LINCOLN—Two players who weren’t on the floor for Nebraska last year showed up big for the Big Red on Saturday.
At the under-12 media timeout of the second half, Rienk Mast and Pryce Sandfort had a combined 38 points. That was also the total for Florida International to that point in the game.
The Panthers would score another 28 points as Nebraska (2-0) cruised to a 96-66 win.
Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Rienk Mast shoots a three-point basket against Florida International Panthers forward Hamed Olayinka (5) and forward Eric Dibami (9) during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Mast’s 18 points are the most by a Nebraska men’s basketball player in a triple-double effort. He added 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The team, and everyone in the arena, knew the situation as he stayed on the floor to hunt that final assist midway through the second half.
“We talked about it at half,” Mast said after the game. “I had five (assists) at half and they were like, ‘Go get it.’ I had three quick ones to start the half. Then you got to find the other two, which was a little bit of a challenge. But everybody was saying, ‘Yeah, go get it.'”
The only other Husker men to notch triple-doubles are Cam Mack (11 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds vs. Purdue in 2019) and Dalano Banton (13 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists vs. Doane in 2020).
Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort shoots a three-point basket against Florida International Panthers forward Hamed Olayinka (5) during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
After scoring three points and going 0-for-5 on three-pointers in the season opener, Sandfort erupted for a game-high 20 points against FIU. The Iowa transfer made 6-of-9 from deep. He had 14 points in the first five minutes of the second half, including his own 8-0 run in just 28 seconds.
“It was fun to see Pryce get it going the way that he did with that little stretch that he had to open up the second half,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said in the postgame. “It was just a matter of time before he had one like this.”
Three other Huskers scored in double figures: Braden Frager (15 points), Connor Essegian (13 points), and Berke Buyuktuncel (11 points).
As a team, Nebrarska shot 55.2% from the floor, including 17-of-34 on 3s. The school record for three-pointers made in a game is 18, set in 2002 against Kansas.
Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager and forward Rienk Mast celebrate after a three-point basket by Mast against the Florida International Panthers during the first half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
“We got so many shooters,” Mast said. “We shot it insanely from three today. That makes it fun to try and find shooters.”
Of Nebraska’s 37 made. baskets, 29 came on the back of assists. That’s seven shy of the school record, which came in 1977 with 36 assists against Montana State.
FIU shot 39.4%, making 6-of-23 three-pointers. The Panthers put four players in double figures, led by 12 points each from Hamed Olayinka and Julian Mackey.
Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg watches play during the first half against the Florida International Panthers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Nebraska stays home Tuesday to host Maryland-Eastern Shore. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CST with the contest streaming on B1G+.
Box score
Nebraska Athletics Notes
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Nebraska Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Schedule
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