Nebraska’s Braden Frager (5) goes up for a shot during the game against Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament at the Paycom Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
Sports Reporter
Nebraska’s Braden Frager (5) goes up for a shot during the game against Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament at the Paycom Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Yes, this is real. It isn’t a dream or a movie. The Huskers are moving on to the Sweet 16 in Houston next week.
“That last shot man, it just took my breath away — that kid man, he’s an unbelievable player,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said postgame. “When that thing was up in the air, I was like ‘oh man, that’s going in.”
In the final seconds, tied at 72 apiece, Freshman forward Braden Frager converted a layup off the assist of junior forward Pryce Sandfort. Frager recorded 15 of Nebraska’s 17 bench points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
“Once I saw the whole team (Vanderbilt) run at Pryce, I screened for the ball,” Frager said postgame. “He made an unbelievable, unselfish play and gave me the ball with a wide-open lane; all I had to do was make a left-handed layup. I made a million of those.”
If I were to tell you before the season, when Nebraska was projected to be 14th in the Big Ten Conference, that this team would be Sweet 16-bound, you’d call me crazy.
Once again, the Paycom Center was overtaken by Husker fans from all over the country, making it feel like another game at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. PBA South.
Before Nebraska and Vanderbilt even tipped off, “Go Big Red” chants were yelled from the crowd just after the under-12 media timeout of Houston vs. Texas A&M.
“The crowd was once again an unbelievable factor,” Hoiberg said postgame. “I think they’re all driving down to Houston in the morning. We expect another big turnout again next weekend.”
Nebraska fans have waited for this moment for a long time. It is here.
Hoiberg has preached for his team to get off a fast start and execute early. For a handful of games down the stretch of the regular season, the Huskers struggled to do so, until tonight.
Nebraska started the game 14-4 by the 15-minute mark of the first half, thanks to two made 3-pointers from senior forward Rienk Mast. All night long, Mast was a force in the paint, as he grabbed five rebounds, four on the defensive side. Mast finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.
After junior forward Berke Büyüktuncel picked up his second foul, true freshman Leo Curtis checked into the game with two minutes left and had a wide-open look.
He dunked.
“It’s amazing, it’s an unbelievable experience,” Curtis said postgame. “When I got the ball, I knew there was a defender behind me, so I tried to go up quickly. It was amazing.”
From the jump, Frager looked confident while shooting the ball. Without question, it isn’t hidden that he struggled offensively in the last few games. The Lincoln native has relied on the veteran leadership from senior guards Sam Hoiberg, Jamarques Lawrence and Mast to help him progress out of his offensive slumps.
“Rienk and Sam were probably the first two guys that came to talk to me before the game, Sam said to me ‘don’t be in awe’, that’s what happened when he was here two years ago,” Frager said postgame. “Rienk told me just play your game, do what you’ve been doing, that’s why you have been successful all year.”
Five minutes into the second half, Frager tried to feed Hoiberg down low in the paint, but was deflected off the hands of Vanderbilt sophomore guard Tyler Tanner. Immediately after, on the next play, he got a steal on the other end of the floor. In between the two plays, he looked for Lawrence to help him get his head straight.
“I said don’t worry about that, I like the attack, just know your personnel and know what’s in front of you,” Lawrence said postgame.
Frager had to step up; it was very obvious that Vanderbilt applied lots of attention to what Sandfort can do with the ball, as it limited him to only five points in the first half, when he had 17 against Troy at the break.
The Huskers led the entire game until the eight-minute mark of the second half, although they were charged with 18 personal fouls, while the Commodores had 16.
Tanner was an absolute force all night on both ends of the floor. Whenever it looked like the Huskers had a chance to pull away, he responded.
“Those two guards, man, Tanner, he’s just so good,” Lawrence said postgame. “He’s got great hands, great anticipation. We kind of haven’t seen that all year.”
The sophomore phenom finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting. The stat line doesn’t seem that good on paper, but he shined when the Commodores needed him to.
Once again, the rebounding battle came down to the very final buzzer; Nebraska pulled down 31 rebounds, compared to the Commodores’ 30. The most memorable one? Sandfort’s defensive board with eight seconds to go.
“They crushed us on the glass in the second half. We have to do a better job whoever we’re going to play in the next round,” Fred Hoiberg said postgame. “Gritty effort by our groups and thankful to continue to be able to coach these guys going into next weekend.”
The Huskers will await the winner of Florida and Iowa, who play Sunday, March 22, at 6:10 p.m. CST.
Nebraska will take on the winner in the Sweet 16. The date and time are still to be determined.
Eli Rodriguez is a men’s basketball beat writer at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @efrodriguez23.
[email protected]
Sports Reporter
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
