Pryce Sandfort Sets Record, Iowa Upends No. 9 Nebrasketball

Nebraska's offense disappeared when it was needed most on Tuesday in Iowa City.

Unranked Iowa upended No. 9 Nebraska, 57-52. The Hawkeyes improved to 19-7 on the year and 9-6 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Huskers fell to 22-4 overall and 11-4 in the league.

Iowa leads the all-time series, 28-15.

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

The Game

Nebraska's first-half issues continued in Iowa City.

The Huskers made just two shots in the first five minutes. Fortunately for them, the Hawkeyes didn't make a shot for the first three-and-a-half minutes.

Neither side led by more than four points, but the foul trouble for Nebraska saw Rienk Mast, Jamarques Lawrence, and Berke Buyuktuncel all pick up two fouls.

Iowa forward Cam Manyawu and Nebraska forward Berke Büyüktuncel reach for a loose ball. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After a Sam Hoiberg layup put Nebraska up 21-19, Iowa executed a kill shot.* The Hawkeyes made six free throws as part of an 11-0 run. With the Huskers going 4:25 between made baskets, the Hawkeyes had the lead at 10 points.

*College basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa classifies a kill shot as any run of at least 10-0.

But Nebraska got a tough layup from Hoiberg before Cale Jacobsen hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send NU to halftime down by just five points.

A Hawkeye three-pointer immediately out of halftime was answered by a Nebraska 13-3 run to erase the entire deficit and go up 41-39 with 13 minutes to play. That was the first of two lead changes and four ties in the second half.

Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz shoots the basketball as Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort and Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg defend. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

By the under-4 media timeout, Iowa built the lead to two possessions, 50-45. Nebraska got it back to three points on a pair of Pryce Sandfort free throws to end a 4:24 scoreless drought. Those two points gave NU four points in a 10-minute stretch of game time.

Nobody added any points until the final minute, where the Hawkeyes made four free throws to put the game away.

The Stats

Despite scoring just nine points over the final 12 minutes of regulation, Nebraska shot 40.9% for the game, including 5-of-24 on three-pointers. Iowa made 33.3% of its shots, making 6-of-23 from deep.

At the free throw line, the Hawkeyes went 17-for-18, while the Huskers made 11-of-14.

Iowa dominated the glass, outrebounding Nebraska 37-24. The Hawkeyes turned 12 offensive boards into just eight second-chance points, but that's still more than the four points added from the two offensive rebounds for the Huskers.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg goes to the basket as Iowa Hawkeyes forward Alvaro Folgueiras (rear) and guard Tavion Banks (6) defend. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Both teams finished with a dozen turnovers. Just like with the rebounds, Iowa did more with the turnovers, putting up 13 points off turnovers to Nebraska's three.

Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz led all scorers with 25 points. He was a perfect 7-for-7 at the line.

Sandfort led the Husker attack with 13 points. He made two three-pointers in the game, passing Cary Cochran for the program record in made single-season triples.

Box score

What's Next

Nebraska will see Iowa again to close out the regular season on March 8. Before that, the Big Red have a pair of home games and a two-game swing to Los Angeles.

First up is a home contest with Penn State on Saturday.

The Nittany Lions are 11-15 on the year and host Rutgers on Wednesday. They're coming off an 83-72 loss at Oregon this past weekend.

Tip from Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 1 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Big Ten Standings

Nebraska entered the day in a tie with Purdue for third in the league standings at 11-3. Sitting on top was Michigan at 14-1, followed by Illinois at 12-3. Just behind the Huskers and Boilermakers were Michigan State and Wisconsin, both at 10-4.

Tuesday's slate of games included eight of the top nine teams in the standings, meaning plenty of moving and shaking was possible. With both Nebraska and Purdue losing, there is a more clearly defined line for the top two teams.

The remaining schedule for the Huskers is still softer than the other teams at the top, all fighting for as many conference tournament byes as possible. NU will get a couple of middling teams in UCLA and USC, Iowa again, as well as bottom-dwellers Maryland and Penn State.

The Tournament Picture

Prior to Tuesday's game, Nebrasketball was solidly a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament from most bracketologists, though ESPN's Joe Lunardi slid NU to the 4-line in his most recent update. As for the metrics, the Huskers were 12th in the Torvik, 11th in the KenPom, and 18th in the BPI. Iowa, on the other hand, was 27th, 25th, and 37th in those same metrics.

In the NET, Nebraska entered the day at No. 11, with records of 5-3 in Quad 1 games, 6-0 in Quad 2, 5-0 in Quad 3, and 6-0 in Quad 4. The loss to Iowa will add another defeat to the Quad 1 record.

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.

Although Nebraska plays Penn State on Saturday, that will not factor into the committee's reveal. The top 16 will have been decided prior to that game.

Video Analysis

Jack Mitchell and Kaleb Henry recap the game on the Nebrasketball Hour.

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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