Huskers Return home to Host Lindenwood Wednesday Evening
Coming of a strong win over Providence, the No. 25/24 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team returns home Wednesday night to host Lindenwood. Tipoff from Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 8 p.m. (central) and the game will be televised on FS1 and broadcast across the state on the Huskers Radio Network as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase by visiting Huskers.com/tickets or at the PBA Box Office Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Nebraska comes off an impressive 67-58 win over Providence Saturday evening in a tough environment. NU won it on the defensive end, holding Providence to 30.6 percent shooting and forcing 18 Friar turnovers which led to 20 Husker points. The Huskers had 12 steals in the win, including four by Braden Frager and three by Cale Jacobsen.
Offensively, the Huskers put four players in double figures, including a game-high 25 points from Pryce Sandfort, who hit 9-of-14 shots. Nebraska's inside game was productive as the duo of Boden Kapke and Damon Wilkinson combined for 19 points and 12 rebounds, as Kapke had 13 points on just six shots while Wilkinson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in 18 minutes.
Sandfort has picked up right where he left off last season, as the senior is averaging 22.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 59 percent from the field. He has three straight 20-point efforts dating back to last season's NCAA Tournament.
While Sandfort has returned to his all-Big Ten level, Jacobsen has emerged as a force for the Husker lineup. He has been in double figures in both of NU's games and is averaging 13.5 points on 82 percent shooting along with 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game.
Lindenwood comes to Lincoln with a 2-1 record following a a 115-44 victory over East-West University on Saturday. Makhan Diouf had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead five players in double figures, as Lindenwood shot 58 percent in the opening 20 minutes and raced out to a 63-24 halftime lead.
Numbers to Know
24 - Nebraska has won a school-record 24 straight regular-season non-conference games dating back to Nov. 22, 2024. NU has also won 16 straight home games against non-conference foes dating back to the 2023-24 season.
15 - After being just outside the preseason poll, the Huskers were 25th in the Nov. 9 poll. NU has now been ranked in 16 of the last 17 polls dating back to last December. Nebraska spent a school-record 15 weeks in the AP poll during the 2025-26 season, breaking the school mark of 13 weeks in 1990-91.
373 - Nebraska's 373 3-pointers in 2025-26 were a school record, breaking the school record of 319 set in 2023-24. The Huskers are averaging 9.5 3-pointers per game during the first two games of the season.
1.86 - Nebraska ranked sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.86-to-1) in 2025-26, breaking a school record which had stood since 1984-85 (1.81-to-1). So far, NU is a 1.69-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio through its first two games.
80+ - Nebraska is 53-10 (.841) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 44-7 mark since the 2022-23 season. Of those seven losses in that span, four came in overtime. NU has now won its last 18 games scoring at least 80 points following Monday's win over Le Moyne.
Worth Noting
• Nebraska has been strong on the defensive end, holding both of its opponents to under 0.90 points per possession this season, including just 0.81 by Providence. Nebraska is now 48-2 the last three-plus seasons when holding opponents under 1.00 points per possession.
• Nebraska held Providence to 58 points after the Friars scored 83 in its season opener. NU is now 37-2 under Fred Hoiberg when holding an opponent under 60 points.
• Pryce Sandfort now has back-to-back 20-point efforts after his 25-point effort at Providence. Dating back to last year's NCAA Tournament, Sandfort has four 20-point efforts in his last five contests.
• Nebraska's 106 points in the season opener against Le Moyne tied for the fifth-highest opening night total in school history and the most since the 2018-19 season. Last year, NU reached the 100-point plateau just once, a 105-99 win over
Oklahoma in Sioux Falls.
• The Huskers have had seven different players reach double figures in the first two games of the season.
• Nebraska has 23 steals in the first two games for an average of 11.5 per game. Last season, Nebraska posted double-figure steals in consecutive games just once. (vs. FIU and UMES).
• The Huskers are 1-0 in neutral-site games this season following Saturday's win over Providence. NU has three more neutral-site contests, including Sunday's matchup with Boise State in Sioux Falls. NU also travels to Chicago (vs. Butler, Nov. 22) and Kansas City, Mo. (vs. Missouri, Dec. 12).
• NU is 90-41 (.687) all-time in season openers and has won 24 of the past 26 openers dating back to 2001.
Last Time Out
Pryce Sandfort had a game-high 25 points to lead four Huskers in double figures, as Nebraska clamped down on Providence, 67-58, Saturday evening in the Hall of Fame Tip-off
Sandfort earned game MVP honors, hitting 9-of-14 shots while dishing out four assists and three steals as the Huskers improved to 2-0 on the season. Boden Kapke (13), Braden Frager (12) and Cale Jacobsen (11) all finished in double figures, as Nebraska took the lead for good in the first half and extended the margin throughout the second half.
Nebraska used an 11-0 spurt and held Providence scoreless for nearly four minutes to take the lead for good. Sandfort and Kapke keyed the run, combining for nine points, including back-to-back baskets from Kapke to extend the Husker lead to 30-19 with 2:02 left in the half.
Providence cut NU's advantage to 47-41 after a Ryan Mela 3-pointer, but the Huskers came right back with a 6-0 run including a basket from Cale Jacobsen before Taj DeGourville stole the inbounds pass and found Damon Wilkinson for layup. Sandfort than capped the run with a slam, extending the lead to 12 and forcing a Friar timeout. NU eventually got the lead to 16 and kept the lead in double figures until the final 30 seconds of the contest.
Sandfort is Huskers Shooting Star
Pryce Sandfort put together one of the most prolific shooting seasons in Big Ten history in 2025-26. The 6-foot-7 wing led the Big Ten in 3-pointers made (129) and 3-pointers per game (3.7) while ranking third in 3-point percentage (.416). He finished the season third nationally in 3-pointers (129), fourth in 3-pointers per game (3.7) and 24th in 3-point percentage.
• Sandfort’s 129 3-pointers shattered Nebraska’s previous record of 89 set by Cary Cochran in 2002 and was the most by a Big Ten player since Purdue’s Carsen Edwards had 135 in 2018-19.
• According to Stathead, Sandfort is one of only five players in Big Ten history to shoot 40 percent from 3-point range and have at least 115 3-pointers in a season and the first since Penn State’s Shep Garner in 2017-18.
This year, Sandfort has gotten off to a strong start, as he is averaging 22.5 ppg on 59 percent shooting during the first week of the season. He comes of a 25-point, four-assist effort against Providence on Saturday night.
Frager Looks to Expand Role
After serving as NU's sixth man last year, Braden Frager looks to enjoy a breakout season in 2026-27 as he moves into the lineup. Frager is in his third year in the program after reclassifying prior to his senior year in high school. He is ranked No. 97 on the CBS Sports Top 101 Players in the country and No. 92 by the Field of 68. Frager had 12 points and tied a career high with four steals in 32 minutes against Providence.
• Last season, he became the first Husker basketball player to win a Big Ten individual conference season award, as he was chosen as the Big Ten’s Sixth Man of the Year. The Lincoln Southwest product averaged 11.8 points per game on 49 percent shooting and 3.8 rebounds per game in 33 contests
• Frager topped all Big Ten reserves in scoring and had 18 of his 20 double-figure efforts off the bench, including six games of at least 20 points.
• He finished among the program’s top freshmen in several categories, including 3-pointers (57, second), points (391, fourth), scoring average (fifth) and field goals (134, fifth) on his way to earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
• His six 20-point efforts off the bench tied for sixth nationally. Frager trailed only AJ Storr of Ole Miss (8) for the most among power conference players.
• Frager was NU’s second-leading scorer during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game off the bench. He provided the game-winner in NU’s 74-72 win over No. 16 Vanderbilt with his basket with 2.2 seconds remaining and had 16 points, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, in the Sweet 16 loss to Iowa.
A Dose of Cale is Good for the Huskers
Cale Jacobsen returns for his fifth year and is poised to experience a jump like what Sam Hoiberg had in 2025-26. Jacobsen, who originally walked on, played in every game last year, averaging 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in helping NU make the Sweet 16.
• This season, Jacobsen has moved into the starting lineup and has averaged a career-high 13.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He totaled a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals in the opener and had 11 points and three steals in the win over Providence.
• Last week, he was chosen by Jon Rothstein of 247Sports as one of 10 Glue Guys to Monitor.
• Jacobsen moved into the rotation during the 2025 College Basketball Crown and has helped NU go 33-7 in that span. During his career, Nebraska is 36-7 when Jacobsen played at least 10 minutes per game.
Productive Posts
Nebraska has gotten good production from its posts as it looks to replace two-time All-Big Ten performer Rienk Mast. Transfers Boden Kapke and Damon Wilkinson have combined to give NU 19.0 points on 65 percent shooting and 9.0 rebounds per game. In Saturday's win over Providence, the pair combined for 19 points and 12 rebounds, with Kapke totaling 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Wilkinson came off the bench for six points and a team-high seven boards.
Leonhardt Takes the Point
One newcomer who looks to flourish in the Huskers' system is fifth-year guard Trevan Leonhardt. The Utah Valley transfer was a stat-stuffer in NU's opener with seven points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
• His seven-assist, zero-turnover effort marked just the sixth time in Fred Hoiberg's eight seasons that a Husker had at least seven turnovers and no assists in a game. The last was by Rienk Mast against Purdue last February.
• Leonhardt was one of the top point guards in the transfer portal after earning first-team All-WAC honors at Utah Valley. He started all 34 games, averaging 11.9 points per game along with 6.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. The 6-foot-6 guard was the only player nationally to rank in the top 25 in both assists (23rd) & steals (18th) per game. He led the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of the past two seasons, ranking fifth nationally in that category in 2024-25. He looks to become the third guard under Head Coach Fred Hoiberg to rank in the top-10 nationally in that category, as Sam Hoiberg set NU's school record with a 3.74-to-1 ratio last season.
In addition to Leonhardt, NU also added San Diego State transfer Taj DeGourville, who ranked among the Mountain West Conference leaders in both assists (3.0, 12th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0-to-1, seventh) last season. DeGourville made a significant impact in the win over Providence, coming off the bench and dishing seven assists and grabbing three rebounds - all on the offensive end. On the season, DeGourville is averaging 4.5 assists per game and has a 2.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Last year, Nebraska ranked sixth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.86-to-1), the third time a Fred Hoiberg-coached team ranked in the top-10 nationally (2014-15, 8th; 2013-14, 2nd) in assist-to-turnover ratio.