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Huskers Look to Avoid Another Slow Start vs. Upset-Minded UCLA

Nebraska's been slow out of the gates quite often in recent games, but Fred Hoiberg says his team can't afford the same mistake against UCLA Tuesday night.
Spencer Schubert|
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg knows his team needs to start fast against UCLA if they want to stand a chance against the Bruins.
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg knows his team needs to start fast against UCLA if they want to stand a chance against the Bruins. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

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Nebraska CornhuskersUCLA Bruins

The first thing Fred Hoiberg talked about when asked about Nebraska’s second-straight road game in California was routine: yoga, practice, a team meal, and avoiding downtime.

This might sound mundane — stretching, planning meals, sleep schedules — but for a team about play its final week of the regular season, those details matter. What Hoiberg outlined was a program striving for continuity and mental freshness as it navigates a gauntlet that immediately follows an emotional and gritty road victory over the Southern California Trojans on Saturday.

That game — a place where Nebraska had struggled historically — ended in a dominant 82-67 road win. It was a signature result that highlighted both the Huskers’ resilience and the exact areas Hoiberg said must improve before facing UCLA.

Nebraska trailed USC by five at halftime, then erupted in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 51-31 to pull away and secure its 25th win of the season. It marked just the second time the Cornhuskers have won in Los Angeles in recent memory and tied a school record for regular-season victories in the process.

However, the victory didn’t come without exposing some of the very vulnerabilities Hoiberg wants to fix. Every coach will tell you that being ready from the first tip is crucial on the road. In fact, Hoiberg hasn’t just said it — he’s detailed it with a precise critique of what went wrong early against USC.

“It’s obviously very important we get off to a better start,” he said during a Zoom call on Monday. “I thought we were very uncharacteristic in how we played and got sped up in that game against USC. I thought our decision-making in transition was very poor. I thought we overdribbled, and we just did not do a good job of avoiding the crowd. We dribbled into a wall, we turned it over — had 20% turnover rate in transition.”

Turnovers that occur before the defense is set — especially in transition — tend to lead to easy buckets for the opposition. While the official box score doesn’t list possession-by-possession transition stats, a 20% turnover rate in transition isn’t just a coach’s anecdote. It’s a direct comment on how the Huskers’ early game identity broke down, forcing them to battle uphill before settling in.

“When we take care of the ball, when we make good decisions in transition, we have a great chance to win the game,” Hoiberg said. “But when we play in a hurry like we did the other night and get sped up, it did not result in a good first 20 minutes.”

Nebraska’s fast start issues against USC mirrored some of the same slow openings the Huskers had earlier this season at home. Hoiberg pointed to a handful of early missed opportunities that could have flipped the narrative entirely if they had gone the other way. In close Big Ten games, a few early makes or misses can quickly snowball.

That’s especially true on the road against a team like UCLA, which Hoiberg bluntly described as “the best home team in our league” with an offense that is fueled by perimeter shots and ball movement.

“They’re unbelievable with what they do at home with the way they shoot the ball,” he said. “They’re 42% as a team from the 3-point line. They share the ball really well. They’re clicking, they’re really good.”

Translation – if Nebraska doesn’t come out sharper, UCLA will take advantage, and it could be a recipe for a long night.

However, what sets this year’s Nebraska team apart is not just its talent — it’s the way they’ve dictated games on the strength of their second halves. In Los Angeles over the weekend, that pattern continued.

After falling behind at the break, Nebraska shot 53% in the second half and outscored USC by 20 points in the second frame en route to the comfortable win. Pryce Sandfort led the charge with a game-high 32 points, 20 of which came after halftime. Braden Frager added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Rienk Mast chipped in 11. Nebraska also dominated on the boards, finishing with a 41-25 rebounding advantage and 18 offensive boards.

Those rebounding numbers are not just impressive — they’re indicative of effort and focus after some previous outings that left a lot to be desired in the rebounding sector. Nebraska’s ability to crash the boards in the second half at USC helped generate second chances and snuff out the Trojans’ transition opportunities, which is exactly what Hoiberg wants to see when the game is in balance.

After the game, Hoiberg talked about how Nebraska’s identity has always been about being a complete and consistent team, not just playing well when the scoreboard is slanted.

“We are 25-4, so we’ve done some really good things over the course of the year, but this last week we have gotten off to slow starts,” he said.

That consistency — especially against power conference competition — is what separates good teams from elite ones. What’s made Nebraska elite hasn’t necessarily been its offensive prowess either. Instead, it’s been a scrappy defense that’s been the calling card for the 9th-ranked Huskers.

The Huskers have enjoyed a program-record 25 wins this season.
The Huskers have enjoyed a program-record 25 wins this season. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Hoiberg’s emphasis on defensive activity was not just lip service to start the year. He’s repeatedly referenced the need for hands, deflections, and live-ball turnovers against UCLA, a team with quick guards capable of punishing opponents whenever they get easy looks.

“Everything goes back to activity, and we have to have great hands,” Hoiberg said. “We have to create deflections.”

This is the kind of detail coaches don’t casually mention — it’s an area where games are won or lost. Against USC, Nebraska forced turnovers at key moments and limited the Trojans to 39% shooting in the second half. The Huskers’ disruption on defense allowed them to get out in transition on their own terms.

That balance — taking the ball away and turning it into controlled offensive opportunities — is exactly what Hoiberg will need against UCLA.

After each game, NU coach Fred Hoiberg has been asking his team if they're satisfied. Through 29 games, that answer is no.
After each game, NU coach Fred Hoiberg has been asking his team if they're satisfied. Through 29 games, that answer has been no. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

As Nebraska gets ready for the final week of the regular season, what started as a subtle locker room rally cry has now become the identity of this Husker team. Earlier in the year, following wins over Creighton and Wisconsin, Hoiberg asked his players if they were satisfied.

“If you’re satisfied, we’re not going to be very good,” Hoiberg said. “We’re not going to be able to move on to the next assignment. If you aren’t satisfied, you’re able to put it behind you and move on to the next task. Our guys have been really good at that all year.”

What he’s trying to instill is not a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality, but a daily commitment to improvement and focus on the present moment. That’s not easy in a season where Nebraska has already compiled a 25-4 record with a school-record 14 Big Ten wins.

But for Hoiberg, it’s not about basking in those accomplishments; it’s about seeing them as checkpoints on the road to an even bigger goal.

“Let’s take care of the next assignment,” he said. “For us (Monday), it’s practice. That’s what we have to go out there and prepare for.”

This relentlessness is a large part of what made Nebraska so difficult to beat down the stretch at USC. After adjusting from a slower start, the Cornhuskers didn’t let up. In the second half, they brought energy, tightened their decision-making, and made high-percentage shots — instead of drifting away after a deficit, they attacked it with the urgency Hoiberg preaches.

That brings us to Tuesday night’s showdown with the Bruins. UCLA, bolstered by its efficient 3-point shooting and home-court advantage, will present a different challenge than USC did. Hoiberg’s message to his team is simple — maintain composure, secure the ball, defend with high activity, and start fast.

It’s a direct roadmap for what Nebraska must do to not only knock off UCLA, but the Huskers might just enter the postseason with even more confidence — and perhaps silence another great home crowd along the way.

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Spencer Schubert
SPENCER SCHUBERT

Spencer Schubert is a born-and-raised Nebraskan who now calls Hastings home. He grew up in Kearney idolizing the Huskers as every kid in Nebraska did in the 1990s, and he turned that passion into a career of covering the Big Red. Schubert graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2009, and kickstarted what's now become a 17 year career in journalism. He's served in a variety of roles in broadcasting, including weekend sports anchor at KHGI-TV(NTV) in Kearney, Sports Director at WOAY-TV in West Virginia and Assistant News Director, Executive Producer and Evening News Anchor for KSNB-TV(Local4) in Hastings. Off the clock, you'll likely find Schubert with a golf club in his hand and spending time with his wife, 5-year-old daughter and dog Emmy.

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