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No. 8 Huskers Travel to Northwestern on Saturday
The No. 8/10 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team hits the road Saturday afternoon, as the Huskers travel to Northwestern. Tipoff from Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston 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 (17-0, 7-0 B1G) come off a 90-55 win over Oregon Tuesday evening in Lincoln. Nebraska matched its season high with 17 3-pointers, including seven each from Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager, as the duo combined for 51 points. Nebraska shot 53 percent from the field and turned 16 Duck turnovers into 23 points, posting its largest winning margin in a conference game since Jan. 9, 1994.
The catalyst for the Husker defense has been senior guard Sam Hoiberg, who finished with 11 points, a career-high six steals and five assists in 32 minutes against Oregon. Hoiberg, who is bidding to become NU's first Big Ten all-defensive team member since the Huskers joined the conference in 2011-12, is second in the Big Ten with 2.1 steals per game and is also 12th in assists, dishing out 4.0 assists per contest.
The Huskers, whose 17-0 start is the best in program history, matched their best ranking in school history as the Huskers were eighth in Monday's AP poll. NU was also ranked eighth for a week during the 1965-66 season. The Huskers are 6-0 in the Big Ten and a win Saturday would match NU's best conference start since WW2, a 7-0 mark by the 1965-66 Huskers.
|
Best Starts in School History |
||
|
No. |
Wins |
Year |
|
1. |
17-0 |
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 |
Northwestern (8-9, 0-6 B1G) comes off a 79-68 loss to No. 13 Illinois on Wednesday. Jayden Reid, who had started Northwestern's first 16 games, came off the bench and had a career-high 28 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while Nick Martinelli added 20. Martinelli is tied for the national lead in scoring at 23.8 points per game.
Numbers to Know
.750 - Nebraska is 6-2 in its last eight Big Ten road games dating back to last season following Saturday's win at Indiana. The Huskers have also won their last 10 games away from Lincoln since March 31, 2025.
5 - Nebraska's 16-point second-half comeback against Indiana marked the Huskers' fifth double-digit comback during the 21-game win streak - vs. Arizona State (11), vs, UCF (14), vs. Oklahoma (16), USC Upstate (11) and at Indiana (16).
5.7 - Sam Hoiberg is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (min. 3 assists per game) at 5.7-to-1 as of Jan. 15. Over the last eight games dating back to Dec. 10, Hoiberg has 32 assists and just four turnovers in 238:07 of game action.
10 - With 127 career steals, Sam Hoiberg is now 10 away from tying Benny Parker (137, 2013-16) and Larry Florence (137, 1997-2000) for 10th on NU's career steals list.
1,007 - Rienk Mast now has 1,007 career rebounds after grabbing six at Indiana. He 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.
54.4 - 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.
Huskers Match Best Ranking In School History
The Huskers continued to move up the polls on Jan. 12 climbing to eighth in the AP poll and 10th in the coaches poll. It is NU's second straight week in the top 10.
• The No. 8 ranking matches the highest ranking in school history, as Nebraska was No. 8 on Feb. 21, 1966. That was during a four-week run in the top 10.
• Prior to 2025-26, 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, climbing to a program-best 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 46-22 (.677) all-time when ranked in the AP poll following the win over Oregon.
• Prior to its 2025-26 poll debut on Dec. 8, the Huskers had not been ranked in the AP poll since the 2018-19 season (Dec. 31, 2018).
Worth Noting
• Nebraska enters the weekend as one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Division I, joining Arizona and Miami (Ohio).
• According to BTN Research, Nebraska's 17-0 start is the best by a Big Ten team since Michigan opened the 2018-19 season with 17 straight wins. A win on Saturday would mark the best start by a Big Ten team since 2010-11 when Ohio State opened the year with 24 straight wins.
• Nebraska’s 6-0 Big Ten start is the program's best conference start of the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present). A win against Northwestern on Saturday would give NU a 7-0 conference mark for the first time the 1965-66 campaign and its best conference start since WW2.
• Nebraska is now No. 10 in the NET following Tuesday's win against Oregon. The Huskers are one of six Big Ten teams in the top 20 of the NET (No. 1 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue, No. 9 Illinois, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 13 Michigan State and No. 20 Iowa) as of Jan. 15. No conference has more teams in the top 25 and top 50 of the NET than the Big Ten.
• As of Jan. 15, Nebraska's five Quad 1 wins ties for fourth nationally, trailing only Duke (seven), Michigan (six) and Arizona (six). NU is also 9-0 in the first two quads.
• Nebraska comes into the Northwestern game with 21 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 Jan. 2 win over MSU is the only time in the 21-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 |
21 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.
• Nebraska Coach Fred Hoiberg picked up his 100th win at Nebraska on Saturday at Indiana. Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 61-25 (.706) while the 61 wins ties for fourth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-74; Michigan State and Illinois-64; Nebraska and Wisconsin-61).
• After hitting 17 3-pointers against Oregon, the Huskers lead the Big Ten and rank 17th nationally with 10.9 3-pointers made per game as of Jan. 15. 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 11 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 marked the first time in school history that NU has had multple 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 81.7 ppg, which is the Huskers' highest scoring average after 16 games since the 1995-96 season (88.2 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.
• Tuesday's win over Oregon marked the fifth time this season where NU had at least 20 assists and six or fewer turnovers.
• NU's team 1.97-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fifth nationally as of Jan. 15. NU is one of three Big Ten teams in the top five nationally in that category (Purdue, 1st; Northwestern 2nd; Nebraska 5th). It is on track to shatter the school mark of 1.81 set in 1984-85. NU's best assist-to-turnover ratio under Hoiberg is 1.38-to-1 in 2023-24.
• Nebraska enters Saturday's game at Northwestern ranked seventh in the Big Ten and 21st 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 12th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.386). The Huskers have held 11 of its 17 opponents to under 1.0 points per possession. NU held Oregon to 0.85 PPP.
• Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 50-3 (.943) when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 52-5 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. 15, there have been 17 triple-doubles in Division I basketball this season while Nebraska is the only school with multiple players recording a triple double. Over the last seven seasons, only five schools - Nebraska (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 21 double-digit scoring runs this season, which is tied for seventh nationally according to EvanMiya.com as of Jan. 15. It is tied for second among Big Ten teams, trailing only Michigan (26).
• Mast (1,659 points, 1007 rebounds) is one of two active Division I players with at least 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds as of Jan. 11, joining Gonzaga's Graham Ike (2,261 points, 1,042 rebounds). Mast ranks in the top 15 nationally among active NCAA players in points, rebounds and games played.
Oregon Recap
Behind a season-high 17 3-pointers, No. 8 Nebraska remained unbeaten with a 90-55 victory over Oregon Tuesday evening at the Pinnacle Bank Arena. Braden Frager and Pryce Sandfort combined for 51 points, as Nebraska shot 53.3 percent from the field, including 17-of-36 from 3-point range.
Sandfort led all scorers with 28 points, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range, while Frager scored a career-high 23 points off the bench, highlighted by seven 3-pointers. Sam Hoiberg was the third Husker in double figures with 11 points and a career-high six steals.
Hoiberg and the Husker defense stymied Oregon, forcing 16 Duck turnovers that led to a 23-4 advantage on points off turnovers. Nebraska took control of the game in the final four minutes of the half as Sandfort and Frager combined for 12 points in a 14-2 spurt that turned a tie game until a 42-30 halftime lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Frager.
The second half was all Huskers, as Nebraska shot 58 percent in the second half, including 8-of-16 from 3-point range. NU scored the first five points to extend the lead to 17 and force an Oregon timeout just 1:12 into the second half. In all, the Huskers outscored Oregon, 24-5, stretching the lead to 52-33 after a Frager dunk. From there, the Huskers lead by as many as 39 before closing out the 35-point win.
Notes from the Oregon Game
• NU improves to 17-0 for the first time in school history and extends its win streak to a school-record 21 games.
• Nebraska scored 90 points in the win, its fourth 90-point game of the season. The four 90-point games in a season tie for ninth in school history.
• The 35-point margin of victory was Nebraska’s largest in Big Ten play, topping the previous high of 34 at Rutgers on Jan. 9, 2016, and largest against a conference opponent since a 39-point win over Colorado on Jan. 8, 1994.
• Nebraska was 17-of-36 from the 3-point line, finishing one 3-pointer shy of tying the school record of 18 3-pointers, set against Kansas on Feb. 24, 2002. The Huskers’ 17 3-pointers against Oregon tied a Pinnacle Bank Arena record set against FIU on Nov. 8.
• Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager had seven 3-pointers apiece, the first time NU has ever had multiple players hit at least seven 3-pointers in a game.
• Sandfort (28) and Frager (23) gave Nebraska multiple 20-point scorers for the fourth time this season.
• Nebraska tied its season high with 11 steals, a feat it also accomplished against FIU, including a career-high six by Sam Hoiberg. His six steals are the most by a Husker since Glynn Watson Jr. had 6 vs. Long Beach State on Nov. 26, 2017.