No. 7 Huskers Host Washington Wednesday Night
The No. 7/7 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team returns home Wednesday evening, as the Huskers host Washington. Tipoff from a sold out Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for shortly after 8 p.m. and the game will be carried nationally on BTN and broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app.
The Huskers (18-0, 7-0 B1G) come off a 77-58 win at Northwestern last Saturday. Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager combined for 44 points, as Nebraska shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and held Northwestern to its lowest total of the season. Sandfort led NU with 22 points, while Frager had 20 markers off the bench, his fourth 20-point game of the season. The duo combined for 10 points in a decisive 17-3 second-half run that turned a 46-41 lead into a 19-point cushion.
Sandfort has been one of the breakout stars in the Big Ten, as he averages 16.7 points per game and comes off back-to-back 20-point efforts. The 6-foot-7 wing is second in the Big Ten in 3-pointers with 60 and averaged 25.0 ppg on 57 percent shooting in two wins last week.
The Huskers, whose 18-0 start is the best in program history, climbed to seventh in Monday's AP poll, marking the highest ranking in school history. The Huskers are 7-0 in the Big Ten and a win against Washington on Wednesday would give the Huskers their first 8-0 start in conference play since the 1965-66 season.
Best Starts in School History
No.
Wins
Year
1.
18-0
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
Washington (10-8, 2-5 B1G) comes off a 80-63 loss to No. 12 Michigan State on Saturday. Zoom Diallo led the Huskies with 18 points while Hannes Steinbach added 17 points and nine boards. Washington trailed 52-45 with 11:15 left, but MSU run off eight straight points and led by double-figures the rest of the way. Steinbach has been one of the Big Ten's best freshmen, averaging 17.8 points and a conference-high 11.1 rebounds per game.
Numbers to Know
2010-11 - Nebraska is first team since Ohio State in 2010-11 to start 18-0 or better, as the Buckeyes started 24-0 that season. NU has won 22 straight, the longest win streak by a B1G team since 2010-11.
6.0 - With 128 career steals, Sam Hoiberg is now nine away from tying Benny Parker (137, 2013-16) and Larry Florence (137, 1997-2000) for 10th on NU's career steals list.
1009 - Rienk Mast now has 1,009 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.
54.6 - Nebraska's top four scorers (Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence) are combining for 54.6 points per game. None of them were in the Husker lineup last season.
10 - Nebraska is tied with Duke for third nationally with 10 Q1+Q2 wins as of Jan. 19. The only teams with more are UConn and Michigan with 11 apiece.
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.
Huskers Earn Best Ranking In School History
The Huskers continued their climb the polls on Jan. 19, moving to seventh in both the AP and Coaches polls.
• The No. 7 ranking is the highest NU has ever been ranked. NU was ranked eighth last week and on Feb. 21, 1966.
• 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 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.
• The Huskers improved to 47-22 (.681) all-time when ranked in the AP poll following the win at Northwestern.
• 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 been ranked in each of the past six polls, including the last three weeks in the top 10.
Frager Earns Big Ten Honor
Nebraska’s Braden Frager was named Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week on Jan. 19.
The 6-foot-7 forward from Lincoln Southwest averaged 21.5 points per game on 59 percent shooting, including 50 percent from 3-point range, and 3.5 rebounds per game in the Huskers' 2-0 week. It is the third time that Frager has won the weekly award, which is the most by a Husker since Bryce McGowens was an eight-time weekly honoree in 2021-22.
Frager set a career high with 23 points and tied a school freshman mark with seven 3-pointers in Nebraska’s 90-55 win. He continued his stellar week in the Huskers 77-58 win at Northwestern, finishing with 20 points and four rebounds in 32 minutes.
Worth Noting
• NU enters the week as one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Division I, joining Arizona and Miami (Ohio).
• According to BTN Research, Nebraska's 18-0 start is the best by a Big Ten team since Ohio State opened 2010-11 season with 24 straight wins.
• Nebraska’s 7-0 Big Ten start is the program's best conference start of the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present). A win against Washington would give NU an 8-0 conference mark for the first time since opening the 1965-66 season with a 10-0 mark.
• Nebraska climbed to No. 6 in the NET following the win at Northwestern. The Huskers are one of four teams in the top eight of the NET (No. 1 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Illinois) as of Jan. 19. No conference has more teams in the top 25 and top 50 of the NET than the Big Ten.
• As of Jan. 19, Nebraska's five Quad 1 wins ties for fourth nationally, trailing only Duke (eight), Arizona (seven) and Purdue (six). NU is one of 10 teams nationally with five or more Quad 1 wins. NU is also 10-0 in the first two quads.
• Nebraska comes into the Washington game with 22 straight wins, breaking the school record for consecutive wins. The 21 straight wins broke 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. Before the current win streak, NU's longest streak under Fred Hoiberg was a seven-game streak to start the 2023-24 season. The win over MSU on Jan. 2 is the only time in the 22-game win streak that NU was held under 1.00 points per possession.
Longest Win Streaks in School History
No.
Season
Win Streak
Date Started
Date Ended
1.
2024-25/25-26
22 games
3-31-25
present
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
• 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.
• Nebraska is now 2-0 against ranked foes this season following the win over No. 9 Michigan State on Jan. 2. 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.
• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 62-25 (.706) while the 62 wins ties for fourth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-75; Michigan State and Illinois-65; Nebraska and Wisconsin-62).
• The Huskers lead the Big Ten and rank 14th nationally with 10.9 3-pointers made per game as of Jan. 19. It is on track to break the school record by more than one 3-pointer per game. NU led the Big Ten in 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 12 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 at least seven 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.
• Nebraska is averaging 81.4 ppg, which is the Huskers' highest scoring average after 18 games since the 1995-96 season (86.9 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.
• NU's team 2.02-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third nationally as of Jan. 19. 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 Washington game ranked fifth in the Big Ten and 17th nationally with 18.3 assists per game. It is an increase of 4.5 assists per game from last season. Nebraska's highest assist per game total under Hoiberg is 15.3 per game in 2023-24.
• Nebraska has been stout defensively, ranking second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.388). The Huskers are also 21st nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 65.3 ppg.
•The Huskers have held 12 of its 18 opponents to under 1.0 points per possession. Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 52-3 (.945) when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 53-5 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 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 seventh in the last two seasons.
• As of Jan. 19, there have been 19 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 22 double-digit scoring runs this season, which is tied for eighth nationally according to EvanMiya.com as of Jan. 19. It is tied for second among Big Ten teams with Purdue, trailing only Michigan (27).
• Mast (1,668 points, 1009 rebounds) is one of two active Division I players with at least 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds as of Jan. 19, joining Gonzaga's Graham Ike (2,261 points, 1,042 rebounds).
Northwestern Recap
The Huskers remained undefeated with an impressive 77-58 win at Northwestern on Jan. 17. The Huskers led for more than 34 minutes to improve to 18-0 on the season and 7-0 in Big Ten Conference play. Nebraska shot 51 percent from the field, including going 11-of-26 from the 3-point line. In addition to strong shooting, the Huskers turned the ball over only five times while recording seven steals and dishing out 18 assists.
Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager each produced a 20-point effort for the second straight game. Sandfort finished with 22 points and went 5-of-10 from three. Frager scored 20 points and went 8-of-14 from the field. Sam Hoiberg added 12 points and contributed a team-high seven rebounds. Sandfort (13), Frager (12) and Hoiberg (10) combined to outscored Northwestern 35-29 in the second half, as overall the Huskers outscored the Wildcats by 14 in the second half.
The Wildcats were within 46-41with 13:41 following a 3-point play from Max Green but the Huskers took control with a 17-3 run, including 11 unanswered points to build a 63-44 lead following Sandfort’s fourth 3-pointer of the game and led by at least 14 points the rest of the way. Nick Martinelli led Northwestern with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Notes from the Northwestern Game
•-Nebraska improved to 18-0 on the season, extending the best start in program history, and 22 straight games dating back to last season. The 22-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 improved to 7-0 in Big Ten play, its best conference start since going 10-0 in 1965-66.
•-Nebraska improved to 4-0 on the road in conference play, marking the first time in 1975-76 at the Huskers won four straight conference road streaks. The four straight wins also matches the longest conference win streak since the 1920-21 season, as NU has won four straight conference road games on seven separate occasions.
•-Nebraska has now won 11 straight games away from home dating back to the 2025 College Basketball Crown.
•-Nebraska hit 11 3-pointers, the 12th time the Huskers have hit 10-or-more 3-pointers.
•-Nebraska force 11 turnovers, including seven steals against Northwestern, which entered the game averaging a national-best 8.4 turnovers per game.
•-Nebraska held Northwestern to 58 points, matching its season low (vs. Butler) and 20.5 ppg below its average.