No. 9 Huskers Head to Iowa Tuesday Evening

The No. 9/9 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team makes the short trip to Iowa City for a matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Tipoff from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is for shortly after 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on BTN, broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports and Fox One apps. 

The Huskers (22-3, 11-3 B1G) come off a 68-49 win over Northwestern on Saturday. Nebraska held the Wildcats to their second-lowest point total of the season, as NU held the Wildcats to 35 percent shooting in the second half to complete the season sweep. The Huskers put three players in double figures, led by Pryce Sandfort's 29-point effort. Sam Hoiberg added 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Cale Jacobsen came off the bench and had all 10 of his points in the second half, including eight points in a 25-7 run which turned a 38-35 deficit into a 15-point lead. 

Sandfort had six 3-pointers against the Wildcats and enters Tuesday's game at Iowa one 3-pointer shy of tying the single-season school record set by Cary Cochran in 2001-02. Sandfort, who began his college career at Iowa before transferring to Nebraska, leads a deep Husker attack in scoring at 17.5 points per game. 

Iowa (18-7, 8-6 B1G) comes off a 78-57 home loss to No. 13 Purdue on Saturday. Bennett Stirtz led Iowa with 19 points and five rebounds, as the Hawkeyes were held to 38 percent shooting including 6-of-22 from 3-point range. Purdue hit 12 3-pointers on the day and led by as many as 27 points in the second half to stay tied with the Huskers for third in the Big Ten race. Stirtz enters the week ranked fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (20.3 ppg) and is seventh in assists (4.7 apg). 

Numbers to Know
49 - The 49 points allowed by the Huskers vs. Northwestern matched the lowest Nebraska has allowed in Big Ten play under Fred Hoiberg. The others came against Iowa (2022-23), PSU (2023-24) and Michigan (2024-25).

9.4 -Nebraska ranks 17th nationally with 9.4 turnovers per game. NU is one of seven Big Ten teams in the top 25 of fewest turnovers per game.

6 - Nebraska looks for its seventh Big Ten road win of the season on Tuesday at Iowa. Before this season, Nebraska has never won more than five conference road games in a season since joining the Big Six Conference in 1928-29.

54.2 - Nebraska's top four scorers (Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence) are combining for 54.2 points per game. None of them were in the Husker lineup last season.

80+ - Nebraska is 50-10 (.833) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 41-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of 2022-23, four came in overtime.

28 - In Nebraska's five games against ranked opponents this season, Sam Hoiberg has a 28-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and is averaging 1.4 steals per game. 

16 - Nebraska's 16-point second-half comeback against Indiana on Jan. 10 tied the Huskers' largest comeback of the season (also vs. Oklahoma). NU has a trio of double-digit comebacks this season and seven over the past two seasons.

1,045 - Rienk Mast now has 1,045 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.

11 - Pryce Sandfort has 11 20-point games, which ties Bryce McGowens (2021-22) for the most 20-point games since 2011-12. The only Huskers with more 20-point games in a season in the Big Ten era are Brice Williams (20, 2024-25) James Palmer (18, 2018-19) and Terran Petteway (13, 2014-15; 12, 2013-14).

3 - According to Stathead, Sam Hoiberg is one of three players - and the only power conference player - nationally at 6-0 or under averaging at least five rebounds per game this season. Over the past six years, only two power conference players 6-0 or under have grabbed 5+ rebounds per game.

Huskers Remain in Top 10 for Seventh Straight Week
Nebraska continued its run in the AP Top 10 on Monday, checking in at No. 9.  The Huskers are also No. 9 in the Coaches poll released Monday afternoon.

• Nebraska has now been in the top 10 for seven straight weeks, the longest stretch in school history. The previous best was four weeks from Feb. 7-28, 1966.  The Huskers have now been ranked for 10 straight weeks dating back to Dec. 8.

• On Jan. 26, Nebraska earned its highest ranking in school history, moving to No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches polls. It topped NU's previous best of seventh on Jan. 19.

• The Huskers are now 51-25 (.671) all-time when ranked in the AP poll following Saturday's win over Northwestern.

• 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. 

Worth Noting
• Nebraska's 22-3 record this season marked the second-fastest time that Nebraska reached 22 wins. Only the 1919-20 team, which finished with a 22-2 record, reached the 22-win mark faster.

• Nebraska's 22 wins marks just the seventh time that the Huskers have won at least 22 games in a season. A win on Tuesday at Iowa would move the 2025-26 team into a second-place tie with the 2023-24 squad.

• The Huskers now have three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. In addition, Nebraska has already won 22 games, marking the eighth time in program history that Nebraska has won 20-or-more games in the regular season. The only time Nebraska won more regular-season games was in 1990-91, when the Huskers entered the Big Eight Conference Tournament with 24 wins.

• Nebraska has won 43 games the past two seasons, the third-highest consecutive year total in school history. NU won 45 games spanning the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons and 44 games spanning the 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns.

• Nebraska is 6-1 on the road in Big Ten play in 2025-26. The six road wins in conference play is already a program record, as NU still has three road games remaining (at Iowa, at USC, at UCLA). Prior to this season, the record was five conference road wins set four other times, the most recent in 1965-66. Nebraska's lone loss was a 75-72 setback at No. 3 Michigan on Jan. 27. NU is 9-1 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena this season.

• Nebraska’s 11-3 Big Ten record is just the seventh time in school history that the Huskers have won 11 or more conference games. It is NU's best conference start since going 12-2 in 1965-66 en route to a Big Eight Conference runner-up finish. With a win on Tuesday, NU would win 12 conference games for just the fifth time in school history, including second in the last three years.

• Nebraska is 13-2 at home this season and is 52-13 (.800) at Pinnacle Bank Arena over the past four seasons.

• Nebraska's 20-0 start marked 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.

• Nebraska is 2-3 vs. ranked teams in 2025-26 following the overtime loss to Purdue on Feb. 10.  Since March 1, 2022, the Huskers are 11-14 in the last 25 games against ranked teams, including 5-4 against top-10 teams. Prior to that, NU had lost 24 straight against ranked teams dating back to the 2019 Big Ten Tournament.

• Nebraska is 11th in the NET rankings released on Feb. 16. The Huskers are one of five Big Ten teams in the top 15 of the NET (No. 1 Michigan, No. 5 Illinois, No. 7 Purdue, No. 11 Nebraska and No. 15 Michigan State. Tuesday's game is a Quad 1 opporunity as the Hawkeyes are No. 27 in the NET as of Feb. 16.

• As of Feb. 16, Nebraska's is 11-3 in the first two quads (5-3 in Q1, 6-0 in Q2) with all three losses currently to teams in the top 10 of the NET.

• Nebraska saw its school-record 24-game win streak snapped on Jan. 27. It nearly doubled the previous mark of 14 set two other times (1912-13 and 1990-91) and was the longest win streak by a Big Ten team since Ohio State won 24 straight to open the 2010-11 season.

• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 66-28 (.702) while the 66 wins is fifth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-79; Illinois-72; Michigan State-70; Wisconsin-67; Nebraska-66) as of Feb. 16.

Noting the Husker Offense
• Nebraska is averaging 79.4 ppg, which is the Huskers' highest scoring average after 25 games since the 1995-96 season (82.4 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 40th nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom, the second-highest ranking in Fred Hoiberg's seven seasons at NU (32nd in 2023-24). 

• The Huskers are third in the Big Ten and 12th nationally with 11.0 3-pointers made per game as of Feb. 16. 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's 275 3-pointers ranks second in school history, trailing only the school record of 319 set in 2023-24.

• Nebraska has made 10-or-more 3-pointers 17 times this season, including 17 against both Oregon and FIU and 15 each against Oklahoma and Illinois.  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 seven 3-pointers in a game. According to Stathead, it was the third Big Ten game since 2010-11 where multiple teammates hit seven or more 3-pointers in a game. 

• Despite tying its season high with 18 turnovers against Northwestern, the Huskers rank fourth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.95-to-1) as of Feb. 16. It is on track to shatter the school mark of 1.81 set in 1984-85. The Big Ten has three of the top four teams nationally in that category (Purdue-1st; Northwestern-3rd; Nebraska-4th). 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 Iowa game ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 10th nationally with 18.4 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.

• The Huskers are fifth in the Big Ten and 17th nationally in fewest turnovers per game at 9.4 per contest. The 9.4 turnovers per game is on pace to be a school record and just the second time NU has averaged less than 10 turnovers per game since the stat was recorded in 1978-79.

Noting the Husker Defense
• Nebraska has been stout defensively, ranking third in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.396). The Huskers are second in the Big Ten and 19th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 66.0 ppg.

• The 66.0 ppg allowed is 6.2 points per game fewer than last season and on pace to be NU's lowest scoring defense since the 2014-15 season (63.1). 

• The Huskers have held 15 opponents to under 1.0 points per possession.  Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 55-3 (.948) when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 57-5 when holding opponents to under 70 points. 

• Nebraska is third in the Big Ten with 7.2 steals per game. 

• The Huskers are second in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in turnover margin at +3.7 per game.  

• 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, as the

Huskers are eighth nationally as of Feb. 15. Nebraska's best KenPom rank on defense was 15th nationally in 2008-09. That is the last time Nebraska ranked in the top 20 nationally in defensive efficiency. 

This and That
• The Huskers have excelled in close games this season, going 4-2 in games decided by one possession, including a 3-2 mark in Big Ten play. Last year, NU was 0-6 in games decided by one possession. 

• 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. Nebraska nearly erased a 22-point deficit in the overtime loss to No. 13 Purdue on Feb. 10.

• As of Feb. 16, there have been 23 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 26 double-digit scoring runs this season, which is tied for 10th nationally according to EvanMiya.com as of Feb. 16.

• 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-11; Braden Frager-5; Rienk Mast-4; Jamarques Lawrence-2).

Northwestern Recap
Pryce Sandfort scored 29 points and added six rebounds while No. 7 Nebraska tuned in one of its best defensive efforts of the season in a 68-49 win over Northwestern on Feb. 14. Sandfort led all scorers with 29 points, including 6-of-13 from the 3-point stripe, as Nebraska shot 58 percent in the second half to improve to 22-3 on the season. 

While Sandfort posted his fourth game of 25+ points, Nebraska held Northwestern (10-16, 2-13) to its second-lowest offensive output of the season, as the Wildcats were held to 40 percent shooting and committed 16 turnovers, nearly double its season total entering the contest.  Nebraska also enjoyed a 40-24 advantage on the glass, leading to 17 second-chance points for Nebraska.

The Huskers outscored Northwestern 40-22 in the final 20 minutes and held the Wildcats to 34.8 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes. NU also held Nick Martinelli, who led the Big Ten in scoring at 22.5 ppg to just 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. 

In addition to Sandfort, Sam Hoiberg added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Cale Jacobsen scored all 10 of his points in the second half and tied his career high with six boards.

Notes from the Northwestern Game
• Nebraska improves to 22-3 on the season, as the 22 wins ties for third on Nebraska’s single-season list.

• Nebraska held Northwestern to 49 points, its best defensive effort of the season. NU’s defensive low was 50 against Creighton and Maryland Eastern Shore and the 49 points allowed was the lowest since allowing 49 to Michigan on Feb. 24, 2024.

• Northwestern’s 49 points was its second-lowest output of the season and lowest since scoring 44 against Illinois on Feb. 4. Nebraska held Northwestern to 49 points on Feb. 14 and 58 points when the two teams met back in January. These are Northwestern’s second and third-lowest-scoring

games of the season

• With 29 points, Pryce Sandfort recorded his 11th 20-point game this season as well as 13th consecutive double-figure scoring performance.

• Sandfort’s six 3-pointers increases his total to 88, one shy of the school record of 89 by Cary Cochran in 2001-02.

• Cale Jacobsen’s 10-point game was the fourth of his career and his six rebounds tied his career-high. It was 20th double-figure effort by a Husker reserve this season.

• Nebraska’s 18 turnovers tied a season high (also vs. New Mexico)

• Nebraska finished with a 40-24 advantage on the glass, as the +16 margin was its best of the season (+12 vs. West Georgia and North Dakota).

• Sam Hoiberg recorded four steals, now just one steal away from moving into ninth place in school history.