Huskers Travel to Michigan For Top-Five Matchup
The No. 5/5 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team looks to remain on top of the Big Ten race Tuesday evening, as the Huskers travel to No. 3/3 Michigan. Tipoff from Crisler Center in Ann Arbor is set for 6 p.m. (central) and the game will be carried on Peacock, broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app. In addition, YouTube TV subscribers can also find the game on the NBC Sports Network.
The Huskers (20-0, 9-0 B1G) remained perfect on the season following a 76-57 road win at Minnesota on Saturday. The Huskers trailed 40-32 with 17:32 remaining but closed the game on a 44-17 spurt. NU held Minnesota to three field goals over the next 13:04 to flip the contest. Pryce Sandfort had 20 of his game-high 22 points in the second half while also setting season bests in rebounds (10) and blocked shots (four). Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence had 14 points apiece and combined for 12 of the Huskers' 24 assists on the day.
Sandfort has been on a tear as of late, as the 6-foot-7 junior wing is averaging 23.8 points per game on 56 percent shooting, including 53 percent from 3-point range, over the last four contests. He enters the week leading the Big Ten in 3-pointers (67) and is fourth in 3-point percentage (.417).
The Huskers, whose 20-0 start is the best in program history, are a program-best fifth in this week's AP poll and bidding for their first 10-0 conference start in conference play since 1965-66.
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Best Starts in School History |
||
|
No. |
Wins |
Year |
|
1. |
20-0 |
2025-26 |
|
2. |
10-0 |
1977-78 |
|
3 |
9-0 |
1915-16 |
|
4. |
7-0 |
2023-24 |
|
|
7-0 |
1992-93 |
|
|
7-0 |
1984-85 |
Michigan (18-1, 8-1 B1G) comes off a 76-62 win over Ohio State on Friday. Yaxel Lendeborg had 18 points and nine rebounds to pace four Wolverines in double figures. Michigan shot 54 percent in the second half and pulled away in the final nine minutes. The Huskers will look to slow down a high-powered attack that leads the Big Ten in scoring offense (91.7 ppg) and field goal percentage (.517).
Numbers to Know
0 - Number of top-five matchups Nebraska has played in program history prior to Tuesday's game between the No. 3 Huskers and No. 5 Michigan.
2010-11 - Nebraska is first Big Ten team since Ohio State in 2010-11 to start 20-0 or better, as the Buckeyes started 24-0 that season. NU has won 24 straight, the longest win streak since that OSU team.
34 - Fred Hoiberg has 34 wins over ranked opponents, including 12 wins against top-10 teams, in his collegiate coaching career. In addition, his six road wins against ranked opponents is second only to Danny Nee (seven) all-time among NU men's basketball coaches.
.800- Nebraska is 8-2 in its last 10 Big Ten road games dating back to last season following Saturday's win at Minnesota. The Huskers have also won their last 12 games away from Lincoln since March 31, 2025.
5.2 - Sam Hoiberg is second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (min. 3 assists per game) at 5.2-to-1 as of Jan. 25. Over the last 11 games dating back to Dec. 10, Hoiberg has 47 assists and just eight turnovers in 344:33 of game action. He also has a 2.4-to-1 steals-to-turnover ratio in that span.
54.4 - Nebraska's top four scorers (Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence) are combining for 54.4 points per game. None of them were in the Husker lineup last season.
80+ - Nebraska is 49-10 (.827) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 40-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of 2022-23, four came in overtime.
5 - Nebraska's 16-point second-half comeback against Indiana marked the Huskers' fifth double-digit comback during the 24-game win streak - vs. Arizona State (11), vs, UCF (14), vs. Oklahoma (16), USC Upstate (11) and at Indiana (16).
1,018 - Rienk Mast now has 1,018 career rebounds and is one of only three active players with at least 1,000 career rebounds, joining Notre Dame's Carson Towt and Gonzaga's Graham Ike on that list.
3- Braden Frager's three Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards is second only to Bryce McGowens (8 in 2021-22) among Huskers during the Big Ten era.
7 - Over the last decade, only seven Big Ten players have shot over 40 percent from 3-point range and averaged 3.0 3-pointers per game. Pryce Sandfort, Indiana's Lamar Wilkerson and Ohio State's John Mobley Jr. are all above those marks as of Jan. 25
2 - Sam Hoiberg is one of two players nationally at 6-0 or under averaging at least five rebounds per game this season, joining Keon Thompson (Stephen F. Austin). Hoiberg grabbed a game-high seven rebounds in each of NU's last two contests.
Huskers Earn Best Ranking In School History
Nebraska made program history on Jan. 26, as the Huskers moved to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll and No. 5 in the Coaches poll. It marked NU's highest ranking in program history.
• The No. 5 ranking is the highest Nebraska basketball has ever been ranked in the AP poll, topping the previous rank of No. 7 on Jan. 19.
• Tuesday's game at Michigan will be the second top-10 matchup in school history and first since No. 8 Nebraska traveled to No. 6 Kansas on Feb. 26, 1966. The Huskers will have a pair of top-10 games this week as they host No. 9 Illinois on Sunday.
• It is NU's third ranked on ranked matchup this season following wins at No. 13 Illinois (W, 83-80) and vs. No. 9 Michigan State (W, 58-56). Both of those previous matchups were also on Peacock.
• It is the second time Nebraska has ever faced Michigan in a ranked on ranked matchup, as the two teams met in the Rainbow Classic in 1992 when No. 6 Michgan beat No. 20 Nebraska 88-73.
• The Huskers improved to 49-22 (.690) all-time when ranked in the AP poll following the win at Minnesota.
• Prior to this season, the 1965-66 season was the only other season where Nebraska was ranked in the top 10. NU spent four straight weeks in the poll (Feb. 7-28) in 1965-66, reaching as high as eighth on Feb. 21, 1966. That season, the Huskers went 20-5, including 12-2 in the Big Eight to finish second to Kansas, but did not advance to postseason play. That Kansas team that won the Big Eight lost to eventual NCAA Champion Texas Western, 81-80, in double overtime in the Midwest Regional Final.
• Prior to its 2025-26 poll debut on Dec. 8, the Huskers had not been ranked in the AP poll since Dec. 31, 2018.
• Nebraska has now spent four straight weeks in the top 10, matching the longest top-10 streak in school history (Feb. 7-28, 1966).
Worth Noting
• NU enters the week as one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Division I, joining Arizona and Miami (Ohio). According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, it marks just the second time in the last 40+ years where three teams were 20-0. The other was in 2013-14 (Wichita State, Arizona, Syracuse).
• Nebraska's 20-0 start marks 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.
• The Huskers are looking for their 25th straight win Tuesday. The 24-game win streak matches Ohio State, which won its first 24 games of the 2010-11 season. Over the last 30 years, the only Big Ten team with a longer win streaks is Illinois, which won 29 straight games to open the 2004-05 season en route to an NCAA runner-up finish.
• Nebraska is looking for its school-record sixth straight conference road win on Tuesday at Michigan. The Huskers' 5-0 start on the road in conference play already ties a school record for most conference road wins in a season, set four other times, most recently in 1965-66.
• Nebraska's five straight conference road wins is the program's longest streak since 1965-66, when NU won five straight Big Eight Conference road games between Jan. 4-Feb. 9, 1966 (at Iowa State, at Kansas State, at Oklahoma State, at Oklahoma and at Missouri).
• The Huskers now have three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. In addition, Nebraska has already won 20 games this season, marking the eighth time in program history that Nebraska has won 20-or-more games in the regular season.
• Nebraska’s 9-0 Big Ten start is the program's best conference start of the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present). A win at Michigan would match the 1965-66 team for the best conference start since World War II.
• Nebraska jumped to fifth in the NET rankings released on Jan. 25 following the win at Minnesota. The Huskers are one of five Big Ten teams in the top 10 of the NET (No. 2 Michigan, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 Illinois, No. 9 Purdue and No. 10 Michigan State). No other conference has more than two currently in the top 10 of the NET.
• As of Jan. 25, Nebraska's six Quad 1 wins ties for third nationally with Illinois and Purdue. Duke (eight) and Arizona (eight) are the only team nationally with more Quad 1 wins. NU is also 12-0 in the first two quads, as the 12 wins tied UConn for second nationally. Only Michigan (13) has more wins in the first two quads.
• Nebraska comes into the Michigan game with 24 straight wins, breaking the school record for consecutive wins. The 24 straight wins shattered the mark of 14 set two other times (1912-13 and 1990-91). It is the longest active streak in the nation and dates back to the first round of the 2025 College Basketball Crown. The win over MSU on Jan. 2 is the only time in the 24-game win streak that NU was held under 1.00 points per possession.
Longest Win Streaks in School History
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No. |
Season |
Win Streak |
Date Started |
Date Ended |
|
1. |
2024-25/25-26 |
24 games |
3-31-25 |
present |
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2. |
1990-91 |
14 games |
11-28-90 |
1-22-91 |
|
|
1911-12/12-13 |
14 games |
1-27-12 |
1-25-13 |
|
4 |
1919-20/20-21 |
13 games |
2-6-20 |
1-3-21 |
|
|
1897-98/1900-01 |
13 games |
2-22-1898 |
1901** |
|
6. |
1912-13 |
12 games |
1-31-13 |
3-12-13 |
• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 64-25 (.719) while the 63 wins ranks fourth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-75; Michigan State and Illinois-67; Nebraska-64 and Wisconsin-63).
• Nebraska is 2-0 vs. ranked teams in 2025-26 and looking for its third ranked win of the season at No. 3 Michigan on Tuesday. Nebraska has also won its last three games against top-10 teams dating back to the 2023-24 season (No. 1 Purdue and No. 6 Wisconsin, 2023-24; No. 9 MSU, 2025-26)
• Since March 1, 2022, the Huskers are now 11-11 in the last 22 games against ranked teams, including 5-2 against top-10 teams. Prior to that, NU had lost 24 straight against ranked teams dating back to the 2019 Big Ten Tournament.
Nebraska Top-10 Road Wins
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Date |
Opponent |
Score |
|
2/6/1982 |
at No. 1 Missouri |
67-51 |
|
2/22/1997 |
at No. 7 Iowa State |
74-69 (OT) |
|
12/4/2022 |
at No. 7 Creighton |
63-53 |
|
2/16/2014 |
at No. 9 Michigan State |
60-51 |
|
3/6/2022 |
at No. 10 Wisconsin |
74-73 |
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Bold - Under Hoiberg |
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Noting the Husker Offense
• Nebraska is averaging 80.9 ppg, which is the Huskers' highest scoring average after 20 games since the 1995-96 season (85.7 ppg). The 1995-96 team marked the last time Nebraska averaged 80.0 ppg in a season and one of just six teams in school history to average 80.0+ ppg. Nebraska's highest season average under Hoiberg is 77.7 ppg in 2024-25.
• Nebraska is currently 22nd nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom, which would be the Huskers' highest KenPom offensive ranking (24th, 2003-04 under Barry Collier). That is the only time in the KenPom era where NU was in the top-25 nationally in offensive efficiency. Of note, four of Fred Hoiberg's Iowa State teams ranked in the top-25 nationally (2011-12, 12-13, 13-14, 14-15).
• The Huskers are second in the Big Ten and 19th nationally with 10.9 3-pointers made per game as of Jan. 25. It is on pace to break NU's single-season record (9.54 in 2001-02). Nebraska is one of four teams on pace to break the Big Ten's single-season mark for 3-pointers per game (10.4 by Penn State in 2022-23). NU led the Big Ten with 9.4 3-pointers per game in 2023-24, the fifth time a Hoiberg-coached team led the conference in 3-pointers per game.
• Nebraska has made 10-or-more 3-pointers 13 times this season, including 17 against both Oregon and FIU and 15 vs. Oklahoma. The 17 3-pointers was one shy of the school mark of 18 set against Kansas in 2002.
• The seven 3-pointers by Braden Frager and Pryce Sandfort vs. Oregon on Jan. 13 marked the first time in school history that NU has had multiple players hit 3-pointers in a game. According to Stathead, it was the third Big Ten game since 2010-11 where multiple players hit seven or more 3-pointers in a game.
• NU's team 2.07-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third nationally as of Jan. 25. It is on track to shatter the school mark of 1.81 set in 1984-85. The Big Ten has the top three teams nationally in that category (Purdue-1st; Northwestern-2nd). Only two teams (Gonzaga in 2024-25; Iowa in 2020-21) in the last 10 season have finished the year with a 2.00-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Nebraska enters the Michigan game ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 13th nationally with 18.6 assists per game. It is an increase of 4.8 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 second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally in fewest turnovers per game at 9.0 per contest. In Big Ten games, it is just 7.9 per contest.
Noting the Husker Defense
• Nebraska has been stout defensively, ranking third in the Big Ten and 15th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.391). The Huskers are also 16th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 65.0 ppg.
•The Huskers have held 13 of their 20 opponents to under 1.0 points per possession. Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 53-3 (.946) when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 55-5 when holding opponents to under 70 points. Nebraska has improved its KenPom defensive efficiency in each of the past three seasons and is on track to continue that trend in 2025-26.
• The Huskers have excelled in close games this season, going 4-0 in games decided by one possession, including three times in Big Ten play. Last year, NU was 0-6 in games decided by one possession.
This and That
• The Huskers posted their third double-digit comeback of the season against Indiana on Jan. 10, overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit (also 16 vs. Oklahoma and 12 vs. USC Upstate). It marked the 12th time under Hoiberg NU has overcome a double-digit deficit, including seven times in the last two seasons.
• As of Jan. 25, there have been 20 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.
• NU has 23 double-digit scoring runs this season, which is tied for ninth nationally according to EvanMiya.com as of Jan. 22. It is second in the Big Ten, trailing only Michigan's (29).
• 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).
• Nine Huskers have posted double-figure efforts this season, while four players have had at least one 20-point performance (Pryce Sandfort-9; Rienk Mast-4; Braden Frager-4; Jamarques Lawrence-2)
Minnesota Recap
Nebraska used a dominant second-half performance to erase a six-point halftime deficit and cruise to a 76-57 victory at Minnesota on Jan. 24. The Huskers had 24 assists on their 29 baskets. The 24 assists were the most by any Nebraska team in a conference game since dishing out 25 against Kansas State in 2001. As impressive as the offense was, it was the second-half defensive effort that helped NU overcome a halftime deficit for the fifth time this season. Nebraska's defense held Minnesota to 21 points in the second half, as the Gophers committed nine turnovers and were 0-of-11 from the 3-point line. On the game, Nebraska limited Minnesota to 40 percent from the field.
Individually, Pryce Sandfort scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, going 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-9 from the 3-point line in the final 20 minutes after missing both of his first-half shots. Sandfort also had a game-high 10 rebounds and blocked a career-high four shots. Jamarques Lawrence added 14 points, including 12 in the second half. Sam Hoiberg helped keep the Huskers close in the first half. Hoiberg scored all 14 of his points in the first half, when he made six of his eight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers. Hoiberg also finished with a game-high seven assists.
Notes from the Minnesota Game
• Nebraska improves to 20-0 on the season, extending the best start in program history, and has won 24 straight games dating back to last season.
• The 24-game win streak is the longest win streak by a Big Ten team since Ohio State won 24 straight games to open the 2010-11 season.
• Nebraska has now won 12 straight games away from home dating back to the 2025 College Basketball Crown.
• Nebraska finished with 24 assists, the 10th time this season NU has dished out at least 20 assists in a game. It is the most assists NU has had in a conference game since dishing out 25 assists in a 82-56 win over Kansas State on Feb. 14, 2001.
• Pryce Sandfort finished with a team-high 22 points, for his fourth straight 20-point game. He is the first Husker with 4+ 20-point games since Brice Williams had six straight 20-point games from Jan. 30-Feb. 16, 2025.
• Pryce Sandfort with his second career double-double and first of the season with 22 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Sandfort also blocked a career high four shots in the win.
• Sam Hoiberg tied his career high with seven assists and reached double figures for the fourth straight game with 14 points.
• Nebraska held Minnesota to 57 points, matching a season low (at Purdue) on 39.6 percent shooting. NU is now 12-0 this year when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting.