Nebraska is ranked, but Husker basketball coach Fred Hoiberg couldn’t care less.
His focus is on finding ways for his team to improve. While the Huskers appeared to take another step forward Saturday night with a nine-point win over Providence, “The Mayor” knows there’s still plenty of work to be done.
That process continues Wednesday night when NU welcomes Lindenwood to Pinnacle Bank Arena. While previewing the matchup on Monday, Hoiberg shared his final thoughts on NU’s neutral-site victory and emphasized where he believes his team can still grow.
Despite being in relatively new territory, Nebraska did a great job of blocking out the noise last season. The Huskers spent the vast majority of the 2025-26 campaign in the AP top 25, so the experience should be nothing new.
At least, that’s how Hoiberg sees it, while acknowledging that the rankings mean more to fans.
“Keep your walls up; that’s what we’re saying to our guys,” Hoiberg said. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t care… To me, it’s more for your fans, when they see that number next to your name. Again, it does speak to the guys and their hard work and what they helped us accomplish a year ago.”
“I think that probably has something to do with it, even though it doesn’t matter with a lot of new faces and four new starters and that type of thing,” he continued. “So, we’re just going to continue and keep working and grinding and hopefully get better at our game on Wednesday.”
While discussing the opponent his team will play next, Hoiberg pointed to Lindenwood’s guards as a potential problem for the Big Red.
“They’ve got really good guard play,” Hoiberg said. “Very dynamic; very athletic. Those guys can get downhill. They obviously can score it in bunches… All across the board, those guys are good… But, to me, it starts with their guards.”
“They’re really good at getting into the paint, making plays,” he continued. “They’ll play big-big. They started two 6-foot-11 guys at the four and the five their last couple of games. They can pose some problems and some challenges for your defense. This is a good team that’s coming in here.”
The Lions appear to be a more than capable offensive team, currently averaging 98 points per game. So, Hoiberg knows Nebraska’s defense will need to be ready. He said the newcomers on the roster will rely on their teammates who returned to help prepare.
“The guys you really lean on are the guys that have been a part of it,” he said. “To really make sure that the guys understand the attention to detail that it takes to execute our defensive system. It took us a while last year. The Oklahoma game – we ended up winning it, but I think we gave up 99 (points). After that game, we were pretty darn good the rest of the year.”
“If you have one guy out of place in this system, you’re done; you’re cooked,” Hoiberg continued. “Our guys, I think, have done a good job watching film… They’ve been bought into everything that’s been preached by Coach Nate (Loenser) and our defensive staff.”
The Big Red can seemingly win in a variety of ways. Defense is certainly one, but the Huskers are more than capable of knocking down shots from beyond the arc as well. Even so, it was their effort and intensity that helped secure a victory at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut last week.
Reflecting on NU’s defensive performance, Hoiberg said he’s seen significant growth from his team. Still, he emphasized an area where the Huskers can still improve.
“That was as good of a defensive performance (as Hoiberg has seen),” he said. “Coach Nate (Loenser) continues to put great game plans together on that end, and our guys went out and really executed well… That’s where I think I’ve seen the most growth with our team.”
“Our guys have done a good job embracing the contact and the physicality,” he continued. “We still need to rebound better; there’s no doubt about that, but I know that was their game plan going in. They were going to try to pound us on the glass, and we were able to take advantage of it… We forced 18 turnovers on the other end, and we converted those into points, which we had to do.”
Freshly ranked in the AP top 25, Nebraska will have a chance to defend its position against two competitive teams. After hosting Lindenwood on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CST, the Huskers travel to Sioux Falls’ Sanford Pentagon to take on Boise State at noon Sunday.
NU’s matchup with the Lions will be televised on FS1, while its neutral-site contest against Boise State will air on BTN.
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