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With history made, there’s no debate — this is the greatest men’s basketball team in Nebraska history.
By securing an NCAA Tournament win Thursday, the Huskers achieved what no team before it could do. Despite a tight first 10 minutes that saw No. 13 seed Troy take a brief 15–12 lead, Nebraska found its rhythm and exploded.
First-team All-Big Ten forward Pryce Sandfort lit it up from downtown, pouring in 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, which included five three-pointers. After being out-muscled against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, the Huskers laid down the wood against the Trojans, powering its way to 11 first-half offense rebounds and outscoring Troy 19-3 in second chance points and 17-5 off turnovers.
NU guard Sam Hoiberg totaled only four points, but he grabbed nine of the team's 37 rebounds, plus four assists. Jamarques Lawrence and Braden Frager each joined Sandfort in double figures with 13 points apiece as the Huskers shot 14-for-39 from beyond the arc to pull away for a historic 76-47 win. Rienk Mast reached 11 points for the afternoon with Berke Buyuktuncel scoring nine and tallying seven rebounds. Nebraska was extremely effective defensively, limiting Troy's high-scoring forwards as the team shot just 28.3% from the field and forced 17 turnovers compared to NU's six.
With one of the biggest monkeys in college sports off their backs, Nebraska can now set its sights on No. 5 seed Vanderbilt, the only team standing between the Huskers and a trip to the Sweet 16.
How to Follow Along
Vanderbilt Scout
Head Coach
2025-2026 Record & Awards
NCAA Tournament History
All-Time Series
Key Returners
Impact Transfers/Newcomers
Outlook
In doing this best Curt Cignetti impersonation, former James Madison head coach Mark Byington has quickly made his mark with the Vanderbilt men's basketball program. While not starved for success like the Indiana football program was, the Commodores have never made the Final Four and appeared in just one Elite Eight, which came in 1965. Byington, who also had a previous stop at Georgia Southern, had led Vanderbilt to the back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, but has already improved in 2025-2026 by getting the Commodores to the Round of 32 after bowing out in the first round last season.
AP All-America honorable mention guard Tyler Tanner leads a group that was mostly constructed from the transfer portal. An in-state native that attended the prestigious Brentwood Academy, Tanner jumped from 5.7 to 19.1 points per game while dishing out over five assists. His perimeter defense is another defining trait as he ranks seventh in the country with 81 steals on the season. His skills were all on display in Vanderbilt's opening round win over No. 12 seed McNeese State with a game-high 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Helping Tanner out is fellow returners Tyler Nickel and Devin McGlockton. A transfer that spent time at both Virginia Tech and North Carolina, Nickel is the Pryce Sandfort equivalent for Vanderbilt. After leading the SEC in three-point shooting last season, he's followed up by hitting over 100 three-pointers, including three of the team's nine against McNeese. Another import from the ACC (Boston College), McGlockton is the team's leading rebounder with 6.7 per game while adding over nine points.
Seven newcomers from either the portal or recruiting populate the majority of the Commodores' rotation. Playing in his sixth season of college basketball, Duke Miles spent three seasons at Troy, one at High Point and one at Oklahoma before landing in Nashville. He's thrived as the second leading scorer with 16.5 points per game while also ranking second in assists (117) and steals (70). After leading the Ivy League in field goal shooting at Cornell last season, forward AK Okereke adds 9.7 points per game. Plus, North Carolina transfer Jalen Washington provides over nine points and nearly six rebounds per contest off the bench as a 6-foot-11 center. The remaining contributors mostly fill out depth, but Washington transfer Tyler Harris makes a positive impact defensively and posts over five points per game.
Make no mistake — this is good Vanderbilt team. Similar to the Big Ten, the Commodores put together 27 wins with a schedule that was ranked No. 15 overall in the strength of schedule metric. With 10 wins over NCAA Tournament teams, including South Region No. 1 seed Florida, Vanderbilt will give Nebraska all it can handle.
A good defensive team that ranked in the top four of the SEC in most categories, the Commodores also don't turn the ball over with the No. 1 overall Turnover Margin in the SEC. However, they really struggle in rebounding, an area that the Huskers won't be unmatched against and could actually exploit.
Like most games this season, if Nebraska can hit its threes like Thursday and hold its own in rebounding, they will be fine against the Commodoes and give themselves a chance to win. While my bracket is already busted, that isn't the case for my Husker prediction. Give me Nebraska to sneak past Vanderbilt and punch its ticket to the Sweet 16.
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Geoff Exstrom covers a variety of Nebraska sports and brings nearly a decade of experience writing in the Nebraska market. Geoff is an award-winning writer and podcaster, serving in a variety of roles across his media career. Geoff is currently the Director of Communications, Broadcast and Media for the Omaha Supernovas, a professional volleyball team in Omaha, Nebraska where they hold the distinction of being No. 1 in the world in average pro volleyball attendance. Geoff holds a degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and spends his time watching F1 with his loving partner, Grisela and their four cats.
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