Huskers Host Bluejays Sunday AfternoonHuskers Host Bluejays Sunday Afternoon
Eli Larson
Men's Basketball

Huskers Host Bluejays Sunday Afternoon

MBB vs South Carolina Upstate - EL79

Game #9
Opponent: Creighton
Date: Sunday, Dec. 7
Tipoff: 4:05 p.m. (central)
Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Arena: Pinnacle Bank Arena

Toys for Tots Day
Sunday's game is the annual men's basketball Toys for Tots Drive. Fans are encouraged to bring new unwrapped toys to support children in the local community. Collection stations will be at both entrances at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

On the Air
TV/Online: Sunday's game will be broadcast on FS1 with Connor Onion and Nick Bahe on the call. It will also be available online on the FOX Sports and FOX Sports 1 apps.

Radio: Sunday's game will be carried on the Huskers Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Jeff Smith on the call, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KCRO (660 AM) and KIBM (1490 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. The pregame show begins an hour before tipoff and will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. 

Huskers Host Bluejays Sunday Afternoon
The Nebraska men's basketball team plays host to the annual I-80 rivalry Sunday afternoon, as the Huskers welcome Creighton to a sold out Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. (central) and the game will be carried nationally on FS1 and broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app.

The Huskers (8-0) are coming off a 72-63 win over USC Upstate on Nov. 29. Pryce Sandfort's 20 points led four Huskers in double figures, as NU overcame a slow start and built a 16-point lead late in the second half before the Spartans rallied. Sandfort, who also had a season-high nine rebounds and four assists, tallied 11 of his points during NU's 17-0 first-half run that erased an early double-figure deficit. Rienk Mast had 15 points and six rebounds while Braden Frager and Cale Jacobsen added 11 points apiece off the bench. 

Sandfort has been one of the Big Ten's top newcomers as the 6-foot-7 junior forward is averaging 16.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while pacing the Huskers with 23 3-pointers and is shooting nearly 37 from 3-point range. Sandfort is also averaging nearly three assists per game with better than a 7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Huskers' 8-0 start marks the Huskers' best start since opening the 1977-78 season with a 10-0 mark and just the third time that NU won eight-or-mrore games to start a season. With a win on Sunday, the Huskers would extend the nation's longest win streak to 13 games. 

Nebraska will have its one of its biggest challenge of the non-conference slate, as Creighton comes to Lincoln with a 5-3 record following a 96-76 win over McNeese State Tuesday night. Josh Dix, Jasen Green and Owen Freeman had 14 points apiece, as Creighton shot 61 percent, including 17-of-34 from 3-point range, in the win.

Numbers to Know
84.8 -Nebraska's 84.8 ppg is the program's highest scoring average after eight games since the 1995-96 campaign (91.5 ppg). That team averaged 80.2 ppg for the season. 

11.3 - Nebraska averages 11.3 made 3-pointers per game to lead the Big Ten and rank 16th nationally as of Dec. 4. Currently, five Big Ten teams are averaging more than 10.0 3-pointers per game.

80+ - Nebraska is 44-10 (.815) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 35-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of 2022-23, four came in overtime.

.936 - Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 44-3 when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 45-5 when holding opponents to under 70 points. Nebraska has improved its KenPom defensive efficiency in each of the past three seasons.

.960 - Nebraska is 24-1 at home in non-conference play over the last three-plus seasons and is 37-9 (.804) at home in non-conference action in Fred Hoiberg's tenure at Nebraska.

401 - Nebraska's 2025-26 roster entered the season with 401 career starts at the Division I level. Rienk Mast has 111 starts in his career while Kendall Blue has started 89 times during his career at St. Thomas. 

Worth Noting
• Nebraska enters the weekend riding a 12-game win streak dating back to last season's College Basketball Crown. It is the longest active streak in the nation and is tied for the fifth-longest streak in school history. With a win on Sunday, it would mark just the fifth time that Nebraska has won 13 straight games and longest win streak since the school-record 14-game win streak in 1990-91. 

Before the current win streak, NU's longest streak under Fred Hoiberg was a seven-game streak to start the 2023-24 season.  Nebraska is averaging 83.5 ppg on 48 percent shooting during its 12-game win streak and has scored at least 1.00 points per possession in all 12 contests.

Longest Win Streaks in School History

No.

Season

Win Streak

Date Started

Date Ended

1.

1990-91

14 games

11-28-90

1-22-91

 

1911-12/12-13

14 games

1-27-12

1-25-13

3.

1919-20/20-21

13 games

2-6-20

1-3-21

 

1897-98/1900-01

13 games

2-22-1898

1901**

5.

2024-25/25-26

12 games

3-31-25

present

 

1912-13

12 games

1-31-13

3-12-13

7.

2010-11

11 games

11-20-10

1-12-11

 

1993-94

11 games

12-3-93

1-19-94

 

1905-06/06-07

11 games

2-25-06

2-15-07

• Nebraska has now won a school-record 19 straight non-conference games dating bck to Nov. 22, 2024. It is also the nation's longest non-con win streak. NU has also won 13 straight home games against non-conference foes dating back to the 2023-24 season. 

• The Husker men and women enter the weekend with 8-0 records following the Husker women's 92-53 win over Bradley on Wednesday. It is the first time that both programs have won their first eight games. As of Dec. 4, only five schools - Iowa State, LSU, Michigan State, Nebraska and Vanderbilt - have both their men's and women's teams unbeaten.
• Nebraska has been one of the nation's top 3-point shooting teams, as the Huskers lead the Big Ten and rank 16th nationally with 11.3 3-pointers made per game as of Dec. 4.  Nebraska's 11.3 3-pointers per game is 4.5 more per game more than last season after eight games and is the best early-season start for a Fred Hoiberg team at Nebraska.  
• Nebraska has made 10-or-more 3-pointers five times in seven games, including 17 against FIU and 15 vs. Oklahoma.  It marked only the seventh and eighth time in school history that NU had at least 15 3-pointers in a game. Last year, the Huskers made double-digit 3-pointers seven times in 35 contests.
• Nebraska comes into Creighton's game averaging 84.8 points per game through its first eight games, which is the highest by a Husker team through eight games in 30 years. Before this season, NU's highest scoring average through eight games in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present) was 79.9 ppg in 2021-22. The 1995-96 team was the last one to average 80+ points in its first eight contests.
• As of Dec. 4, the Big Ten has nine teams in the top 50 of the NET.
• After going 24 seasons without an in-season tournament championship, Nebraska has won two since last Christmas, taking home the Diamond Head Invitational last December and the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City last month. NU's Hall of Fame Classic title marked the first time a Big Ten team won the event since 2014.
• Nebraska enters Sunday's game with Creighton ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 15th nationally with 19.5 assists per game. It is an increase of 5.2 assists per game from last season. NU has averaged 20 assists only two times in school history (1990-91 and 1984-85).
• NU's team 1.86-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 14th nationally entering as of Dec. 4. It is on track to be NU's best total in Fred Hoiberg's seven seasons. NU's best assist-to-turnover ratio under Hoiberg was 1.38-to-1 in 2023-24. The school record in that category is 1.81-to-1 in 1984-85. Nebraska has two games with at least 20 assists and five turnovers or less (Winthrop, vs. Oklahoma).
• Eight Huskers have posted double-figure efforts this season, while five players have had at least one 20-point performance (Pryce Sandfort-4; Rienk Mast-3; Braden Frager-2; Jamarques Lawrence-1).
• The Huskers posted their second double-digit comeback of the season against USC Upstate, overcoming a 12-point first-half deficit. During its 12-game win streak, NU now has four comebacks from 10+ points (Arizona State, UCF, Oklahoma and USC Upstate).
• Rienk Mast is one of 23 players nationally - and 10 from power conference teams - averaging at least 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game entering as of Dec. 4. Mast comes into the Creighton game averaging a career-high 17.9 points per game on 55 percent shooting, including 43 percent from 3-point range.
• Mast (1,539 points, 948 rebounds) is one of two active Division I players with at least 1,500 points and 900 rebounds as of Dec. 4, joining Gonzaga's Graham Ike (2,079 points, 958 rebounds). Mast also ranks in the top 15 among active NCAA players in points, rebounds and games played.
• Pryce Sandfort is averaging 18.7 ppg, 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game over the past six contests dating back to Nov. 8. He also has an 10.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span. Sandfort has scored 20+ points four times in that stretch after posting one 20-point game in his two seasons at Iowa.
• Braden Frager has emerged as one of the top freshmen in the Big Ten as he comes into Sunday's game with Creighton averaging 12.1 points per game. He is seventh among Big Ten freshmen in scoring despite starting just one of NU's first eight contests. He was named MVP of the Hall of Fame Classic and Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 18.0 points on 72 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds per game in wins over K-State and New Mexico. He is one of only four power conference freshmen in multiple 20-point games off the bench this season, joining Maleek Thomas (Arkansas), Jacob Crews (Missouri) and Roddie Anderson III (Xavier) as of Dec. 4.
• Cale Jacobsen and Jared Garcia have provided punch off the bench over the last two games, as Nebraska has battled injuries to Connor Essegian and Berke Büyüktuncel. Jacobsen averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game in two games last week, reaching double figures in both games. Garcia, who is working his way back from a foot injury, averaged 5.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 10.5 minutes over the two contests.  
• Nebraska is 42-14 (.750) over the past three-plus seasons when Sam Hoiberg plays at least 20 minutes. The senior is setting career bests in nearly every category, including scoring (6.9 ppg), rebounding (5.1 rpg), assists (3.9 apg) and steals (2.1 spg).
• NU has had 10 double-digit scoring runs this season, including a 17-0 run against USC Upstate on Saturday.

USC Upstate Recap
Pryce Sandfort had 20 points and a season-high nine rebounds to lead four Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska remained unbeaten with a 72-63 win over South Carolina Upstate on Nov. 29. 

Sandfort scored 16 points of his 20 points in a 27-8 Husker surge that erased a 12-point first-half deficit and gave the Huskers a 42-35 with 17:28 remaining after his fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon. The Huskers never trailed again and eventually built a 16-point lead before USC Upstate made a final run in the final 1:22 to get within double digits.

Rienk Mast added 15 points and six rebounds, while Cale Jacobsen and Braden Frager added 11 points apiece. The Huskers had eight steals, including a career-high five from Jacobsen, and held USC Upstate to 36.4 percent shooting.

Notes from the USC Upstate Win
• Nebraska improves to 8-0 for just the third time in school history and first since a 10-0 start in 1977-78.

• Pryce Sandfort finished with NU team highs in both points (20), rebounds (nine) and assists (four). His 20-points marked his fourth 20-point game of the season while his nine rebounds were a season high.

• Nebraska got a pair of double-digit efforts off the bench with 11 points apiece from Cale Jacobsen and Braden Frager. NU now has 10 double-figure efforts from its bench this season.

• Cale Jacobsen’s five steals matched the most by a Husker in Fred Hoiberg’s six-plus seasons at NU. The last Husker with five steals in a game was Juwan Gary, who had five against Bethune Cookman on Nov. 9, 2024.

• Nebraska’s 17-0 first-half run was its highest of the season (16-0 vs. West Georgia).

• NU has now held five of its eight opponents to under 40 percent shooting as USC Upstate shot 36.4 percent.