Hoiberg Fumes Over Nebraska's Stumble to the Finish Line in 69-50 Win

When Nebraska opened up an 11-2 lead over Maryland-Eastern Shore Tuesday night, many fans likely slid back into their seat, opened up the box of popcorn and occasionally scrolled on their phones while taking in the game.

The lead extended to 13 by the half and climbed to as much as 31 points with 11:52 remaining in the game. At that point, fans might have already started packing up to head home for the evening. However, the Hawks had other plans.

Over the final 12 minutes of the game, Maryland-Eastern Shore clawed back to within 19 in the 69-50 loss, and it had Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg a little less than thrilled to talk about it in his postgame press conference.

Nebraska men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg was less-than-pleased with his team's ability to finish in its 69-50 win Tuesday. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“The finish is very disappointing,” Hoiberg said. “They were 8-for-9 at one point after playing 33 really good minutes on the defensive end of the floor, so there’s a lot that we’re going to be able to learn from. The way that game ended. I just didn’t like it. It’s unacceptable for this group.”

Despite the dud of a finish for Nebraska in the game, the Huskers are now 3-0 on the young season with a unique test on Saturday as they play a neutral-site game against Oklahoma. Anytime those two schools get together, it’s expected to be another chapter of a rivalry that’s understandably been lost over the past few decades.

That, however, isn’t slowing down the anticipation for senior guard Sam Hoiberg.

“The season really starts here,” Sam Hoiberg said during his postgame press conference. “When you talk about wanting to play in March, these are the games you want to get. Neutral games, the possibility to get quad one wins early on is huge. The way we prepare doesn’t change now. We just keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing.”

Nebraska needed all 18 of senior guard Sam Hoiberg's points Tuesday in the 19-point win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

On that same token, the senior leader for the Huskers admitted the preparation leading into Tuesday’s game against Maryland-Eastern Shore left a lot to be desired.

“We probably didn’t have the best preparation,” he admitted. “We weren’t as locked in as we should have been for this game. That’s why the score was what it was. You don’t apologize for winning, so we’re going to get back to preparing and being more locked in.”

As for Sam’s dad, the Husker head coach has a slightly different view of how the team moves forward after its 19-point win over the Hawks.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Fred Hoiberg said of Sam’s comments about the ‘real season’ starting now. “I think the real season obviously has already started, and we took care of business. We did what we were supposed to do, and now we’ve got a huge test coming up with a really good team, a very well-coached team that was in the tournament last year that’s playing in as good a league as any in the country.”

Oklahoma pulled away for a 95-69 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday night. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Sooners enter Saturday’s showdown with the Huskers at 2-1, with its only loss coming at the hands of Gonzaga back on November 8. Oklahoma, and many will remember, is fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024, which has the Huskers well aware of the ramifications of Saturday’s match-up.

It also means what happened Tuesday in Lincoln absolutely can’t happen Saturday against the Sooners. Nebraska shot 24-of-61 from the field and only made six of its 32 3-point attempts. Both Hoibergs admitted that the team was getting the shot selection they wanted, but the shots simply weren’t falling. That’s where the defense stepped in to keep the game in the “comfortable” range throughout.

“That’s not going to happen very often, but when it does, you’ve got to guard,” Sam Hoiberg said. “I think we did a good job of that up until the last about eight minutes. A little sour taste in the mouth, but I think we did a good job showing we can keep a lead even if it’s not falling.”

Despite Nebraska's abysmal shooting against Maryland-Eastern Shore Tuesday, coach Fred Hoiberg is happy with where the team's at. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“They compete,” Fred Hoiberg said of his team despite the struggles Tuesday night. “They’ve played unselfish. They pick you up full court. They try to put you in chaotic situations. They do a really good job trying to draw charges and converge on the ball.”

That defense and making key free throws down the stretch is what kept Nebraska well ahead of the Hawks Tuesday night, but the team knows it will need to kick its preparation into overdrive the rest of the week if it hopes to have a chance against Oklahoma on Saturday.

“We’ve got to have two unbelievable days of preparation heading into this one,” Fred Hoiberg said of his team’s prep heading into Saturday’s game against Oklahoma. “That’s our only chance to compete against a team like this. They’re going to test us with their size, athleticism. They’re really talented. We need to have great prep heading into this game on Saturday.”

Fresh off its 19-point win over Maryland-Eastern Shore Tuesday, Nebraska will rest Wednesday before two key practices. — Fresh off its 19-point win over Maryland-Eastern Shore Tuesday, Nebraska will rest Wednesday before two key practices ahead of the Oklahoma game. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

As for how his team fizzled to end the game Tuesday night, the head coach of the Huskers said the message to his team will be pretty simple.

“You’ve got to have a killer mentality,” Hoiberg said. “In today’s climate, every point matters, so you’ve got to find a way to finish off the games better than we did. We’ve got to finish the game much better than we did the last eight (minutes).”

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