Huskers look to Punch Ticket to Sweet 16
The Nebraska men's basketball program looks to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history on Saturday when the fourth-seeded Huskers (27-6) take on fifth-seeded Vanderbilt (27-8). Tipoff is set for 7:45 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast on TNT and carried on the Huskers Radio Network. It is also available on NCAA March Madness Live and on HBO Max.
Nebraska comes off an impressive 76-47 win over Troy in the NCAA First Round on Thursday. Pryce Sandfort had 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half to lead four Huskers in double figures. The junior wing tied a school postseason record with seven 3-pointers, as Nebraska hit 14 3-pointers in the win. Jamarques Lawrence and Braden Frager had 13 points apiece, while Rienk Mast added 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds, as the Huskers used a 20-4 first-half run to break the contest open.
The Husker defense limited Troy to its second-lowest off total of the season, holding the Trojans to just 28.3 percent shooting and turned 17 turnovers into 17 Husker points. The 47 points allowed and 28.3 percent shooting were both season bests for the Huskers defense, which has now held 13 opponents this season to 60 points or less. The win was not only Nebraska's first-ever NCAA win, but the 27th win of the season, breaking the single-season win mark which had stood since the 1990-91 season.
The Huskers now turn their attention to a high-powered Vanderbilt team which posted a 78-68 win over No. 12 seed McNeese Thursday afternoon. Tyler Tanner had 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists, as the Commodores shot 51 percent from the field and placed four players in double figures. Vanderbilt comes into Saturday's matchup averaging 86.1 points per game to rank in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense.
With a win, the Huskers would advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 which begins next Thursday at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Numbers to Know
29 - Nebraska's 29-point margin of victory vs. Troy was the largest margin of victory in a first NCAA Tournament win by any school since 1971.
0.77 - Nebraska held Troy to 0.77 points per possessions, its best performance since Feb. 14.
120 - Nebraska's Pryce Sandfort is tied for fifth nationally with 120 3-pointers after his performance against Troy on Tuesday. That total ranks second on the Big Ten's single-season charts. His seven 3-pointers on Thursday marked the third time he has had at least seven 3-pointers in a game this season. Sandfort tied NU's single-game record with eight 3-pointers vs. Penn State on Feb. 21.
66.2 - Nebraska led the Big Ten in scoring defense in conference play at 66.2 ppg, the lowest total by a Big Ten team since the 2022-23 season. It marks the first time NU has led the conference in scoring defense in Big Ten play. Last year, NU was 15th at 75.8 ppg in Big Ten play.
9 - The Big Ten Conference sent nine teams to the NCAA Tournament, which ties the most that the conference has sent to the NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten also sent nine teams in both 2021 and 2022.
351 - Nebraska's 351 3-pointers this season is a school record, breaking the school record of 319 set in 2023-24. NU has hit 10-or-more 3-pointers in 22 games this season, including four games of at least 15 3-pointers.
52.9 - Nebraska's top four scorers (Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence) are combining for 52.9 points per game. None of them were in the Husker lineup last season.
80+ - Nebraska is 52-10 (.839) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 43-7 mark over the last four seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of the 2022-23 season, four came in overtime. NU is 15-0 this season when scoring 80+ points.
1,083 - Rienk Mast now has 1,083 career rebounds and is one of only five active players with at least 1,000 career rebounds, joining Carson Towt (Notre Dame), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Izaiyah Nelson (South Florida) and Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan).
14- Pryce Sandfort has 14 20-point games on the season, which ties for the third-most by a Husker in the Big Ten era. The only Huskers with more 20-point games in a season in the Big Ten era are Brice Williams (20, 2024-25) and James Palmer (18, 2018-19).
5 - Braden Frager became the fifth Husker since 1996-97 to earn multiple conference rookie/freshman of the week, joining Bryce McGowens (2021-22), Shavon Shields (2012-13), Toney McCray (2008-09) and Joe McCray (2004-05).
1- According to Stathead, Sam Hoiberg is the only player nationally at 6-0 or under averaging at least five rebounds per game this season. Over the past six seasons, only two power conference players 6-0 or under have grabbed five or more rebounds per game (Braden Smith, 2023-24; RJ Davis, 2022-23).
3.34 - The Huskers’ team cumulative GPA of 3.34 at the end of the fall 2025 semester is the highest in program history. Ten Huskers posted GPAs of 3.0 or better during the fall semester, led by Sam Hoiberg's 4.0 GPA.
Nebraska's NCAA Tournament History
The 2026 NCAA Tournament marks Nebraska’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and 29th postseason appearance in school history (nine NCAAs, 19 NITs, 1 CBC). NU makes its second appearance in three years after making just one NCAA trip from 1999 to 2023. The Huskers made their first appearance in 1986 and made four straight appearances in the early 1990s, led by Rich King and Eric Piatkowski. Nebraska returned to the NCAAs in 1998 behind NBA first-round pick Tyronn Lue and made appearances in 2014 and 2024.
• Fred Hoiberg is only the second coach to take his team to multiple NCAA Tournaments, joining Danny Nee (1991-92-93-94-98). It will be the sixth NCAA appearance of his career, as he guided Iowa State to four straight NCAAs between 2012 and 2015. In addition, Hoiberg's grandfather, Jerry Bush, guided Toledo to an appearance in the 1954 NCAA Tournament.
• Four of the 11 Huskers who saw action in the 2024 NCAA Tournament are back, including Rienk Mast, Jamarques Lawrence, Sam Hoiberg, and Cale Jacobsen.
• When Nebraska made its NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024, only one player on the roster had been to an NCAA Tournament.
Hoiberg Contract Extended to 2031-32
Nebraska has agreed to a contract extension with men’s basketball Coach Fred Hoiberg, as announced by University of Nebraska Athletic Director Troy Dannen on March 9. The new contract with Hoiberg extends through the 2031-32 season. The Huskers, who have won 20+ games for three straight seasons for the first time in school history, enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 26-5 record and ranked 11th in the AP poll. NU’s 26 wins ties the school record for wins in a season while the 15 conference wins broke the previous school mark of 13 set in 2017-18.
Huskers Honored by Big Ten for Record-Breaking Season
A season of firsts continued for the Nebraska men’s basketball program on March 10, as the Big Ten Conference announced its annual awards. Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager, Sam Hoiberg and Rienk Mast all earned conference accolades while Head Coach Fred Hoiberg was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Sandfort earned first-team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches and second-team laurels from the media, giving the Huskers a first-team selection for the second straight year. Both the coaches and media pick five-member first, second and third teams. In Big Ten play, Sandfort led the Huskers in scoring average at 19.4 points and added 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. The junior from Waukee, Iowa, hit 79 3-pointers in Big Ten play to rank second in conference history and finished Big Ten action among the league leaders in league play in 3-pointers per game (3.95, first), 3-point percentage (.418, fifth), scoring average (eighth) and field goal percentage (.483, ninth).
Frager took home a pair of honors, as he was named Sixth Man of the Year and was a member of the five-man All-Freshman team. He became the first Husker men’s player to earn an individual Big Ten Award since NU joined the Big Ten in 2011-12 and the second Husker to be named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Frager averaged 11.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in Big Ten action, ranking third on the team in scoring, second in 3-pointers and fifth in rebounds. Among players who qualified for conference honors, Frager was the only Big Ten reserve who averaged double figures in conference action and posted nine double-figure efforts.
Sam Hoiberg earned a pair of awards, as he was named honorable-mention All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media and was one of five players named to the all-defensive team. Hoiberg becomes the first Husker named to the Big Ten all-defensive team. In conference play, he anchored a Husker defense that led the conference in scoring defense, steals and 3-point percentage. Hoiberg averaged 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per outing, leading the Big Ten in steals, and ranked in the top 10 in both assist-to-turnover ratio (4.09-to-1, second) and assists (eighth).
Mast earned All-Big Ten honors for the second time in his career, as he collected honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media. Mast averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in Big Ten action, pacing the Huskers in rebounding and ranking in the top three on the team in scoring (second) and assists (third). Mast reached double figures 12 times, including 26 points in a road win at Rutgers and 19 points, including six 3-pointers, in the win over Michigan State. Mast also had 17-point efforts in wins over Illinois and Wisconsin, the latter where he also collected 10 boards.
Fred Hoiberg was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year by his fellow conference coaches after guiding the Huskers to one of the program’s most successful seasons in school history. The Huskers finished the regular season with a 26-5 record and tied for second in the Big Ten with a 15-5 mark. NU set or tied school record for total wins, conference wins (15) and conference road wins (seven) on its way to the program’s best-ever Big Ten finish.
Notes from Thursday's Win over Troy
• Nebraska picked up its first NCAA Tournament victory in school history. The Huskers had been winless in their previous eight NCAA Tournament games.
• Nebraska improved to 27-6 on the season setting a school record for single-season victories. Nebraska’s previous record of 26 wins was held by the 1990-91 team.
• Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg picked up his fifth victory in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, after previously winning four tournament games at Iowa State.
• Nebraska has now won its last five postseason games in national tournaments dating back to winning four straight games at the 2025 College Basketball Crown.
• Nebraska has won 11 of its last 12 neutral-site games dating back to the 2024 Diamond Head Classic.
• Junior Pryce Sandfort scored a team-high 23 points for his 29th double-figure scoring game of the season and his 14th 20-point game. Sandfort connected on seven 3-pointers in the contest, including five in the first half. It marked his 10th game of the season with at least five 3-pointers and increased his school-record season 3-point total to 120.
• With his 23 points, Sandfort increased his season scoring total to 594 points, moving him up to ninth on the single-season scoring list.
• Senior Jamarques Lawrence scored 13 points in the win to surpass 1,000 career points (1,006). Lawrence’s double-figure effort was his 16th of the season and his first since scoring 11 points at Iowa on Feb. 17.
• Nebraska made 14 3-pointers in the game, marking its 22nd game this season with at least 10 3-pointers. Nebraska is 18-4 this season when making at least 10 3-pointers in a game.
• Nebraska's defense posted season bests in both points allowed (47) and field goal percentage defense (28.3 percent). The 47 points allowed is a NU postseason record and the fewest the Huskers have allowed in a game since Southern scored 43 on Dec. 30, 2024.
Worth Noting
• The Huskers enter the NCAA Second Round with a 27-6 record, breaking the school record for wins in a season that was set in 1990-91.
• Nebraska tied for second in the Big Ten standings, matching its highest conference finish since back-to-back first place Big Seven Conference showings in 1948-49 and 1949-50. NU finished second in the conference standings six times between 1950 and 2025 (1965-55, 1966-67, 1977-78, 1979-80, 1980-81 and 1992-93).
• The Huskers now have three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. Nebraska's 26 regular-season wins is already a school mark, bettering the mark of 24 set by the 1990-91 team which entered the Big Eight Conference Tournament with 24 wins.
• Pryce Sandfort became the fourth Husker to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, joining Brice Williams (2025), James Palmer Jr. (2018) and Terran Petteway (2014). Nebraska has had consecutive first-team All-Conference performers for the first time since 1998 (Tyronn Lue) and 1999 (Venson Hamilton).
• Fred Hoiberg became just the third coach in school history to earn multiple conference Coach of the Year accolades, joining Joe Cipriano (1966, 1978, 1980) and Moe Iba (1980, 1981). In 1980, Joe Cipriano, who was stricken with cancer at the time, was named UPI Big Eight Co-Coach of the Year with assistant Moe Iba, who guided Huskers in Cipriano’s absence.
• Pryce Sandfort finished Big Ten action one 3-pointer shy of setting the Big Ten's single-season record for 3-pointers in conference play. He finished with 79, one off the mark of 80 set by Michigan State's Shawn Respert in 1994-95.
• Nebraska’s 15-5 Big Ten record set the mark for most conference wins in school history. The previous high for conference wins was 13, set in 2017-18, when NU finished with a 13-5 mark.
• Nebraska has 48 wins over the past two seasons. It is the most wins in a two-year stretch in school history. NU won a combined 45 games spanning the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
• Nebraska's 87 wins over the past four seasons is the most in a four-year span in school history. The Huskers won 85 games between 1990-91 and 1993-94. Sam Hoiberg has been on the floor for 81 of the Huskers' 86 wins in that span and is one of only three players to win 80 or more games as a player, joining Eric Piatkowski (84, 1990-94) and Bruce Chubick (81, 1990-94).
• Rienk Mast will make his 153rd career appearance on Saturday. Including his three seasons at Bradley, he is 98-53 (.644) in games he's appeared in during his college career. He will be looking for his 100th career double-figure scoring effort on Saturday.
• Nebraska finished 7-3 on the road in Big Ten play in 2025-26. The seven road wins in conference play broke the school record of five, set most recently in 1965-66. NU is 10-4 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena this season. The loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament snapped a streak of 10 straight wins at neutral sites dating back to the 2024-25 season.
• Nebraska finished 16-2 at home this season and is 55-13 (.809) at Pinnacle Bank Arena over the past four seasons. Nebraska finished the regular season with nine straight sellouts and averaged 14,671 fans per game to rank 16th nationally.
• Nebraska's 20-0 start to the season marked just the third time in the last 30 years a Big Ten team has started 20-0 and the first since Ohio State opened the 2010-11 season with 24 straight wins.
• Nebraska was No. 14 in the NET on Selection Sunday and was one of five Big Ten teams in the top 15 of the NET (No. 2 Michigan, No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Purdue, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 14 Nebraska). Nebraska finished the regular season with a 15-6 mark in the first two quads (9-6 in Q1, 6-0 in Q2).
• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 71-31 (.796) while the 71 wins over the past three seasons are fifth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-85; Illinois-76; Michigan State-76; Wisconsin-73; Nebraska-71).
• Nebraska saw its school-record 24-game win streak snapped on Jan. 27. It nearly doubled the previous mark of 14 set two other times (1912-13 and 1990-91) and was the longest win streak by a Big Ten team since Ohio State won 24 straight to open the 2010-11 season.
Noting the Husker Offense
• Nebraska is averaging 77.2 ppg, which is just outside the top 10 scoring averages in school history. NU's highest average in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present) took place two years ago when the Huskers averaged 77.7 ppg en route to a 23-11 record.
• The Huskers are third in the Big Ten and 19th nationally with 10.6 3-pointers made per game as of March 20. The Huskers will break the single-season record of 9.54 set in 2001-02. NU, Wisconsin and Illinois are all on track to break the Big Ten's single-season mark for 3-pointers per game (10.4 by Penn State in 2022-23). A Hoiberg-coach team has led the conference in 3-pointers per game in five of his 12 college seasons.
• Nebraska's 351 3-pointers is a single-season school record, breaking the mark of 319 set in 2023-24. Four of the top six 3-point seasons in school history have come in Fred Hoiberg's seven seasons.
• NU has made 10-or-more 3-pointers 22 times this season, going 18-4 in those contests. NU has had four games with at least fifteen 3-pointers (17 vs. Oregon and FIU; 15 vs. Oklahoma and vs. Illinois) and set a postseason school record with 14 3-pointers against Troy.
• The Huskers rank sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.87-to-1) as of March 20. It is on track to break the school mark of 1.81 set in 1984-85. The Big Ten has five of the top 10 teams nationally in that category (Purdue-1st; Northwestern-2nd; Nebraska-6th; UCLA-7th, Wisconsin-10th). The Huskers had 20 assists and just six turnovers vs. Troy, the 10th time NU has had a better than 3.0-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in a game.
• Nebraska is 12th nationally with 18.0 assists per game as of March 20. It is an increase of 3.8 assists per game from last season. Nebraska's highest assist per game total under Hoiberg is 15.3 per game in 2023-24.
• The Huskers are among the Big Ten leaders with just 9.64 turnovers per game. The 9.64 turnovers per game is on pace to break the school mark of 9.96 per game set in 2018-19. Those are the only times in school history where NU has averaged 10 or fewer turnovers per game.
Noting the Husker Defense
• Nebraska has been stout defensively this season, ranking second in the Big Ten and 19th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.401).
• After holding Troy to 47 points, the Huskers lead the Big Ten and rank 15th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 65.6 ppg. The 65.6 ppg allowed is 7.0 points per game fewer than last season and on pace to be NU's lowest scoring defense since the 2014-15 season (63.1 ppg).
• Nebraska leads the Big Ten with 7.3 steals per game and ranks second in turnover margin (+3.5) and turnovers forced per game (13.1).
• The Huskers have now held 19 opponents to under 1.00 points per possession and have an 18-1 mark in those games. Over the last four seasons, NU is 59-4 (.936) when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 61-6 when holding opponents to under 70 points.
• In Big Ten play, the Huskers finished first in scoring defense (66.2 ppg), steals (7.45/gm), 3-point percentage defense (.297) and turnover margin (+3.20/gm) and third in field goal defense (.423).
• Nebraska has improved its KenPom defensive efficiency in each of the past four seasons and ranks seventh nationally after Thursday's win. NU's best KenPom rank on defense was 15th nationally in 2008-09. NU finished in the top 20 in defensive efficiency twice in the KenPom era (2008-09, 2007-08).
This and That
• The Huskers have excelled in close games this season, going 4-2 in games decided by one possession after going winless in six games during the 2024-25 season.
• As a team, Nebraska's .753 free throw percentage is on pace to be one of the best team percentages in school history.
• Nebraska is 1-1 in OT games, as the Huskers lost to No. 13 Purdue on Feb. 10 and defeated Iowa on March 8. Nebraska is 68-59 all-time in OT games.
• The Huskers posted their third double-digit comeback of the season against Indiana on Jan. 10, overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit. It marked the 12th time under Hoiberg NU has overcome a double-digit deficit, including seven times in the last two seasons.
• NU has 30 double-digit scoring runs (Kill Shots) this season which tied for 15th nationally as of March 20.
• Nine Huskers have posted double-figure efforts this season, while four players have had at least one 20-point performance (Pryce Sandfort-13; Braden Frager-6; Rienk Mast-5; Jamarques Lawrence-3).
• As of March 19, there have been 29 triple-doubles in Division I basketball this season while NU is the only school with multiple players recording a triple double. Over the last seven seasons, only five schools - NU (2025-26), Iowa State (2023-24), Western Kentucky (2021-22), Portland (2021-22) and Utah (2019-20) - have had multiple players record triple-doubles in the same year.
• Nebraska completed its non-conference slate with a perfect 11-0 record, marking the first time since the 1928-29 season where NU posted an unblemished non-conference mark (6-0). The Huskers are 31-2 in regular-season non-conference play since the start of the 2023-24 season (10-1 in 2023-24; 10-1 in 2024-25).