Huskers set for first round of Big Ten Tournament

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Nebraska basketball departed to Chicago on Tuesday for the 2023 Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska will be a part of one of the two games in the first round on Wednesday. The Huskers travel to Chicago as the 11 seed and will face the 14 seed in Minnesota.

Nebraska heads to Chicago with momentum behind them winning five of their last six games. They are led by Derrick Walker who on Tuesday morning became the first Husker since 2018 to earn at least second-team honors.

“I didn’t think I was going to get it but they gave it to me and I’m blessed and I’m proud, " Walker said.

Nebraska has struggled come conference tournament time in recent history. In the last six seasons at the Big Ten Tournament the Huskers have had a first round exit in five of those seasons. Their last win in the conference tournament came in 2018-19, a season in which the Huskers won two games at the tournament.

“This is the fun time of year, all the work that we’ve done going all the way back to June, this is what you prepare for is postseason opportunity,” said Head coach Fred Hoiberg. “You know conference tournaments are a ton of fun. I’ve been a part of cutting down nets on a couple of different occasions and there’s nothing like it, no one can take it away from you. Everything has been a grind up to this point, now the fun starts in the postseason and we just need to go out there and focus on the task at hand, not the overall what we need to do to make the tournament.”

Nebraska starts Big Ten tournament play on Wednesday March 8. The Huskers tip-off against Minnesota at 8 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

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