Rienk Mast, a Scorebook-Stuffer, has Gone Through ‘Full 12-Month Recovery’ to Help Nebraska Advance to Sweet 16

In Nebraska’s most important game of the season Saturday, there was a team-wide effort to hold off Vanderbilt in what might have been the NCAA Tournament’s best game this year.

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And a little luck from an unforgiving rim, too, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, as Tyler Tanner's last-second shot just missed for Vandy.

In the fourth-seeded Huskers’ 74-72 win, Rienk Mast put on a scorebook-filling performance with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers. Nebraska needed every stat he could muster to advance to the Sweet 16.

Mast and point guard Sam Hoiberg combined for 10 assists and only one turnover against Vandy’s pressure defense in the second-round game. The turnover was a steal by Tanner on Hoiberg in the open floor. Mast and Hoiberg were two of three Huskers who played at least 34 minutes against Vandy. Pryce Sandfort was the other.

Sam Hoiberg and Tyler Tanner — Nebraska's Sam Hoiberg and Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner watch the final shot. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Yeah, for me it was I knew the guards were going to have a lot of pressure on them,” Mast said in a postgame news conference.

“So I always try and help them out either with a high ball screen or … they throw it to me and I can kind of dictate the offense from there …

“There was some amazing cuts and sometimes the guy was just wide open. Like those are pretty easy assists. That’s just kind of credit to the way we cut. It makes it pretty easy for me to hit the open guy.”

Mast brings versatility

Mast is a 6-foot-10 forward from Groningen, Netherlands. He is a unique — and tall — weapon on a basketball court.

He is a 6-foot-10 forward who can mix it up inside, on the boards and on defense.

He is a 6-foot-10 forward who has the range and wherewithal to shoot from the outside. He is not reluctant to shoot the three-ball.

He is a 6-foot-10 forward who makes deft passes, not necessarily a common trait for a big man.

He ranks second in Husker scoring at 13.5 points per game. Mast is the team’s leading rebounder at 5.9 per game, and his 101 assists rank third on the team.

“It was really tough [playing Vandy],” Hoiberg said. “I don’t know if I’ve been picked like that all year by Tanner, but he was just really good at getting up under you and he’s quick to stay in front.

“But getting Rienk out to set some high ball screens is really important to alleviate some of that pressure. And then guys were making good cuts, good slips, got a couple assists on those.

“But yeah, it was just about making smart plays because you knew that was their biggest emphasis was to take care of the ball. And yeah, to be able to execute that in this game was huge.”

Say hello to the Hawkeyes

Mast’s versatility will be on display in the Huskers’ Sweet 16 game Thursday against the ninth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes at the Toyota Center in Houston. The South Region game will start at 6:30 p.m. CDT and will be shown on TBS.

Nebraska is 28-6, a school record for wins. This is the rubber match for the Big Ten opponents, with each winning on their home court during the regular season. Iowa is 23-12, and upset defending national champion Florida, a No. 1 seed, on Sunday night, 73-72.

Imagine what it must be like for Mast — and the other Huskers, but especially Mast — to have gone from never winning an NCAA Tournament game going into this season (0-8) to winning two tourney games and with another win they can make the Elite Eight.

Imagine what it must be like for Mast, who missed all of last season after having knee surgery in May 2024.

Mast’s journey

Mast is a seventh-year senior. His career started with four years at Bradley, one of which he took a redshirt. He played at Nebraska in 2023-24, then sat out the 2024-25 season with the knee injury.

“I couldn’t be happier for Rienk,” Huskers coach Fred Hoiberg said in a news conference after the win over Vanderbilt. “You guys have no idea how invasive that procedure that Rienk went through when it’s a full 12-month recovery.

“And I’ve said this about Rienk: He’s the most disciplined player that I’ve ever coached. And if anybody’s going to come back from that, it’s him.

“And you know, we knew pretty early in the process that Rienk was going to be OK when he made seven out of eight threes against BYU in our exhibition game.

“He’s got the right approach. His daily approach is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And he had to be on point. He couldn’t skip steps and there’s a reason that he’s back playing at this level.

“And I don’t have to worry about minute restrictions, any of that, because he handled his business after the procedure.

“So just, more than anything, I’m just happy for him because you see the joy. It was hard. It was hard for Rienk to sit out last year, not be a part of it, especially [when Nebraska went] through some struggles at the end of the season and, you know, to see him out here helping us have a historic season is just awesome.”

Nebraska’s “historic season” faces its biggest game of the season Thursday against Iowa. In March, each game is the biggest one of the season.

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