Nebraska Pummels Northwestern Men's Basketball, 68-49, in Valentine's Day Massacre

Pryce Sandfort helped the Huskers obliterate the Wildcats during the second half Saturday night.

Feb 14, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort (21) drives against Northwestern Wildcats forward Arrinten Page (22) and guard Angelo Ciaravino (44) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball squad (10-16) was likely never going to beat Fred Hoiberg's mighty Nebraska Cornhuskers (22-3), the No. 7-ranked team in the nation.

But the Wildcats at least kept things interesting on Saturday afternoon, in Lincoln, for a half.

In the second half, however, Nebraska throttled Northwestern for a proper Valentine's Day massacre of its Big Ten nemesis.

But both clubs, which thrive on ball control, struggled to hold onto the ball during a defense-heavy first half. Three Northwestern turnovers preceded the Wildcats' first field goal take. The Huskers turned over the ball seven times in a brutal six-minute stretch later in the opening half.

A surprise 18-4 Northwestern run helped the Wildcats earn an eight-point edge — before Nebraska responded by going 8-0. Northwestern actually had the more efficient shooting run in the first half, going 12-of-27 (44 percent) from the field to Nebraska's 10-of-29 (35 percent). The Wildcats turned over the rock eight times to Nebraska's 10. Nebraska boasted a major 23-12 rebounding edge.

Following a late push, the Huskers led by a point at the break, 28-27.

Nebraska kicked off a major run midway through the second half. At one point, Northwestern couldn't hit a shot from the floor for more than five minutes, helping the Huskers extend their edge.

When the dust had settled, the Huskers had outscored the Wildcats 40-22 in the frame. Nebraska won big, 68-49, dropping the Wildcats to a miserable 2-13 Big Ten record.

Only one Northwestern player, Martinelli, finished in double-digit scoring with 11 points on a paltry 4-of-12 shooting line from the floor and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line. Too often, he settled for jumpers rather than drive to the rack. Big man transfer Arrinten Page, who has been in and out of Chris Collins' lineups lately, played 21 bench minutes, finishing with six points, three rebounds and three dimes.

Junior Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort paced everyone with 29  — including 18 in the second half — on 10-of-21 shooting from the field (6-of-13 from distance), plus six rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Fred Hoiberg's son Sam and reserve Cale Jacobsen were Nebraska's other two double-digit scorers.

The Huskers enjoyed huge edges in rebounding (40-24) and 3-point efficacy (44 percent to 20 percent).

_________________________________

_________________________________

Stay up to date on the Wildcats by bookmarking Northwestern On SI and following us on Twitter.