Northwestern is down and out after losing both Barnhizer and Leach, leaving the Wildcats inexperienced in the backcourt and lacking depth. Nebraska has a couple of talented guards in Williams and Essegian who can make them pay, especially from long range. The Cornhuskers have several winnable games left on their schedule, which leaves the door open for a top-ten ranking in the final conference standings. The Wildcats are unlikely to make the Big Ten Tournament, as the bottom three teams won't be eligible this season.

Aside from the last game, when it covered with a strong second half in a lopsided loss, Northwestern has failed to cover the spread recently (0-5 ATS in the previous five games). Nebraska is 4-1 both SU and ATS in its last five, with home wins over Illinois and Ohio State and a road win at Oregon. Given the seeding implications and recent momentum, I believe the Huskers will cover the three-point spread on Sunday in Evanston.