Huskers Head East to Battle Friars

Huskers Head East to Battle Friars
The Nebraska men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season, as the Huskers travel to Uncasville, Conn., for a neutral-site matchup with the Providence Friars.  Tipoff from Mohegan Sun Arena is set for 6 p.m. (central) and will be televised on FS1 and broadcast across the state on the Huskers Radio Network as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app.  

The Nebraska-Providence matchup is the featured matchup of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off which also includes a matchup between Rhode Island and Monmouth, scheduled for 3 p.m. (central). Tickets for Saturday's games are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com.

Nebraska opened the season with a 106-64 win over Le Moyne Monday night. The Huskers shot 54 percent from the field and placed five players in double figures, led by Pryce Sandfort's 20-point effort. The Huskers, who went 14-of-30 from 3-point range, took control in the first half, putting up 58 points - their best first-half total since 2005 - to take a 26-point halftime lead. Sandfort and Cale Jacobsen, who scored a career-high 16 points, combined for 30 points in the opening 20 minutes as Nebraska shot 63 percent in the opening stanza. NU also got a trio of double-figure scoring efforts off the bench, as Connor Essegian (13), Damon Wilkinson (11) and Jacob Lanier (11) combined for 35 points. In all, the Huskers got 48 points from their reserves in the opener.

For Sandfort, who was named to the Naismith Player of the Year watchlist, it marked his 17th career 20-point game, as he was 7-of-13 from the field and added five rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes. The Husker senior also hit a milestone, scoring his 1,000th career point on his first basket of the evening.

Saturday's matchup with the Friars is technically a neutral-site game, but the 9,323-seat Mohegan Sun Arena sits just an hour away from the Providence campus. The Friars opened the year with an 83-56 win over Maine Monday night. Jacob Bannarbie had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead five PC players in double figures while Providence forced 23 turnovers and held the Maine to 35 percent shooting. The Friars recorded 17 steals, including seven from Miles Byrd, and had a 29-6 advantage in points off turnovers. 

Numbers to Know
23 - Nebraska has won a school-record 23 straight regular-season non-conference games dating back to Nov. 22, 2024. NU has also won 16 straight home games against non-conference foes dating back to the 2023-24 season.

373 - Nebraska's 373 3-pointers in 2025-26 were a school record, breaking the school record of 319 set in 2023-24. The Huskers opened the 2026-27 season by going 14-of-30 from 3-point range, despite Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager going 2-of-11 from beyond the arc.

15 - Nebraska spent a school-record 15 weeks in the AP poll during the 2025-26 season, breaking the school mark of 13 weeks in 1990-91. NU spent a total of 15 combined weeks in the AP poll from the start of the 1991-92 season to the end of the 2024-25 season.

9 - The Big Ten sent nine teams to the NCAA Tournament, which tied the most that the conference has sent to the NCAA Tournament. The Big Ten had six teams - Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Purdue in the Sweet 16, and two teams advance to the Final Four. 

1.86 - Nebraska ranked sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.86-to-1) in 2025-26, breaking a school record which had stood since 1984-85 (1.81-to-1).  Nebraska had 24 assists and just eight turnovers in the opener.

80 - Nebraska is 53-10 (.841) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 44-7 mark since the 2022-23 season. Of those seven losses in that span, four came in overtime. NU has now won its last 18 games games scoring at least 80 points following Monday's win over Le Moyne.

Scouting Providence 
Providence comes into Saturday's matchup with a 1-0 record after its win over Maine on Monday. The Friars turned nearly its entire roster, as junior guard Ryan Mela (9.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg in 2025-26) and John Jackson (redshirt) are the only returnees from last season's team which finished with a 15-18 in 2025-26. The newcomers are led by San Diego State transfer Miles Byrd (10.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Northwestern transfer Arrinten Page (10.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Georgetown transfer Malik Mack (13.6 ppg, 4.1 apg). The Friars made a late addition to their roster last week in Maryland transfer Elijah Saunders (9.0 ppg, 4.4 apg). In the opener, UNLV transfer Jacob Bannarbie came off the bench and had 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds in the win over Maine. 

Bryan Hodgson is in his first season at Providence after guiding South Florida to a 25-9 record and a sweep of the American Conference regular-season and postseason tournament titles in 2025-26. Previously he was a at Arkansas State for two seasons, guiding the Red Wolves to one NIT and a CBI appearance. Before taking the Arkansas State job, he was an assistant at Alabama from 2019 to 2023 and also was with Nate Oats at Bufffalo from 2015 to 2019. 

Saturday will mark the first meeting between the two schools. The Huskers are 39-48 (.448) all-time against the Big East, including 1-0 last season with a win over Creighton. Nebraska has three Big East opponents on its non-conference schedule, including matchups against Butler in Chicago (Nov. 22) and at Creighton (Dec. 5). 

Worth Noting
• Saturday's game will be the Huskers' first game in the state of Connecticut since losing to UConn in the third round of the 1997 NIT.

• Nebraska's Taj DeGourville and Providence's Miles Bryd were teammates for two seasons at San Diego State (2024-26). The pair helped the Aztecs reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament. 

• Saturday's game is the first of four neutral-site contests on the Huskers 2026-27 schedule. NU will also travel to Sioux Falls (vs. Boise State, Nov. 15); Chicago (vs. Butler, Nov. 22) and Kansas City, Mo. (vs. Missouri, Dec. 12).

• NU is 90-41 (.687) all-time in season openers and has won 24 of the past 26 openers dating back to 2001.

• Pryce Sandfort went over 1,000 career points with his 20-point effort in the opener. Last year, his season low game came in the opener against West Georgia, as he was held to three points. 

• Nebraska's 106 points in the season opener against Le Moyne tied for the fifth-highest opening night total in school history and the most since the 2018-19 season. Last year, NU reached the 100-point plateau just once, a 105-99 win over Oklahoma in Sioux Falls.

Last Time Out 
Cale Jacobsen and Pryce Sandfort combined for 30 first-half points, as Nebraska raced to a 26-point halftime lead and never looked back in 106-64 win over Le Moyne Monday evening.

Nebraska shot a blistering 62.5 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes to build a 58-32 halftime lead. The 58 points were NU’s highest first-half total since 2005, as NU outscored the Dolphins, 41-17, over the final 12:05 of the first half.  

Jacobsen and Sandfort combined for NU’s final 19 first-half points, as NU allowed just two field goals over the final 5:05 of the half.  Jacobsen had 14 of his 16 markers in the opening 20 minutes, including seven straight points in a span of 1:26 in an 11-0 run to close the half. He finished with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting along with four rebounds and three assists.

Sandfort finished with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting led five Huskers in double figures. Connor Essegian (13), Damon Wilkinson (11) and Jacob Lanier totaled double-figure efforts off the bench, as Nebraska got 48 points from its reserves.  

Pavelka Announces One Last Season Behind the Mic
Kent Pavelka announced on Oct. 26 that the 2026-27 season will be his 40th and final season of calling NU men's basketball. Pavelka's association with Nebraska basketball dates back more than 50 seasons as he called Husker games for two stretches from 1974-1996 before returning to play-by-play duties full time in 2006-07. Over the years, he has called nearly 1,300 Husker games. A six-time Nebraska Sportscaster of the Year who was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019, he received the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award earlier this fall. Pavelka graduated from NU in 1971 with a degree in broadcasting. 

More Preseason Accolades for Sandfort
Senior wing Pryce Sandfort received a trio of preseason accolades in the past week. On Nov. 3, he was named to the Naismith Player of the Year Watch List after he earned a spot on the NABC list on Oct. 29. In addition, the 6-foot-7 senior was named a candidate for the 2027 Julius Erving Award, which is given to the Small Forward of the Year by the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Four Sellouts Announced
The Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office announced that four of the Huskers' Big Ten games are already sold out heading into the start of the 2026-27 season. That list included games against Michigan State (Jan. 2), Iowa (Jan. 16), UCLA (Jan. 22) and Indiana (Feb. 6) with others heading toward sellout status.  Fans can still purchase tickets for many of Nebraska’s home basketball games by visiting Huskers.com/tickets. 

A Look at Nebraska 
The Huskers begin their quest for a fourth straight postseason appearance, returning seven players from a team that went 28-7 before losing to Iowa in the Sweet 16.  NU returns one starter in senior Pryce Sandfort, who returns after earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. Sandfort averaged 18.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while ranking among the Big Ten leaders in scoring and 3-pointers (3.7 per game, 1st). NU brings back its top two performers off the bench in Braden Frager and Cale Jacobsen. Frager averaged 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a redshirt freshman, while his 57 3-pointers were second on the team. Jacobsen, who has played 79 games in his career, appeared in all 35 games last year and averaged 4.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Fifth-year senior Connor Essegian (5.4 ppg) played just seven games last year after suffering a season-ending injury in November. Two years ago, Essegian averaged 10.7 ppg, including 38 percent from 3-point range. Leo Curtis (1.6 ppg) played in 17 games as a true freshman, including extended minutes in Big Ten games at Michigan and against Penn State. NU's other returnees are junior Will Cooper, who redshirted after playing at Air Force as a freshman, and Henry Burt, a walk-on who missed the entire 2025-26 season with a knee injury.  NU added eight newcomers (six transfers and two freshmen) to help offset the loss of four starters from last year. Rienk Mast (Indiana) and Sam Hoiberg (Phoenix) were both expected to play in the NBA G League while Jamarques Lawrence and Jared Garcia are playing professionally overseas.

Huskers Tabbed for Fifth in Big Ten Media Preseason Poll 
While the Big Ten does not do an official preseason poll, the Big Ten Preseason Media Poll organized by Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch takes votes from 28 beat writers from around the Big Ten footprint.

The Huskers were picked to finish fifth in the poll, trailing Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan and UCLA. Pryce Sandfort was tabbed as a first-team honoree by the media. The fifth-place pick was NU's highest place in the preseason poll since being voted fourth in 2019.
Last year, NU was tabbed 14th by the conference media before finishing in a three-way tie for second place. 

Poll Watching
Nebraska saw its school-record 15 week run in the Associated Press poll end on Oct. 19, as the Huskers were the second team outside the top 25 in the preseason poll. Nebraska received a total of 70 points in the voting by media, just behind Missouri as the first teams outside the poll. 

The good news is that NU will have plenty of opportunities against ranked teams this season. NU has 10 of its 2026-27 opponents either in the preseason poll or receiving votes. Six Big Ten teams were ranked in either the AP or Coaches polls, including Illinois (No. 3/3), Michigan State (6/6), Michigan (16/20), USC (21/22) and UCLA (22/RV) and Purdue (RV/24) while six other Big Ten teams - Nebraska, Purdue, Ohio State, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin received votes in either poll.  Of the five ranked teams in the AP poll, NU hosts four of them at PBA this season. 

Sandfort Named Preseason All-Big Ten
Nebraska senior Pryce Sandfort was honored on Oct. 5, as the Big Ten Conference announced its preseason All-Big Ten team. Sandfort, a 6-foot-7 wing from Waukee, Iowa, was one of 10 players selected by a vote of media that cover Big Ten basketball.  Sandfort was one of two unanimous selections, joining Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., who was tabbed as the preseason player of the year.  Sandfort becomes just the fourth Husker to be named preseason All-Big Ten since Nebraska joined the conference in 2011-12, joining James Palmer Jr. (2018), Terran Petteway (2014) and Keisei Tominaga (2023).

He comes off a junior season where he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, averaging 18.1 points per game on nearly 48 percent shooting and 4.9 rebounds per game. He ranked fourth nationally in 3-pointers per game (3.7) while his 129 3-pointers broke NU’s single-season record and was the second-highest total in Big Ten history. Sandfort totaled 15 games of at least 20 points, including a trio of 30-point outbursts and capped his first season as a Husker by leading NU to the Sweet 16, averaging 21.0 points per game on 57 percent shooting.

Leonhardt Takes the Point
One newcomer who looks to flourish in the Huskers' system is fifth-year guard Trevan Leonhardt. The Utah Valley transfer was a stat-stuffer in NU's opener with seven points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

• His seven-assist, zero-turnover effort marked just the sixth time in Fred Hoiberg's eight seasons that a Husker had at least seven turnovers and no assists in a game. The last was by Rienk Mast against Purdue last February. 

Leonhardt was one of the top point guards in the transfer portal after earning first-team All-WAC honors at Utah Valley. He started all 34 games, averaging 11.9 points per game along with 6.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. The 6-foot-6 guard was the only player nationally to rank in the top 25 in both assists (23rd) & steals (18th) per game.  He led the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of the past two seasons, ranking fifth nationally in that category in 2024-25. He looks to become the third guard under Head Coach Fred Hoiberg to rank in the top-10 nationally in that category, as Sam Hoiberg set NU's school record with a 3.74-to-1 ratio last season.

In addition to Leonhardt, NU also added San Diego State transfer Taj DeGourville, who ranked among the Mountain West Conference leaders in both assists (3.0, 12th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0-to-1, seventh) last season. DeGourville had two assists against Le Moyne, as Nebraska had 24 assists and just eight turnovers.

• Last year, Nebraska ranked sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.86-to-1), the third time a Fred Hoiberg-coached team ranked in the top-10 nationally (2014-15, 8th; 2013-14, 2nd) in assist-to-turnover ratio. 

Sandfort is Huskers' Shooting Star
Pryce Sandfort put together one of the most prolific shooting seasons in Big Ten history in 2025-26. The 6-foot-7 wing led the Big Ten in 3-pointers made (129) and 3-pointers per game (3.7) while ranking third in 3-point percentage (.416). He finished the season third nationally in 3-pointers (129), fourth in 3-pointers per game (3.7) and 24th in 3-point percentage.

• Sandfort’s 129 3-pointers shattered Nebraska’s previous record of 89 set by Cary Cochran in 2002 and was the most by a Big Ten player since Purdue’s Carsen Edwards had 135 in 2018-19.

• According to Stathead, Sandfort is one of only five players in Big Ten history to shoot 40 percent from 3-point range and have at least 115 3-pointers in a season and the first since Penn State’s Shep Garner in 2017-18.

Frager Looks to Expand Role
After serving as NU's sixth man last year, Braden Frager looks to enjoy a breakout season in 2026-27 as he moves into the lineup. Frager is in his third year in the program after reclassifying prior to his senior year in high school. He is ranked No. 97 on the CBS Sports Top 101 Players in the country and No. 92 by the Field of 68. Frager, who had 28 points and 10 rebounds in NU's final exhibition game, totaled seven points, three rebounds and three assists vs. Le Moyne.

• Last season, he became the first Husker basketball player to win a Big Ten individual conference season award, as he was chosen as the Big Ten’s Sixth Man of the Year.  The Lincoln Southwest product averaged 11.8 points per game on 49 percent shooting and 3.8 rebounds per game in 33 contests

• Frager topped all Big Ten reserves in scoring and had 18 of his 20 double-figure efforts off the bench, including six games of at least 20 points.

• He finished among the program’s top freshmen in several categories, including 3-pointers (57, second), points (391, fourth), scoring average (fifth) and field goals (134, fifth) on his way to earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

• His six 20-point efforts off the bench tied for sixth nationally. Frager trailed only AJ Storr of Ole Miss (8) for the most among power conference players.

• Frager was NU’s second-leading scorer during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game off the bench. He provided the game-winner in NU’s 74-72 win over No. 16 Vanderbilt with his basket with 2.2 seconds remaining and had 16 points, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, in the Sweet 16 loss to Iowa.

A Dose of Cale is Good for the Huskers 
Cale Jacobsen returns for his fifth year and is poised to experience a jump like what Sam Hoiberg had in 2025-26. Jacobsen, who originally walked on, played in every game last year, averaging 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in helping NU make the Sweet 16.

• This season, Jacobsen has started all three exhibition games in place of Sam Orme and averaged 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game.  He continued his strong play in the opener with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

• This week, he was chosen by Jon Rothstein of 247Sports as one of 10 Glue Guys to Monitor.

• Jacobsen moved into the rotation during the 2025 College Basketball Crown and has helped NU go 33-7 in that span.  During his career, Nebraska is 36-7 when Jacobsen played at least 10 minutes per game.