No. 7 Nebrasketball Sweeps Home-and-Home, Pulls Away from Northwestern in Ugly Rematch

LINCOLN — Nebrasketball is back on track.

It took surviving an ugly afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena, but No. 7 Nebraska held off Northwestern, 68-49. The Huskers improved to 22-3 on the year and 11-3 in Big Ten Conference play, while the Widlcats fell to 10-16 overall and 2-13 in the league.

Back on track. pic.twitter.com/22L2bKEPUh
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) February 14, 2026

With the win, Nebraska swept the home-and-home with Northwestern on the season.

The Game
The Stats
What's Next
Big Ten Standings
The Tournament Picture
Video Analysis
Nebraska Men's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule
More From Nebraska On SI

The Game

Nebraska trailed Purdue by 16 points at halftime earlier this week, and arguably looked better over those 20 minutes than in the first half against Northwestern.

The Huskers didn't score until a Pryce Sandfort three-pointer more than two minutes into the game. The Wildcats answered with a long jumper, which was amazingly their first shot of the game after starting with a trio of turnovers.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort reacts after a three-point shot against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The ugliness continued as Nebraska struggled to hold onto the ball. Jamarques Lawrence routinely lost the ball, Braden Frager and Rienk Mast, among others, made easily stolen passes, and Sam Hoiberg slipped in front of the Northwestern bench.

Northwestern, meanwhile, plugged away with an 18-4 run to go up by eight points with six minutes left in the half. Nebraska then woke up offensively for a bit, getting a Frager three-pointer, a Hoiberg layup, and a Mast and-1 for the 8-0 run.

But on the other end, Northwestern hit a triple as Cale Jacobsen ran through a Wildcat rebounder, giving the visitors the ball right back. They would knock down a jumper for a five-point possession.

Nebraska closed the half on an 8-2 run to go into the break up by one point, but having committed 10 turnovers in the process.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager shoots a three-point shot against Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The ugliness continued into the second half, with Nebraska up to 16 turnovers by the under-12 media timeout. At that point, the Huskers were still holding onto a one-point advantage (40-39) and had exchanged the lead four times with Northwestern already.

Out of that media timeout, Berke Buyuktuncel fought for his own miss and got the put-back, followed by a Sandfort triple and a 1-for-2 trip to the line for Hoiberg. Jacobsen hit a pair of three-pointers to put the Huskers up by nine points, prompting a Northwestern timeout with 8:42 to play.

From there, the Huskers had full control. Northwestern made just three more shots the rest of the way, with Nebraska pulling away for the 19-point victory.

The Stats

Nebraska shot 45.3% for the game, including 11-of-25 on three-pointers. Northwestern made 40.0% of its shots, making 3-of-15 from deep.

Both teams ended up with poor displays when it comes to turnovers. Nebraska had 18 in the game, with Northwestern ending with 16. Those resulted in 27 Wildcat points and just 10 for the Huskers.

An area that has not been a major advantage for the Big Red was on Saturday. Nebraska outrebounded Northwestern 40-24, including 13-6 on the offensive glass. The Huskers turned those extra chances into 17 second-chance points, six more than the Wildcats produced.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Rienk Mast looks to pass against Northwestern Wildcats forward Tre Singleton. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Sandort led all scorers with 29 points. The sharpshooter made 6-of-13 three-pointers and pitched in six rebounds.

A pair of Lincoln area guards joined Sandfort in double-digit scoring efforts. Hoiberg had 14 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Jacobsen added 10 points and six rebounds.

Nick Martinelli was the only Wildcat in double figures, with 11 points.

Box score

What's Next

After back-to-back home games, Nebraska goes on the road on Tuesday to face Iowa in Iowa City.

Iowa is 18-6 on the year, including 8-5 in the Big Ten. Their six-game win streak was snapped earlier this week at Maryland, 77-70. The Hawkeyes host No. 13 Purdue later today.

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg signals during the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Pinnacle Bank Arena. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

This will be the first of two meetings between the Huskers and Hawkeyes this season. The second meeting will be in Lincoln on March 8 to close out the regular season.

Tuesday's tip from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 8 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Big Ten Standings

Nebraska entered the day in a tie with Purdue for third in the league standings, behind Michigan (13-1) and Illinois (11-3). With Saturday's win, the Huskers move into a tie with the Illini and sit just ahead of the Boilermakers, as well as the 10-4 teams of Michigan State and Wisconsin.

The remaining schedule for the Huskers is softer than that of the other teams at the top, fighting for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska doesn't face a single team in the top third of the league, instead getting three teams in the middle third (UCLA, 9-4; Iowa twice; USC, 7-7), and three in the bottom third (Maryland, 3-10; Penn State, 2-12).

The Tournament Picture

Prior to Saturday, Nebrasketball had slid to more of a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament from many bracketologists. As for the metrics, the Huskers were 12th in the Torvik, 14th in the KenPom, and 19th in the BPI. Northwestern, on the other hand, was 64th, 66th, and 63rd in those same metrics.

In the NET, Nebraska entered the day at No. 11, with records of 6-3 in Quad 1 games, 4-0 in Quad 2, 5-0 in Quad 3, and 6-0 in Quad 4. The win over Northwestern adds another Quad 2 win, though the Wildcats are just on the line to drop to a Quad 3.

Northwestern Wildcats guard Jayden Reid handles the ball against Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Jamarques Lawrence. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

There is a clear importance for Nebraska to be a 2-seed, or at least ahead of the top teams that would have Oklahoma City and St. Louis as one of their closest tournament sites for the opening weekend of March Madness. Those are the two closest sites for Nebraska, but also potential destinations for top teams like Houston, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa State, and Purdue, among others.

We'll get a clearer picture of how the selection committee views Nebraska when the top 16 are revealed on Feb. 21. This is a week later than normal, and just over three weeks from Selection Sunday.

Nebraska has just one more game before that reveal: Tuesday's trip to Iowa City. The Huskers will then host Penn State on the day of the reveal, though the top 16 will have been decided prior to that contest.

Video Analysis

Jack Mitchell and Kaleb Henry recap the game against Northwestern and look to Tuesday at Iowa.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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 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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