Nebrasketball Battles Back at The Barn to Stay Perfect

In the Twin Cities, it was a tale of two halves.

No. 7 Nebraska men's basketball battled back at The Barn to beat Minnesota, 76-57. The Huskers improved to 20-0 overall and 9-0 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Gophers fell to 10-10 on the year and 3-6 in league play.

The result is just the third home loss of the season for Minnesota.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Cale Jacobsen shoots over Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The first half felt like it was all Gophers. Minnesota made nine three-pointers and kept Nebraska from getting rolling offensively. The Huskers also had three different players with two fouls.

Even with that, Minnesota led just 36-30 at the half.

"I didn't like our first half," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg told FS1 after the game. "I thought we were a little bit short, a little bit slow on our closeouts. We just didn't have the urgency that we needed. I thought we played a little bit soft.

"Second half, we really flipped it. I thought our defense was unbelievable."

Then, as has been the case so often this season, Nebraska took over. A 9-4 run cut the deficit to just a single point. Two minutes later, a 14-2 run put the Huskers up with a lead that would never be relinquished.

Even though Minnesota answered with a 4-0 run, Nebraska came back with a 14-0 run to stretch the advantage to 19 points. That would end up being the final difference when the buzzer sounded.

Nebraska shot 47.5% in the game, including 9-of-28 on three-pointers. Minnesota made 39.6% of their shots, making 9-of-31 from deep. The Gophers went 0-for-11 beyond the arc in the second half.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort celebrates his three-point basket against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After going 0-for-2 from the field and scoring just two points in the first half, Pryce Sandfort notched a game-high 22 points with four made three-pointers. He has now made at least three triples in each of the last eight games.

Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence joined Sandfort in double figures, with 14 points each. Rienk Mast and Berke Buyuktuncel each tallied eight points.

The Huskers were without freshman Braden Frager, who injured an ankle against Washington on Wednesday and did not travel to Minneapolis.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg shoots over Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Next for Nebraska is a trip to Ann Arbor to take on No. 3 Michigan on Tuesday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CST, and the game will be streamed on Peacock.

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Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes

Nebraska improves to 20-0 on the season, extending the best start in program history, and has won 24 straight games dating back to last season.
The 24-game win streak is the longest win streak by a Big Ten team since Ohio State won 24 straight games to open the 2010-11 season. Since the 1995-96 season, the only Big Ten team with a longer win streak is Illinois, which 29 straight games in 2004-05.
Nebraska improved to 9-0 in Big Ten play, its best conference start since going 10-0 in 1965-66 on its way to a 12-2 Big Eight finish.
Nebraska improved to 5-0 in conference road games, marking the first time since 1965-66 that Nebraska has won five straight conference road games.
Nebraska has now won 12 straight games away from home, dating back to the 2025 College Basketball Crown.
Nebraska’s 20 wins mark the first time in program history that the Huskers have won 20-or-more games in three consecutive seasons. It is also the 16th 20-win season in program history.
Nebraska finished with 24 assists, the 10thtime this season NU has dished out at least 20 assists in a game. It is the most assists NU has had in a conference game in more than 20 years (NU had 23 vs. Baylor in 2003-04 and at Kansas State in 2009-10).
Pryce Sandfort finished with a team-high 22 points for his fourth straight 20-point game. He is the first Husker with 4+ 20-point games since Brice Williams had six straight 20-point games from Jan. 30-Feb. 16, 2025.
Pryce Sandfort had his second career double-double and first of the season with 22 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Sandfort also blocked a career-high four shots in the win.
Nebraska is now 8-2 in its last 10 Big Ten road games dating back to last season.
Sam Hoiberg tied his career high with seven assists and reached double figures for the fourth straight game with 15 points.
Nebraska went a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line.
Nebraska held Minnesota to 57 points, matching a season low (at Purdue) on 39.6 percent shooting. NU is 12-0 this year when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting.

• Box score

Nebraska Men's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

Oct. 18 Nebraska 90, BYU 89
Oct. 27 Nebraska 91, Midland 50
Nov. 3 Nebraska 86, West Georgia 53
Nov. 8 Nebraska 96, Florida International 66
Nov. 11 Nebarska 69, Maryland-Eastern Shore 50
Nov. 15 Nebraska 105, Oklahoma 99 (Sanford Pentagon)
Nov. 20 Nebraska 84, New Mexico 72 (Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 21 Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85 (Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 25 Nebraska 80, Winthrop 73
Nov. 29 Nebraska 72, South Carolina Upstate 63
Dec. 7 Nebraska 71, Creighton 50
Dec. 10 Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60
Dec. 13 Nebraska 83, Illinois 80
Dec. 21 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
Dec. 30 Nebraska 86, New Hampshire 55
Jan. 2 Nebraska 58, Michigan State 56
Jan. 5 Nebraska 72, Ohio State 69
Jan. 10 Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
Jan. 13 Nebraska 90, Oregon 55
Jan. 17 Nebraska 77, Northwestern 58
Jan. 21 Nebraska 76, Washington 66
Jan. 24 Nebraska 76, Minnesota 57
Jan. 27 Michigan 6 p.m. Peacock
Feb. 1 Illinois 3 p.m. FS1
Feb. 7 Rutgers 11 a.m. BTN
Feb. 10 Purdue 6 p.m. FS1
Feb. 14 Northwestern Noon BTN
Feb. 17 Iowa 8 p.m. BTN
Feb. 21 Penn State 1 p.m. BTN
Feb. 25 Maryland 6 p.m. BTN
Feb. 28 USC 3 p.m. BTN
March 3 UCLA 10 p.m. FS1
March 8 Iowa 4 p.m. FOX
March 10-15 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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