Edey going from 436th recruit to POY says more about Edey and his desire to improve than any coach. I'm not saying that Painter had nothing to do with it, but the best coach in the world can't make a player better if the player doesn't give the effort.
Coaches schedule their NC games based on what is best for their team. Painter knew he had a team that could handle a very tough schedule. Hoiberg knew he needed to play an easy schedule because the team had to build chemistry.
I'm sure the Huskers will have a tougher NC schedule next year because the chemistry is already there. It probably won't be a top 10 schedule, but it won't be in the 300 range either.