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The Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. No matchup is an easy one, as the teams not built for March have already fallen in the first round.
After a day off on Friday, it was No. 5-seeded Vanderbilt’s turn to take the floor for their second game of the NCAA Tournament, facing off against No. 4-seed Nebraska in a primetime spot in the evening. The Cornhuskers won their first NCAA Tournament game in history in the Round of 64, taking down 13-seed Troy. They already had record attendance in the opening matchup, and even more Cornhuskers made the trip down to Oklahoma City for their game against Vanderbilt.
It was a raucous environment from the start of the battle. It was a true war through the opening 20 minutes, as Nebraska jumped out to a 39-32 lead at halftime, backed up by an unbelievably hot start from beyond the arc. Tyler Tanner single-handedly kept the Commodores in the game, though, dropping 15 points in the opening 20 minutes to keep them afloat.
With a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line, both teams knew what the second half meant. Each squad came out firing in the opening minutes, putting on an offensive clinic that kept fans on the edge of their seats. As each team traded blows in the second half, the Cornhuskers took a last-minute 2-point lead, giving Vanderbilt one last possession to win it. Tanner missed the potential game-winning 3-pointer off the rim, giving Nebraska the 74-72 victory.
“The hardest thing when you’re in a tournament like this is there’s a side of it with hurt and dejection, and you put everything into it. We were a play away, an inch away, from being in the Sweet Sixteen,” head coach Mark Byington said postgame.
First half
Byington opted to go with his usual starting lineup of Tanner, Duke Miles, Tyler Nickel, AK Okereke and Devin McGlockton.
Vanderbilt won the opening tip, and Nickel missed a 3-pointer on the wing, much to the delight of the massive contingent of Cornhusker fans in the arena. As Nebraska stormed down the court, Berke Buyuktuncel nailed a triple to take a 3-0 lead.
The Commodores were ice cold to start the game, going 0-for-4 from the field before Tanner finally hit on a floater to get on the board. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Nebraska’s Rienk Mast gave the Cornhuskers a healthy 11-4 lead at the first media timeout with 16:04, as they just couldn’t seem to miss. The two sides were polar opposites to begin the game — Vanderbilt freezing cold and Nebraska scorching hot.
Jalen Washington finally silenced the Nebraska crowd with a bucket on the inside to cut the deficit to 8 points, and on Vanderbilt’s next possession, Tanner drove to the hoop and was fouled in the process. He nailed both free throws to lessen Nebraska’s lead to 14-8 with 13:55 to go in the half.
Both teams struggled to put the ball in the hoop in the next few minutes, as there was certainly a regression to the mean for Nebraska. Nonetheless, both teams traded layups to bring the score to 16-10 at the second media timeout with 10:48 on the clock.
Nebraska’s Braden Frager managed to get wide open down low out of the break, before Mast hit yet another triple — his third of the day on three attempts. Tanner then connected on a 3-pointer — the Commodores’ first of the day on nine attempts — to shrink Nebraska’s lead to 4 points at 21-17 with 7:54 to go.
Both teams traded blows as they settled into the game, before Pryce Sandfort got his first bucket of the game to take an 8-point lead. Tanner continued to pick the pockets of guards, throwing down an emphatic slam, with a few words exchanged after the play, to make the Vanderbilt Faithful erupt and shrink Nebraska’s lead to 27-21 at the 4:33 mark. Okereke then got in on the action, nailing Vanderbilt’s second triple of the day to help fight back before the media timeout at 3:25.
After Tanner made two free throws, Sandfort responded with a deep triple to pump up the Nebraska crowd once again. Nickel hit a 3-pointer before Sandfort sniped one from deep again, bringing the game to halftime with Nebraska’s advantage at 39-32.
Tanner single-handedly kept the Commodores in the game through 20 minutes, dropping 15 points on 50% shooting. Meanwhile, Miles, Nickel and Okereke were ice cold through the first half, shooting a combined 14% from the field.
Second half
Vanderbilt opened the half with Tanner driving to the hoop and drawing a foul. He went 1-for-2 from the line, but Nickel hit a huge corner triple to narrow the score to 36-39.
The offenses were alive to start the half, as Nickel and Miles combined for three early 3-pointers as well as Buyuktuncel hitting a triple. As the first media timeout of the half arrived at 14:55, Vanderbilt was down 48-44.
Sam Hoiberg hit on a layup out of the break before Nickel splashed one from deep — his fourth of the game — to get Vanderbilt’s deficit to 3 points before the media timeout at the 12:00 mark.
Both teams continued to battle, with Sandfort hitting a triple before Tanner returned the favor, lessening Nebraska’s lead to 53-52 with 10:19 to go in the half. Then, Tanner earned a pivotal steal and scored on the fastbreak, tying the game up at 55-apiece as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Okereke then splashed a 3-pointer to give Vanderbilt its first lead of the night, 58-55, as Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg called a timeout with 8:22 on the clock.
The hot hand must’ve been contagious, for both sides in fact, as McGlockton pulled up from deep and hit his first shot attempt of the game from the corner. Frager answered with one of his own, just moments before Tanner knocked down yet another corner triple, giving Vanderbilt the 64-60 advantage with 6:35 left in the game.
The offense came to life as each made field goal felt inevitable, with Sandfort and Nickel exchanging blows left and right. At the final media timeout with 4:42 to go, Vanderbilt had a 67-64 lead with the entire stadium on their feet.
Nebraska took the momentary 68-67 lead after Buyuktuncel hit a bucket on the inside, but the Commodores immediately responded with Okereke hitting a corner 3 to regain the lead. Tanner hit a tough bucket on the inside before Frager found a quick bucket to take the lead. With 2.2 seconds, Byington drew up a play for Tanner to take a last-second shot to win it. The sophomore hit a hard backboard to miss, an extremely close call as Vanderbilt was left heartbroken in defeat.
This close…. 🤏#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/lEtY7T1WX1
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2026
The Commodores have now wrapped up their season, and Byington will look to get his 2026-27 roster ready.
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