Nebrasketball Overcomes Cold Shooting to Beat Maryland Eastern Shore

Luckily for Nebraska, there wasn't a juggernaut sitting on the opposite bench.

The Huskers overcame a poor shooting night to beat Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Tuesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena, 69-50. NU improves to 3-0 while UMES falls to 1-3.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg shoots the ball against Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks guard Trey Brown during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska opened the game on an 11-2 run, but that took more than seven minutes off the clock. The scoring didn't pick up much the rest of the half, with NU up just 32-19 at the break.

"I thought the slow start had to do with the ball wasn't going in the basket," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said after the game. "I thought we had great looks. I thought second half we did a good job attacking their feet and getting the ball in the paint much better than we did in the first half."

A 23-5 run out of halftime pushed the difference beyond 30 points. From there, the Hawks outscored the Huskers 26-14, although the Big Red still ended up with a comfortable 19-point victory.

"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.

"The way that game ended, I didn't like it. It's unacceptable for this group."

Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson is recognized after becoming a Maxwell Award semifinalist and launching a Heisman Trophy campaign during the first half against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

After shooting 46.9% in the season opener and 55.2% the last time out, the Huskers made just 39.3% of their shots against UMES. From deep, the Big Red made just 6-of-32, a far cry from the double-digit makes in each of the first two games.

But as Hoiberg noted, the defense carried the day. The Hawks shot 31% from the field, making 7-of-22 three-pointers.

"I thought our defense was really, really good," Hoiberg said. "The numbers speak for themselves. They shoot 21% in the first half. I think they had a 2-for-20 stretch at one point."

Two Huskers who shot the ball extremely well were Sam Hoiberg and Pryce Sandfort.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort shoots a three-point basket against Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks guard Justin Monden during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Hoiberg finished with a career-high 18 points, tied his career-high with seven rebounds, and pitched in four assists and four steals without a single turnover. Sandfort made a trio of triples on his way to a game-high 19 points, adding five rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

"I thought Sam's defensive rebounding was huge in the first half," coach Hoiberg said. "It was good to see him knock down a couple shots. Sam played well. I was happy with Sam's game tonight."

Out of 365 Division I programs, the Hawks are No. 352 in the KenPom. Nebraska is 47. The first two Husker opponents are currently 319 (West Georgia) and 208 (FIU).

The competition ratchets up over the next 10 days. Nebraska takes on Oklahoma in Sioux Falls on Saturday. After that will be the Hall of Fame Classic, where the Huskers will face New Mexico and then either Kansas State or Mississippi State. In order, those teams are ranked in the KenPom 59, 96, 55, and 34.

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg watches during the first half against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

"We took care of business," Hoiberg said. "We did what we were supposed to do. Now we 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."

Saturday's game from the Sanford Pentagon is slated for a 6 p.m. CST tip. The game will either be broadcast on the Big Ten Network or streamed exclusively on B1G+.

Box score

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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 Oklahoma (Sanford Pentagon) 6 p.m. BTN or B1G+
Nov. 20 New Mexico (Hall of Fame Classic) 6 p.m. Peacock
Nov. 21 Kansas State/Mississippi State (Hall of Fame Classic) 6/8:30 p.m. Peacock
Nov. 25 Winthrop 7:30 p.m. BTN
Nov. 29 South Carolina Upstate 1 p.m. B1G+
Dec. 7 Creighton 4 p.m. FS1
Dec. 10 Wisconsin 8 p.m. BTN
Dec. 13 Illinois 3 p.m. Peacock
Dec. 21 North Dakota 7 p.m. BTN
Dec. 30 New Hampshire 8 p.m. BTN
Jan. 2 Michigan State 8 p.m. Peacock
Jan. 5 Ohio State 5:30 p.m. FS1
Jan. 10 Indiana 11 a.m. BTN
Jan. 13 Oregon 8 p.m. BTN
Jan. 17 Northwestern 3 p.m. BTN
Jan. 21 Washington 8 p.m. BTN
Jan. 24 Minnesota 11 a.m. FS1
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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