With Ohio State out of the postseason picture for 2012, the Big Ten postseason picture is a little bit more wide open than usual. One team looking to cash in on this opportunity—despite the fact that they play in the other division—is Nebraska, who has improved mightily over the past few years but has seemingly hit a plateau of late.

In order to reach that next level, the Cornhuskers will need a handful of players to step up and become key contributors. If they really want to surge to the top of the conference, they’ll need to do more than that. Outside of Rex Burkhead, there aren’t many established stars on the roster, at least on paper right now.

That’s all about to change thanks to the meaningful contributions, growth and playing time chances for five players on the Cornhusker roster.

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