Nebrasketball Tops Boise State in Annual Sanford Pentagon Game

Nebrasketball's defense forces opponents into high-volume shooting from distance. Boise State is one of the nation's best three-point shooting teams.

It wasn't enough for the Broncos on Sunday in Sioux Falls.

N. 25 Nebraska ran past Boise State 102-75 in the annual game at the Sanford Pentagon. The Huskers stay perfect at 4-0, while the Broncos suffer their first loss of the season and fall to 3-1.

Boise State had been averaging 114.3 points a game, which was good for the best in the nation going into Sunday. Their previous low came in a 100-81 win over Butler.

Braden Frager, who was averaging 11.0 points through the first three games, showed early that he was in for a big afternoon. The 2025-26 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year scored five of Nebraska's first nine points.

D leads to transition 3 👌🏹

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/0d5Uf0cuqm
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) November 15, 2026

Boise State, however, was in for a big shooting day too. The Broncos shot 42% from three in the first half, routinely putting pressure on the Husker defense. Constant skip passes and corner threes helped Boise State go on runs to keep the game from getting out of reach, including an 8-0 run after falling behind 30-17.

But Nebraska closed the first half on an 8-0 run, going into the break up 52-34.

Out of the half, the Huskers came out with a defensive strategy of running the Broncos off the three-point line. Nebraska was more aggressive with closing out, forcing Boise State to shoot contested shots or put the ball on the floor and allow help to arrive.

That defense resulted in more three-point attempts moving from the corner and to the wings, something that benefited Nebraska as Boise State's shooting from the corners had been elite.

On the other end of the floor, the offensive onslaught continued immediately, with Frager drilling a deep three-pointer. He added a 29-footer a couple of minutes later before dropping an assist to Boden Kapke on the next possession.

Picking up where he left off.

Frager's up to 19 PTS.

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/us3URQVlh0
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) November 15, 2026

Nebraska's lead continued to stretch closer to 30, but before that mark could be hit, Frager picked up his fifth foul. With 5:10 to go and Frager heading to the bench, the Huskers were up 26 points.

While the rest of the contest did not include Boise State threatening, it did see Cale Jacobsen foul out and Jacob Lanier was called for a Flagrant 1. Compared to the electricity at the end of the 105-99 win over Oklahoma in this arena last year, it was a rather sleepy finish, even with the Big Red pushing their total beyond the century mark.

The Huskers shot 67% for the game, including 12-of-24 on three-pointers. The Broncos made 38% of their shots, making 13-of-35 from deep.

Nebraska outpaced Boise State in rebounds (35-24), assists (26-19), steals (8-6), and blocked shots (3-1). The Broncos committed fewer turnovers (17-15).

Frager led all scorers with his career-high 26 points. He added seven rebounds and three assists.

For the first time this season, Pryce Sandfort was held under 20 points. He finished with 17, adding four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a blocked shot.

Sam Orme put together his best offensive performance as a Husker, scoring 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers.

Nebraska returns home to host South Dakota on Wednesday. Tip-off from Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.

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