Nebraska Men Ready to Deploy 'Next Man Up' Mentality After Frager Injury

Before Wednesday night's 76-66 win over Washington, the Nebraska men’s basketball team enjoyed a few easier wins, including a 35-point win over Oregon that was followed by a 19-point win over Northwestern in Evanston.

It was a nice change of pace for the No. 7 Huskers, who snuck away with a three-point win at Ohio State and a six-point win at Assembly Hall in Indiana prior to those games. The comfortable wins that followed also allowed Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg the luxury of tinkering with his lineup.

Turns out, it came in handy Wednesday night after redshirt freshman Braden Frager went down with an apparent ankle injury. X-Rays on Thursday will uncover more about the seriousness of the injury, but Hoiberg did call it a sprain.

Connor Essegian and Braden Frager praying during the U16 timeout.

Frager left the game after getting injured in the first half. He returned after halftime in street clothes and a boot. pic.twitter.com/FwvguLr2qt
— Kaleb Henry (@iKalebHenry) January 22, 2026

With Frager out in a game that wasn’t completely out of hand, Hoiberg then got to do some more lineup tinkering, but this time with a game on the line. At one point, the Huskers led the Huskies by 18, but the 10-point win shows more tinkering may still need to be done before the team takes on Minnesota Saturday in Minneapolis.

“Everybody’s got to be ready to step up in his absence and contribute,” Hoiberg said of the team during his postgame press conference Wednesday night. “I thought guys did that (Wednesday). I thought that lineup with Kale in there at the end gave us some good defensive versatility, and we’ve got guys that I think with everything that we’ve done are built to play big minutes, and we’re going to have to probably change some things in practice now.”

The physicality in practice might see a downturn over the next few days, especially considering the Big Red only has 48 hours to get ready for the Gophers. After that, they’ll only have 48 hours to prep for 4th-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday.

After Wednesday's 10-point win over Washington, the Huskers will now prep for two games over the next six days. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Now at a school record 19-0, the secret is more than out on the Huskers. NU is getting each team’s best shot, and they’re about to go into a stretch where some of those shots may be enough to finally hand the Huskers their first loss on the year.

Fortunately for Hoiberg’s bunch, they were able to withstand yet another team that tried to outmuscle NU. Hoiberg even admitted that Washington was getting some great looks often, thanks to their physical style of play.

“They did beat us up a little bit in the paint – there’s no doubt about it,” Hoiberg said. “There’s a lot of things we’re going to learn from this game, but at the end of the day, it’s a double-digit win in Big Ten play. That’s a hell of an accomplishment.”

Sam Hoiberg and #7 Nebraska are starting to make a habit of double-digit win margins against steady Big Ten competition. — Sam Hoiberg and No. 7 Nebraska are starting to make a habit of double-digit win margins against steady Big Ten competition. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The 10-point win marked Nebraska’s 11th double-digit victory this season and 9th double-digit victory in 12 tries inside the friendly confines of Pinnacle Bank Arena. The win could also be credited once again to Nebraska’s hot shooting, as the Huskers shot over 50% from the field (50.9%) for the third-straight game.

Transfer Pryce Sandfort led the charge for NU, scoring a game-high 23 points to make his third-straight game of 20 or more points, and the star junior admitted he’s been feeling it for quite some time.

“I’d like to say it’s probably the best my shots have felt in my career,” Sandfort said during his postgame press conference. “It’s felt really good, but again, I give all the credit to my teammates and coaches. I’m getting the ball in the pocket where I can get it up quick. I definitely feel like I’m playing at a high level, and I’ve just got to keep it going.”

Transfer Pryce Sandfort continues to impress this season with a game-high 23 points in the win over Washington. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Sandfort also said he had no concern after Frager went down with his ankle injury. After all, this Nebraska team has been a balanced attack where the leading scorer has bounced around often. Players like seniors Rienk Mast, Jamarques Lawrence, Sandfort and even Sam Hoiberg have had their time in the sun.

Because the Huskers are able to truly lean in to the “next man up” mentality, it makes guarding them quite the task.

“They’re playing as well as anybody in the country,” Washington coach Danny Sprinkle said during his postgame press conference. “Their pace is phenomenal. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to coach Hoiberg and their staff, but their players to be in the shape and share the basketball the way they do is really impressive.”

Nebraska senior Jamarques Lawrence was one of four Huskers to end up in double figures in the win over Washington. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska’s pace of play can be credited to a few guys, but none maybe more so than Jamarques Lawrence. Wednesday night, he was one of four players to reach double digits in scoring, but he also tied for the team lead in assists. He said when NU is on the move, it’s anybody’s ball.

“I think that’s just an opportunity for me to get a bucket myself,” Lawrence said during his postgame press conference. “I got my shooters up on the wing. When we’re not playing with pace, our offense gets stagnant and teams can easily guard us as well, so it’s on me to push the pace. “

Nebraska now finds itself not only needing to push the pace but also push the development of some of the role players off the bench. The verdict is still out on Frager’s ankle sprain, but if he is to miss any time, Fred Hoiberg will be ready.

“It’s next man up,” Hoiberg said. “I don’t really know how long he’s going to be out, but we have very, very capable guys. I have full confidence in everybody on our squad, so just next man up. I just told the guys in the locker room (that) everybody’s got to be ready. Braden’s given us a lot obviously this season on both ends of the floor, and everybody’s got to be ready to step up in his absence and contribute.”

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