2013-2014 Big Ten Basketball Preview: #12. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Last Season: Nebraska's second season in the Big Ten was an improvement over the first, but it wasn't exactly a rousing success. The Cornhuskers finished at 15-18 (5-13), with two of those wins coming against the cellar-dwelling Penn State Nittany Lions. Senior Dylan Talley lead the team in scoring, Ray Gallegos put together some good games, and Brandon Ubel was a solid frountcourt option. The Cornhuskers were able to beat Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, but a loss to Ohio State brought their season to an end.

Departures: Dylan Talley, Brandon Ubel, Andre Almeida

Returning: David Rivers, Benny Parker, Terran Pettaway (transfer), Trevor Menke, Jordan Tyrance, Mike Petlz, Sergej Vucetic, Leslee Smith, Shavon Shields, Walter Pitchford (transfer)

Newcomers: Deverell Biggs (Juco), Nathan Hawkins, Nick Fuller, Tai Webster

Leading Returning scorer Ray Gallegos

What to expect: I'd be remiss to start this section off without mentioning Nebraska's new home, Pinnacle Bank Arena. If you haven't seen a tour of this arena and their new practice facility, go check it out, it's insane. Yet, with the opening of their new arena, Nebraska has a lot of youth. Their leading returning scorer is Ray Gallegos (12 ppg), who found a way to lead the conference in 3 pt. attempts last year... all the while only shooting them at a 30% clip. Two new guys to keep an eye on are Tai Webster and David Pettaway. Pettaway is a transfer who started 11 games as a freshman at Texas Tech, and Webster is about as hyped a freshman as we have seen at Nebraska in recent years (meaning he's top 150). And even better... he's from New Zealand! (that can't be too common in college basketball). Guys like Walter Pitchford (transfer from Florida) and Leslee Smith will man the post, but the backcort is undoubtedly the strength of the team.

Pinnacle Bank Arena

Storyline to watch: Penn State fans thought the building of the Bryce Jordan Center would solve a lot of the problems within the program (raise your hand if you think that proved to be true... *crickets). While the first year of its existence brought tons of excitement and droves of fans, as the aura wore off the fans stopped coming. Pinnacle Bank Arena is going to be one of the nicest home venues in college basketball, and it will be interesting to watch how it affects Nebraska's recruiting and their success in the future.

Bryce Jordan Center

Final Record: 11-17 (4-14)
A lot of young talent, but the key word is young. Fans will have to appreciate the brand new arena and embrace the opportunity to watch some of these guys develop their talent this season. The potential is there for Nebraska to make some big leaps in the coming years. I mean, how cool is this facility...

Nebraska Basketball Team Room