An Early Christmas Gift? A Closer Look at Nebraska Basketball's 24-0 Start

Nebraska is one of just three schools in the country to have undefeated basketball teams on both the men's and women's side, but it's what they do after sneaking a few Christmas cookies that will matter this season.

Britt Prince and Rienk Mast have led Nebraska's basketball teams to 12-0 starts and Top-25 rankings. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

‘Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the capital city, not a loss has been levied, which means the Huskers are sitting pretty.

I will try my best to keep the holiday puns to a minimum, but when it comes to the men’s and women’s basketball teams in Lincoln, they may have already received their best gift of the season. Both teams are a perfect 12-0 as their heads hit the pillow tonight, but it’s also safe to assume sugar plums aren’t exactly dancing in their heads.

The common phrase you hear around this level of success is “act like you’ve been there.” For the Husker women, winning this often is becoming more and more commonplace, but for the fellas – this is a banner year – so much so that even the fan base is still a bit hesitant despite some marquee wins against then-No. 13 Illinois and in-state rival Creighton.

The 2025-26 season isn't Fred Hoiberg's first run-in with success, and he's using his experience to make sure his players understand the process following the Christmas break. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Men’s coach Fred Hoiberg admitted his team is in the middle of a marathon, and the 12-0 start to the year is equivalent to them completing a 5K.

“We talk to our guys,” Hoiberg said after his team knocked off Illinois 83-80. “We show them the great Hall of Fame coaches talking about not letting your guys get comfortable and complacent, and if you do, you’re going to get stung.”

The Nebraska men nearly did get stung their last time out, needing a strong second half to put away North Dakota after finding themselves down by two at the half. Slow starts, ironically at home, have been one of the top concerns for both teams as they turn the calendar to a new year.

North Dakota led Nebraska at the half before the Huskers pulled away in the second half for a somewhat comfortable win. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The men found plenty of resistance against North Dakota before returning back to what they call “Nebraska basketball” in the second half of their 78-55 win over UND. The women also hit a bit of resistance their last time out as they led by just three at the half against Cal Baptist. That lead eventually grew to just nine points after three quarters before NU poured it on in the fourth.

“Our start to games has got to get a little bit more consistent,” said junior forward Jessical Petrie after the win. “I think sometimes we’ve been kind of punked for the first couple minutes or like first quarter or whatever that looks like. We handled adversity, and while that’s not always something you want to work on during games, I think it’s taught us a lot of things.”

Unlike years past, both the men’s and women’s teams are learning from their mistakes in wins, not losses. The combined 24-0 start between the two teams is also unique this far into the year. Nebraska joins Iowa State and Vanderbilt as the only three schools in the country with both basketball teams still unbeaten.

The stat is not only grabbing attention across the country, it’s leading to plenty of mutual respect between the programs.

Nebraska women's basketball coach Amy Williams also has her team off to a 12-0 start to the year, matching the men's team. | Nebraska Athletics

“I’ve talked a lot about Amy,” Hoiberg said. “I’m a huge fan of how she runs her program. I’ll stop in there and watch some of her practice. It’s just really nice to have a great relationship. Amy’s a great resource for me, and I just love their team. She’s doing a phenomenal job.”

“It’s amazing,” Nebraska senior guard Sam Hoiberg echoed. “We’re pretty close with the women’s team, too. I think that camaraderie and chemistry, it contributes to success not just with your team, but if you have both teams through each other and feeling happy for each other – it’s genuine. I think that goes a long way, and they’re killing it right now. It’s super fun to see, and we’ve got to keep it up.”

That’s now the theme of the week for both teams as they enter their Christmas break. For the men, they’re in the middle of an eight-day stretch without a game. For the women, it’s a seven-day gap before their season resumes with a home game against USC on December 29.

Obviously, any break like this is good on the body, but there’s a reason the saying is let the good times roll. Right now, the good times are rolling for both Husker programs, and any pause in that can justifiably cause a bit of a disruption to the “good times.”

Pinnacle Bank Arena will be empty for the next several days as both the men's and women's basketball teams break for Christmas. | Nebraska Athletics

It’s something both coaches have acknowledged during the down week, but it also doesn’t appear to be a concern for either of them.

“(I’m) feeling really blessed right now heading into the holiday season and still undefeated with a group that I just have so much fun coaching,” Nebraska women’s coach Amy Williams said after her team’s win over Cal Baptist. “Obviously, there were some challenges that Cal Baptist presented, and we knew that coming in. I thought they played really inspired and hard, and it took us a while, but that fourth quarter we finally were able to kind of get over the hump and slam the door.”

The men also slammed the door on their last opponent following a slow start, but coach Hoiberg and company didn’t shy away from the fact that they were tested by a very game North Dakota squad. Frankly, it’s what they expected.

North Dakota gave the Nebraska men's basketball team plenty to think about over its holiday break. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Instead of rolling into the holidays on the high of upsetting Illinois on the road, the Husker men (and women, for that matter) are spending the holidays with plenty to chew on from their last time on the floor. Both teams played inferior opponents, and for at least a half, both teams struggled to put them away.

In a matter of days, both programs will see a significant rise in competition, as the women gear up to take on No. 17 USC in Lincoln on Dec. 29. For the men, it’s a quick visit from New Hampshire on Dec. 30 before a Jan. 2 showdown with No. 9 Michigan State.

“It’s human nature,” Fred Hoiberg said. “You look forward to having a few days off and getting an opportunity to spend time with your family, but you have to stay focused and go out and take care of business. With Michigan State coming in here – one of the more physical teams in the country – so that’s going to be a big thing we’ve got to continue to do a good job emphasizing. Our guys have to go out and execute.”

While both the men's and women's teams are enjoying time with family, practices will resume immediately after the holiday. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

While many of you at home reading this may be on a Christmas break that will ride through at least Monday of next week, the Husker men are not being afforded that much time off. In fact, Hoiberg said his guys will be “back to work” starting December 26.

It also helps when your team is 12-0 and is making history with every consecutive win. Like its fan base, though, the Husker men are still stuck in reality. The schedule is about to get incredibly more difficult for the next several months, and Hoiberg says he fully expects to see guys hungry to get back into the gym come the day after Christmas.

“This is a mature group,” Hoiberg said. “I think they’re going to bounce back. They’ll be excited to get back. I told them, ‘Enjoy your families – you deserve it. You guys deserve to go and have a great break, catch your breath a little bit.’ But we’ve got a hell of a stretch coming up when they get back, so we’re going to reconvene on the night of the 26th – just get them going, probably a non-contact practice.”

Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort is enjoying the spoils of NU's 12-0 start, but knows the second half of the season is "where it matters." | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

According to Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort, his head coach is right.

“A winning streak like this is pretty special,” Sandfort said. “It’s super important to not get complacent and have those kind of dull practices where you think you’re too good to do those basic things that we’ve been doing since the summer. (We’re) taking one game at a time.”

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