sandfort (+10.0), Trevan Leonhardt (+4.0) and Braden Frager (+2.9); the newcomer who matters most is Trevan Leonhardt, a transfer from Utah Valley, at +4.0. Its 80% range, +13.4 to +28.0, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 40% · Transfer 52% · Freshman 7% · Other newcomer 2%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Pryce Sandfort | F | 6-7 | 3 | Returning | Nebraska | 30 | +13.2 | +10.0 |
| 131 | Trevan Leonhardt | G | 6-4 | 3 | Transfer | Utah Valley | 26 | +6.0 | +4.0 |
| 220 | Braden Frager | F | 6-7 | 1 | Returning | Nebraska | 21 | +5.5 | +2.9 |
| 268 | Sam Orme | F | 6-9 | 2 | Transfer | Belmont | 20 | +5.1 | +2.5 |
| 591 | Taj DeGourville | G | 6-5 | 2 | Transfer | San Diego State | 17 | +3.4 | +1.4 |
| 715 | Damon Wilkinson | C | 6-10 | 2 | Transfer | South Dakota State | 17 | +2.7 | +1.2 |
| 881 | Boden Kapke | F | 6-11 | 3 | Transfer | Boston College | 19 | +1.9 | +0.9 |
| 1002 | Connor Essegian | G | 6-4 | 4 | Returning | Nebraska | 9 | +2.1 | +0.5 |
| 1069 | Cale Jacobsen | G | 6-4 | 3 | Returning | Nebraska | 15 | +1.4 | +0.5 |
| 1369 | Leo Curtis | F | 7-1 | 1 | Returning | Nebraska | 5 | +0.9 | +0.1 |
| 1498 | Colin Rice | F | 6-7 | 0 | Freshman | High school | 7 | +0.4 | +0.1 |
| 1695 | Will Cooper | F | 6-6 | 2 | Other newcomer | 2 | -0.2 | +0.0 | |
| 1717 | Henry Burt | F | 6-7 | 3 | Other newcomer | 2 | -0.3 | +0.0 | |
| 2040 | Jacob Lanier | G | 6-5 | 0 | Freshman | High school | 6 | -0.7 | -0.1 |
| 3165 | Kadyn Betts | F | 6-8 | 3 | Transfer | Montana | 4 | -2.4 | -0.2 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Nov 02 | vs |  Le Moyne #217 | +22.3 | 96% | |
| Sat Nov 07 | N |  Providence #49 | +6.1 | 69% | |
| Wed Nov 11 | vs |  Lindenwood #258 | +24.6 | 98% | |
| Sun Nov 15 | N |  Boise State #87 | +9.2 | 77% | |
| Wed Nov 18 | vs |  South Dakota #322 | +27.1 | 99% | |
| Sun Nov 22 | N |  Butler #86 | +9.2 | 77% | |
| Wed Nov 25 | vs |  Southern #235 | +23.7 | 97% | |
| Wed Dec 02 | vs |  Ohio State #27 | conf | +6.4 | 70% |
| Sat Dec 05 | at |  Creighton #41 | -1.4 | 45% | |
| Tue Dec 08 | at |  Penn State #89 | conf | +5.8 | 68% |
| Sat Dec 12 | N |  Missouri #43 | +5.1 | 66% | |
| Thu Dec 17 | vs |  Mount St. Mary's #204 | +21.6 | 96% | |
| Sun Dec 20 | vs |  Fairleigh Dickinson #334 | +25.6 | 98% | |
| Wed Dec 30 | vs |  New Haven #326 | +24.9 | 98% | |
| Sat Jan 02 | vs |  Michigan State #6 | conf | +1.9 | 56% |
| Tue Jan 05 | vs |  Michigan #11 | conf | +3.4 | 61% |
| Sun Jan 10 | at |  Oregon #58 | conf | +4.0 | 63% |
| Wed Jan 13 | at |  Washington #92 | conf | +7.1 | 72% |
| Sat Jan 16 | vs |  Iowa #33 | conf | +6.9 | 72% |
| Tue Jan 19 | at |  Illinois #5 | conf | -5.0 | 34% |
| Fri Jan 22 | vs |  UCLA #28 | conf | +6.5 | 70% |
| Tue Jan 26 | at |  Purdue #38 | conf | +1.5 | 55% |
| Sat Jan 30 | at | Iowa #33 | conf | +0.3 | 51% |
| Sat Feb 06 | vs |  Indiana #55 | conf | +9.5 | 78% |
| Tue Feb 09 | at |  Maryland #64 | conf | +4.0 | 63% |
| Fri Feb 12 | vs | Penn State #89 | conf | +12.6 | 85% |
| Tue Feb 16 | vs |  Rutgers #102 | conf | +13.9 | 87% |
| Sat Feb 20 | at | Michigan State #6 | conf | -4.7 | 35% |
| Tue Feb 23 | vs |  USC #35 | conf | +8.0 | 74% |
| Sat Feb 27 | at |  Northwestern #79 | conf | +5.1 | 66% |
| Wed Mar 03 | at |  Wisconsin #34 | conf | +0.8 | 52% |
| Sun Mar 07 | vs |  Minnesota #65 | conf | +10.1 | 80% |
Projected margin is from Nebraska's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.