Fred Hoiberg isn’t spending much time staring at Nebraska’s new spot in the AP poll.
The Huskers are ranked, but that’s not where his attention is. Hoiberg made that clear Monday as Nebraska prepared for Wednesday night’s home game against Lindenwood at Pinnacle Bank Arena. For him, the real story is still the same one it has been all season: keep improving, keep grinding, and don’t get distracted by the number next to the name.
“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.”
He added that the ranking may matter more to outsiders than it does inside the program.
“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.”
Nebraska is coming off a nine-point win over Providence on Saturday night, a result that Hoiberg said showed progress but also left room for more. The Huskers have already spent much of the 2025-26 campaign in the AP top 25, so the ranking is familiar territory even with the roster turnover.
The next test comes against a Lindenwood team Hoiberg clearly respects. He pointed first to the Lions’ guards, calling them a major challenge for Nebraska’s defense.
“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.”
He also noted how Lindenwood can create problems with size and versatility.
“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.”
That challenge is especially real on the offensive end. Lindenwood is averaging 98 points per game, which means Nebraska’s defense will have to be sharp. Hoiberg said the returning players on the roster have been important in helping the newcomers understand what it takes to function in the system.
“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.”
He was even more direct about the margin for error.
“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.”
Hoiberg also pointed to Nebraska’s defensive showing against Providence as one of the best he’s seen from this group. He said the Huskers have made noticeable strides, especially in how they’ve handled physical play, but he still wants more on the glass.
“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.”
Nebraska gets Lindenwood on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CST on FS1, then heads to Sioux Falls’ Sanford Pentagon to face Boise State at noon Sunday on BTN.
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