No. 12 Nebrasketball Overcomes Slow Start, Fights Off Maryland

LINCOLN — A slow start couldn't stop Nebrasketball from adding another victory on Wednesday.

No. 12 Nebraska beat Maryland at Pinnacle Bank Arena, 74-61. The Huskers improved to 24-4 on the year and 13-4 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Terrapins fell to 11-17 overall and 4-13 in the league.

With the win, NU is guaranteed to finish with single-digit losses for the first time since the 1990-91 team went 26-8. The Huskers have also tied the 2017-18 team for most conference wins in a season.

The Game
The Stats
What's Next
Big Ten Standings
The Tournament Picture
Video Analysis
Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes
Nebraska Men's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

The Game

Nebraska could not have started the game much worse.

The Huskers missed their first six shots of the game and committed multiple turnovers. Luckily for the Big Red, the struggling Terrapins were nearly as bad, only holding a 5-0 lead at the under-16 media timeout.

But NU needed no time at all to flip the script. Braden Frager and Pryce Sandfort combined for a 7-0 run over 47 seconds to take the lead.

Neither team could take control. With less than five minutes to go in the half, Nebraska posted a 10-3 run. That helped the Huskers lead 33-27 at halftime.

Nebraska extended that lead to 39-34 over the first couple of minutes, but then momentum shifted on a pair of questionable calls. Rienk Mast was called for an offensive foul, and the next possession saw Sam Hoiberg called for over-and-back. While the calls energized Pinnacle Bank Arena, they also sparked life for the Terrapins.

Maryland immediately ripped off five more points to complete a 7-0 run and tie the game. Over a five-minute stretch, the Huskers made just one basket.

Frager appeared to get a momentum-shifting play for the Huskers, slamming home a dunk in transition. But Maryland answered with a three-pointer. That was followed by a Terrapin jumper to put the home side up 48-45 with 12:07 to play.

From there, Nebraska took over. The energy and effort on both ends of the floor increased, and Pinnacle Bank Arena responded in kind, becoming deafening as NU pulled ahead 56-51 by the under-8 media timeout. Not included in those Husker points was an obvious goaltending that went uncalled, and Fred Hoiberg elected not to challenge.

Just 76 seconds later, though, Maryland was forced to call a timeout after a three offensive rebound possession turned into a Husker layup, and the ensuing possession was stolen by Sandfort, who hit a three-pointer to put the Big Red up 61-51.

Maryland was never able to overcome Nebraska's 18-3 run. The Huskers led by as many as 15 points before the final 13-point difference.

The Stats

Nebraska shot 43.4% for the game, including 10-of-29 on three-pointers. Maryland made 37.5% of its shots, making 12-of-36 from deep.

The Huskers had a distinct advantage on free throws. With the Terrapins getting called for nearly twice as many fouls, NU shot 18-of-24 at the line. UM went 7-for-8 on free throws.

Frager scored a game-high 21 points. He was followed by Sandfort's 16. Both players made a trio of three-pointers.

After committing four turnovers in the first half, the Huskers had just two in the final 20 minutes. Hoiberg did not have a three-turnover game all season until Penn State. After Maryland, he's now done so in back-to-back games. He's still the national leader in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Box score

What's Next

Nebraska still has one more home game in the regular season, but must first make a trip to the West Coast.

The Huskers will take on USC on Saturday and UCLA on Tuesday. Tip against the Trojans is set for 3 p.m. CST on the Big Ten Network. The battle with the Bruins will be at 10 p.m. CST on FS1.

NU closes out the regular season on March 8 against Iowa. The Hawkeyes won the first meeting of the season earlier this month, topping Nebraska in Iowa City, 57-52.

Big Ten Standings

The win pushes Nebraska out of the three-way tie for third with Michigan State and Purdue. The Huskers are now tied with Illinois for second, trailing the 16-1 Michigan Wolverines.

Illinois and Michigan play on Friday. The only other game on Tuesday featuring a team in triple-bye territory (top four in the league) is Wisconsin. The Badgers are at Oregon.

The Tournament Picture

Nebraska entered the day squarely on the 3-line. That's where the NCAA selection committee had NU on Saturday when the top 16 at this point in the season was revealed.

By the metrics, the Huskers were 11th in the NET, 18th in KPI, 5th in SOR, 10th in WAB, 18th in BPI, 11th in the KenPom, and 11th in the Torvik.

Due to the order of the top 16 from the selection committee, Nebraska's first-round site for the NCAA Tournament would be Buffalo, New York. The two closest locations to Lincoln, Oklahoma City and St. Louis, would be occupied by Iowa State, Houston, Illinois, and Purdue. NU likely still slots in behind those four teams for right now.

If Nebraska is able to stay ahead of Kansas and jump Iowa State, or at least see the Cyclones move ahead of Illinois and Purdue, then the potential of Oklahoma City becomes more of a reality.

Video Analysis

Jack Mitchell and Kaleb Henry recap the game.

Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes

With the win, Nebraska improved to 24-4 on the season. The 24 wins match the highest regular-season win to
The Huskers also improved to 13-4 in Big Ten Conference play, with the 13 victories tying for the most in a conference season in program history. The 2017-18 squad also won 13 Big Ten Conference games.
Nebraska made 10 3-pointers in the season giving the Huskers 304 triples this season. This year’s squad is just the second team in school history to make 300 3-pointers in a season.
NU had an 11-0 run in the second half, marking the Huskers’ 28th double-digit run of the season.
Nebraska limited Maryland to 38 percent shooting marking the 15th time this season the Huskers have held their opponent under 40 percent from the field.
The Huskers hit 18 free throws in their win. The 18 made free throws were the most for Nebraska in a Big Ten game this season, eclipsing the previous high of 14 at Ohio State.
Braden Frager had a game-high 21 points off the bench. Frager posted his sixth 20-point game of the season, all of which have come off the bench. Frager also tied his career high with eight rebounds.
Behind Frager’s big game, the Nebraska bench outscored the Maryland bench, 24-8. Tonight marked the first time in six games Nebraska had a positive scoring margin in bench points.
Pryce Sandfort made three 3-pointers in the game, becoming the first player in Nebraska history to knock down 100 3-pointers in a season.
Sandfort finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. His 16-point effort marked his 16th consecutive game scoring in double figures.
Rienk Mast had 13 points, including 11 in the second half.
Sam Hoiberg had three steals in the win, giving him 151 career steals. Hoiberg is just the ninth Husker to record 150 steals in a career. Hoiberg now has 59 steals, the most by a Husker since Cookie Belcher had 82 in 2000-01.
Jamarques Lawrence had a game-high six assists. The six assists were one shy of his career high.
The 13-point margin is NU’s largest in the 19 game series with Maryland, and NU won for just the second time in the last 10 meetings dating back to the 2019-20 season.

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 75, Nebraska 72
Feb. 1 Illinois 78, Nebraska 69
Feb. 7 Nebraska 80, Rutgers 68
Feb. 10 Purdue 80, Nebraska 77
Feb. 14 Nebraska 68, Northwestern 49
Feb. 17 Iowa 57, Nebraska 52
Feb. 21 Nebraska 87, Penn State 64
Feb. 25 Nebraska 74, Maryland 61
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.