The sweetest season in Nebraska basketball history just got a lot sweeter; NU advances in a wild finish – Nebraska Public Media

By Aaron Bonderson , Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
March 21, 2026, 10:17 p.m. ·
How Sweet it is.
Redshirt freshman Braden Frager made a layup with 2.2 seconds left to send Nebraska to its first-ever Sweet 16.
Frager’s two points completed a late comeback as the Big Red knocked off No. 5 seed Vanderbilt, 74-72, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament amongst a rowdy crowd in Oklahoma City.
"As we've talked going into this tournament, if you want to advance, it's all about how you handle adversity," head coach Fred Hoiberg said. "And our guys did a masterful job of hanging in there."
Hoiberg considered calling a timeout after the Commodores missed a shot with less than ten seconds to go but noticed his players had a numbers advantage in transition.
That proved to be a good call. Junior leader Pryce Sandfort found Frager, who sliced through the left side of the lane to win it.
Two days after the first March Madness victory in school history, Nebraska kept it rolling. Coach Fred Hoiberg’s squad improved to 28-6 on the season, while the Commodores dropped to 27-9.
The Big Red immediately showed it was ready to compete.
With another massive Husker turnout at the Paycom Center, the noise rattled the arena when the Big Red started the game on an 8-0 run. Berke Büyüktuncel started things off with a three-pointer, followed by shots from Jamarques Lawrence and Rienk Mast.
The crowd pops kept on coming as Nebraska opened up a 10-point lead just five minutes into the game, going ahead 14-4.
The Husker lead pinballed between three and 10 for the remainder of the first half. Each momentum swing and foul call drew a reaction from the capacity crowd.
Going into the break, NU led 39-32.
In the first half, Nebraska shot the ball at a torrid 60% clip. It also made 60% of its threes, hitting six of 10 in that time.
Mast led the offense with nine points. Freshman Braden Frager did what he’s done all season long: provide a spark off the bench by attacking the basket. He and junior Pryce Sandfort added eight points in the first half.
The first five minutes of the second half saw both teams trade big shot after big shot. Both teams made three shots in a row going into the first media break of the second period. That made it 48-44 Nebraska with 15 minutes left in the action.
The Commodores narrowed the margin, cutting it to one with under 12 minutes to play. Vandy guard Tyler Tanner led his team throughout the game and hit the 20-point mark halfway through the second period. Vanderbilt continued chipping away and eventually claimed its first lead at 58-55 with eight minutes to go.
Sam Hoiberg said Vanderbilt turned up the pressure in the second half.
"That was a tough game, because they're such a good team. That's as much as we've been pressured all season long," Hoiberg said. "And that wears you out mentally and physically. I was feeling pretty gassed there a few times before the media timeout."
The Commodore shooting came alive as well, pushing their lead to five. With five minutes left, they had already made nine three pointers in the second half alone.
After trailing for more than seven minutes, Nebraska got the advantage back on a Büyüktuncel layup. That made it 68-67 Big Red, but Vandy immediately struck back with a three to take a two-point lead. The teams traded dramatic buckets in the final two minutes. Mast tied it back up at 72 with a put-back lay and just 37 seconds to go.
Frager drove through the lane in the waning seconds and stuck the go-ahead shot — NU 74, Vandy 72 with 2.2 on the ticker.
Tanner nearly drilled a last second heave but it rimmed out, giving the Huskers their first Sweet 16 appearance in school history.
Frager’s last shot gave him 15 points to share the scoring lead for the game with Pryce Sandfort. Mast scored 13 points and Büyüktuncel had 12.
Sandfort explained the last play where he grabbed a defensive rebound
"I got it, saw some numbers that we had and came off that ball screen and saw Braden standing there wide open," Sandfort said. "He was screaming at me for the ball, so I knew he was gonna go make a play. But yeah, he had a wide open lane and made an incredible finish."
Sandfort summed up the surreal moment when Tanner nearly flipped the result on a 50-foot shot.
"I just about died," he said.
Nebraska will play the winner of No. 1 seed Florida and its intraconference rival, No. 9 seed Iowa in Houston next Thursday. Those teams play tomorrow at 6:10 CT.
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