It was ugly. It was underachieving. It was at times painful, but for the eighth time this season for the Nebraska men’s basketball team, it was a win.
“I’m very disappointed with how we played overall today,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said in his postgame press conference following a 72-63 Husker win. “The one positive is we’re 8-0. There’s not a lot of people that can say that right now and we’ve been battle-tested. We’ve played good teams.”
For better or for worse, USC Upstate doesn’t exactly fit into that category. Entering its game Saturday against Nebraska, Upstate had lost three of four games, falling by 13 to UNC Wilmington, four to Tennessee Tech and eight to West Georgia.
If USC Upsate was supposed to be a tune-up before the schedule got more difficult, it appears the Nebraska men’s basketball team didn’t get the memo. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN
They also served as Nebraska’s last tune-up before the schedule really picks up. The next three games for NU are home games against Creighton and Wisconsin before hitting the road to take on currently 13th-ranked Illinois. That stretch is just a bit of a jump from playing the likes of USC Upstate, Winthrop and New Mexico.
“I didn’t like our resolve tonight and our resiliency when they threw the first punch,” Hoiberg said. “A team like that – they’re going to milk the clock when they get a lead, and they built that thing up to double digits. I just didn’t like our toughness, and they were chasing us and wearing us through screens, which we’re going to see especially these next three games, and I just didn’t like how we handled it.”
What’s usually a house of horrors for the opposition, Pinnacle Bank Arena has been the toughest place to play for Nebraska this season. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
It’s also been a bumpy road for the Huskers at home, which is a change of pace from what the fan base has been used to. Typically, Pinnacle Bank Arena has been one of the more challenging venues for opponents to play in, but so far in the 2025-26 season, it’s been the exact opposite.
Instead, the Huskers have struggled to get off to hot starts. USC Upstate led by 12 on two separate occasions in the first half before a late run led by junior forward Pryce Sandfort, who finished with a game-high 20 points in the win. He was also the first one to acknowledge NU’s starts need to improve immediately.
“Honestly, I don’t really know,” Sandfort said when asked about what’s causing the team’s slow starts at home. “It’s something about this building. We just haven’t been able to get up to fast starts. We had two great prep days, great communications days and just not coming out and executing right away.”
Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort tied for a game-high 20 points in the Husker win over USC Upstate Saturday. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN
“For whatever reason, in this building, we’ve not gotten off to the type of starts that we need to get our incredible crowd behind us,” Hoiberg echoed. “.On the road, we got off to really good starts when we went and played in those neutral site games, and it’s not just carrying over right now here.”
The latest slow start also led to easily the most unhappy locker room of an 8-0 team you’ll find in the early season.
“It’s as loud as I’ve been with this group after the game,” Hoiberg said of his postgame speech to the team. “It was so disappointing and disheartening to see the blank stares out there, and we prepared really well, and I know nobody wants to hear that. Nobody gives a crap about that, but we did.”
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg was anything but speechless when it came to ripping into his team following a less-than-desirable start against USC Upstate Saturday. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN
Ultimately, the team is 8-0, but if they even want to win one of their next three games, they’ll need to play significantly better than they have to this point. Creighton currently sits at 4-3 on the season, and is projected to improve to 5-3 after they square off with Nicholls State on December 2.
Of the three Bluejay losses, two have come at the hands of No. 19 Gonzaga and No. 15 Iowa State. Creighton also already has a win over a Big Ten foe, thanks to a 76-66 win over Oregon on Thanksgiving Day. What needs to be taken from that is how much more battle-tested the Bluejays are heading into the Dec. 7 showdown in Lincoln.
It’s a much-needed break for a Nebraska men’s team that’s still learning how to play without senior Connor Essegian, who went down with a season-ending ankle injury. They survived yet another game to improve to 8-0, but the next eight days will make a world of difference for a Husker team looking to take that next step.
Nebraska guard Connor Essegian is out for the remainder of the 2025-26 season with an ankle injury. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN
“Basically, the way we’re going to handle it is we’re going to go (Sunday) off, have two days of practice, take Wednesday off, then have three days to prepare for Creighton,” Hoiberg said. “It’s a good opportunity for our guys that have played a lot of minutes to get healthy and get treatments.”
It’ll also be a good opportunity to figure out what’s ultimately holding them back against lesser competition. It’s fair to assume that it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows for the 8-0 Huskers given Hoiberg’s demeanor Saturday afternoon, and if you ask Sandfort and the other players, that’s okay.
What’s next will be a lot of self-reflection, difficult practices and likely an ice bath or two.
“I told them whatever you’ve got to do in the next 24 hours to be ready to have a great practice on Monday,” Hoiberg said. “(For) some guys, that’s getting in the ice tubs. For some guys, that’s coming in and getting some work in and getting some shots and getting some conditioning. I’m confident in this group. They’ve been awesome. They’ve been an unbelievably fun group to coach and to be around. We’re going to bounce back with a good week of prep, and then it’s got to carry over.”
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