Fred Hoiberg Isn't Looking Past the Big Ten Tournament

Nebraska basketball might've finished the regular season tied for the school record for wins in a single year (26), but if Fred Hoiberg has his way, the Huskers will continue to climb higher in postseason play.

The Huskers are set to play Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament against an opponent to be determined. Having earned the No. 2 seed, Nebraska has had time to rest and prepare since an overtime win Sunday against Iowa.

Hoiberg met with the media earlier this week ahead of the team's trip to Chicago. Here are the key takeaways from his time at the mic.

Hoiberg's Contract Extension

On Monday, Hoiberg was rewarded with a contract extension that will carry through the 2031-32 season.

In his first opportunity to speak publicly about the agreement, he didn't hold back his excitement about the deal.

“I’m very thankful,” he said. “I’m beyond excited to sign a long-term contract. We absolutely love it here. I think you saw that with the whole family back in the building (on Senior Night). It’s just really exciting for me, knowing that this is most likely where I’m going to end my career”.

The Break Between Regular Season and Conference Tournament

With its win against Iowa to end the regular season, Nebraska clinched the two-seed in the Big Ten Tournament. That meant they would have a five-day break between games.

Taking the opportunity to get his guys some rest, the Big Red also remained focused on the task at hand by correcting its mistakes ahead of Friday's game. When detailing NU's schedule over the past several days, Hoiberg said he put his guys to work in preparation for their games ahead while also ensuring they had ample time to recover.

“We’re just really going through concepts right now,” he said. “We actually did practice the day after the Iowa game. We came in here and cleaned up the offense and defense that we do after every game, whether we win or lose. We just worked on some things that we’re going to see, whoever we play against. We’ll get more into it as we go along on the most likely teams that we will play. We’ll get after it”.

Pryce Sandfort's First-Team All-Big Ten Selection

Nebraska now has back-to-back years of players selected as First-Team All-Big Ten members in Brice Williams and Pryce Sandfort.

Having known Sandfort since he was a kid, Hoiberg was asked to reflect on the recognition the junior transfer from Iowa earned.

“I’m just so proud of Pryce,” Hoiberg said. “He came into this year after basically being a role player on that Iowa team. He played the role, I thought, to perfection, for what he was asked to play. Coming into this season, to establish himself as the go-to guy, I think that was a big thing. He really fit with the personnel (around him)”.

Though Sandfort is most known for his shooting capabilities, Hoiberg noted how improved the junior's defensive effort was this year. Saying that while he's proud of the offensive player Pryce has become, his play in other areas of the game is what ultimately made the difference in his growth.

Braden Frager's honors

It's not often a Nebraska native commits to his in-state school and finds this much success, but Braden Frager had it in abundance this season. But, from Hoiberg and the rest of the staff's eyes, it didn't come as a surprise.

When asked to offer his thoughts on the Lincoln native earning both Sixth Man of the Year and All-Freshman recognition, Hoiberg made it clear the awards might've been a long time coming.

“I saw it going back to last year,” he said. “When he had the redshirt year and played on the scout team. I talked a lot about this, but he dominated a lot of practices last season. And we knew that he would have the ability and capability of making a big jump. To his credit, he’s been unbelievable. He did it without- we don’t run a lot of stuff for Braden. That’s going to change. He’s going to be a guy that we can certainly play through and run actions for [moving forward]”.

Nebraska's Ability to Deal with Adversity This Season

To Nebraska's credit, for the majority of the season, they've responded well to adversity on their way to a 26-5 (15-5 Big Ten) record. On their way to doing that, it obviously hasn't come flawlessly.

Still, Hoiberg suggested he's learned a lot from his team. At this point in the year, there won't be another chance, so when responding to a question surrounding the topic of adversity, he made it clear his team will need to proceed with extreme urgency at every moment. Even so, he's confident the group can rise to the occasion.

“I think everything that we’ve gone through, it all helps with this new season that we’re about to face,” Hoiberg said. “You get to see how your team responds. They’ve been really good for the most part. And now, it’s tenfold. You don’t get a chance to go and clean it up, and then get an opportunity to go out and fix it. You have to be on point with everything that you’re doing. It’s one and done now. There are no second chances. So, we really have to be on point, and that has been a big message to our team”.

Can the Huskers Gain Momentum with a Strong Showing in the Big Ten Tournament, Heading into the NCAA?

It's relatively new territory that the Big Red find themselves in right now. Regardless, to this point in the year, they've proved themselves more than capable of living up to the hype.

But even with that self-confidence they've presumably gained, Hoiberg suggested his team can still gain even more momentum with a strong showing in the conference tournament before attempting to become the first Nebraska team to advance in the NCAA Tournament next week.

“Whatever happens, we’re going to play a great team on Friday,” he said. “We don't know who it is yet, but we’re going to play a great basketball team. Whatever the result is, we’re going to learn from it, we’re going to grow from it, heading into the next stage. Hopefully, we’re there for three days; that’s the goal, and that’s what we’re going there to accomplish. But whatever happens, it’s beneficial for us heading into the next stage”.

Is There Any Concern About the Physical Toll of a Deep Run in the Big Ten Tournament?

With the year that NU had, there's a more than real possibility the Huskers can advance well into the conference tournament later this week. Because of that, the media has decided to raise the question of whether that is ultimately a smart thing to do, knowing the NCAA Tournament directly follows.

For Hoiberg, he made it clear when asked about the subject that tired legs are not the concern, but rather the opportunity to win a conference championship reigns supreme. Nothing will ever replace that feeling. We had that last year with the Crown.

“You’ve just got to go out there and stay in the moment,” he said. “That’s the important thing for us at this time of the year. We were really fortunate in the Big 12 to cut down the nets two times, and nothing will ever replace that. But yeah, we’re not going in there to lose. We’re going in there to have an opportunity to advance. And I think that helps prepare you for the following week”.