No. 13 Huskers Travel to Ohio State Monday Night – University of Nebraska – Official Athletics Website

No. 13 Huskers Travel to Ohio State Monday Night
The No. 13 Nebraska men’s basketball team returns looks to extend its school-record win streak Monday night, as the Huskers wrap up a stretch of three games in seven days with a trip to Ohio State. 

Tipoff from Value City Arena is set for 5:30 p.m. (central) and the game will be carried nationally on FS1 and broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app.

The Huskers (14-0, 3-0 B1G) are coming off a thrilling 58-56 win over Michigan State last Friday night. The Huskers trailed 55-52 with 4:40 remaining but closed the game with a 6-1 run, taking the lead for good at 58-55 on Rienk Mast’s 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining. MSU had a chance to tie with 0.7 seconds left, but Carson Cooper missed the first of two free throws and intentionally missed the second one while a lane violation gave the ball to Nebraska. 

Mast had a game-high 19 points, including six 3-pointers, and a team-high seven rebounds, providing a major lift in the first half with 15 points as Pryce Sandfort battled foul trouble most of the night.  Mast leads the Huskers in scoring (16.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg) while the 6-foot-10 forward is shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. 

The Huskers, whose 14-0 start is the best in program history, shined on the defensive end against the Spartans, holding MSU to a season-low 56 points on just 34 percent shooting. Nebraska is ninth nationally in field goal defense (.374) and has held seven of its last eight opponents under 40 percent shooting. 

Best Starts in School History

No.

Wins

Year

1.

14-0

2025-26

2.

10-0

1977-78

3

9-0

1915-16

4.

7-0

2023-24

 

7-0

1992-93

 

7-0

1984-85

Ohio State (10-3, 2-1 Big Ten) comes off an impressive 80-73 win at Rutgers on Friday night. Bryce Thornton had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead four Buckeyes in double figures as OSU shot 51 percent in the second half to outscore Rutgers, 43-32 at the break.

Numbers to Know
3 – With Friday’s win, Nebraska has won three straight games against top-10 teams dating back to Jan. 9, 2024. It is the first time NU has ever won three straight vs. top-10 teams (h/t @MattNorlander).

34 – Fred Hoiberg has 34 wins over ranked opponents, including 12 wins against top-10 teams, in his collegiate coaching career. In addition, his six road wins against ranked opponents is second only to Danny Nee (seven) all-time among NU men’s basketball coaches.

25 – Prior to Friday’s win, the Huskers had lost 25 straight games under Fred Hoiberg when held to 60 or fewer points and 26 overall dating back to 2019. The last time NU scored under 60 points and won was on Feb. 16, 2019 vs. Northwestern (W, 59-50). 

6.0 – Sam Hoiberg is second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (min. 3 assists per game) at 6.0-to-1 as of Jan. 3. Over the last five games, Hoiberg has 23 assists and just two turnovers in 165:27 of game action.

7 – Rienk Mast needs seven rebounds to reach 1,000 rebounds for his career. To put the number in perpective, only two Huskers have ever totaled 1,000 career rebounds (Venson Hamilton (1,080) and Aleks Maric (1,015)

53.5 – Nebraska’s top four scorers (Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence) are combining for 53.5 points per game. None of them were in the Husker lineup last season.

230 – In the last meeting, the teams combined for 230 points in a 116-114 Ohio State meeting in Columbus. Brice Williams led NU with a school-record 43 points in the loss. 

80+ Nebraska is 47-10 (.824) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 38-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of 2022-23, four came in overtime.

Huskers Look to Continue Poll Climb
With a 14-0 record, the Huskers could earn one of their highest rankings in school history when the polls come out Monday. NU is ranked 13th in the latest AP poll on Dec. 22, the program’s highest ranking since March 11, 1991, when the Huskers were No. 11 in the final regular-season AP poll.

• The Huskers improved to 43-22 (.661) all-time when ranked in the AP poll following the 58-56 win over No. 9 Michigan State on Friday night. 

• Prior to its 2025-26 poll debut on Dec. 8, the Huskers had not been ranked in the AP poll since the 2018-19 season (Dec. 31, 2018). 

• If Nebraska cracks the top 10 on Monday, it would mark the Huskers’ first top-10 ranking since being ranked ninth on Feb. 28, 1966. That season, the Huskers went 20-5, including 12-2 in the Big Eight to finish second to Kansas, but did not advance to postseason play. That Kansas team that won the Big Eight lost to eventual NCAA Champion Texas Western, 81-80 in double overtime in the Midwest Regional Final. 

Picking Up Ranked Wins
Friday’s 58-56 win over ninth-ranked Michigan State marked NU’s second ranked win of the season, both coming in Big Ten play.  It also marked just the second time in school history that NU hosted a ranked vs. ranked matchup and first since 1991 (No. 15 Nebraska defeated No. 10 Kansas, 85-75, on March 3, 1991). 

• Nebraska is now 5-6 all-time in ranked vs. ranked games, including 2-0 this year. No. 23 Nebraska won at No. 13 Illinois, 83-80, on Dec. 13.

• Of NU’s 11 ranked vs. ranked games in program history, seven were road games and two others were at neutral sites. 

Worth Noting
• Nebraska enters the week as one of six unbeaten teams in Division I, joining Michigan, Arizona, Iowa State, Vanderbilt and Miami (Ohio).

• With a 14-0 mark, Nebraska is unbeaten entering the month of January for the first time since the 1928-29 season. The 2028-29 team was 1-0 with a win over South Dakota State. Since the end of WWI, NU has entered January unbeaten only two other times (1919-20, 2-0; 1928-29, 1-0). 

• Nebraska’s 3-0 Big Ten start matches the program’s best conference start of the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present), as the Huskers opened the 2016-17 season with three straight Big Ten wins. A win at Ohio State on Monday night would give NU a 4-0 conference mark for the first time since the 1975-76 season. 

• Nebraska completed its non-conference slated with a perfect 11-0 record, marking the first time since the 1928-29 season where NU posted an unblemished non-conference mark (6-0). The Huskers are 31-2 in regular-season non-conference play since the start of the 2023-24 season (10-1 in 2023-24; 10-1 in 2024-25).

• Nebraska moved to No. 11 in the NET on Jan. 3 following the win over Michigan State. NU is one of six Big Ten teams in the top 17 of the NET (No. 1 Michigan, No. 7 Purdue, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Iowa and No. 17 Michigan State). No conference has more teams in the top 25 and top 50 of the NET than the Big Ten. 

• Nebraska is now 2-0 against ranked foes this season following Friday’s win over No. 9 Michigan State. Since March 1, 2022, the Huskers are now 10-11 in the last 21 games against ranked teams, including 5-2 against top-10 teams. Prior to that, NU had lost 24 straight against ranked teams dating back to the 2019 Big Ten Tournament. 

• Nebraska comes into the Ohio State game with 18 straight wins, breaking the school record for consecutive wins. The 18 straight wins broke the mark of 14 set two other times (1912-13 and 1990-91). It is the longest active streak in the nation and dates back to the first round of the 2025 College Basketball Crown. Before the current win streak, NU’s longest streak under Fred Hoiberg was a seven-game streak to start the 2023-24 season.  Friday’s win over MSU was the first time in the 18-game win streak that NU was held under 1.00 points per possession. 

Longest Win Streaks in School History

No.

Season

Win Streak

Date Started

Date Ended

1.

2024-25/25-26

18 games

3-31-25

present

2.

1990-91

14 games

11-28-90

1-22-91

 

1911-12/12-13

14 games

1-27-12

1-25-13

4

1919-20/20-21

13 games

2-6-20

1-3-21

 

1897-98/1900-01

13 games

2-22-1898

1901**

6.

1912-13

12 games

1-31-13

3-12-13

• The Huskers are third in the Big Ten and 35th nationally with 10.5 3-pointers made per game as of Jan. 4. It is on track to break the school the school record by nearly one 3-pointer per game. NU led the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game in 2023-24, the fifth time a Hoiberg-coached team led the conference in 3-pointers per game. 

• Nebraska has made 10-or-more 3-pointers nine times in 14 games, including 17 against FIU and 15 vs. Oklahoma.  It marked only the seventh and eighth time in school history that NU had at least 15 3-pointers in a game. Last year, the Huskers hit 10-or-more 3-pointers just seven times in 35 contests. 

• Despite being held to a season-low 58 points against Michigan State, Nebraska is averaging 81.7 ppg, which is the Huskers’ highest scoring average after 14 games since the 1995-96 season (88.1 ppg). The 1995-96 team marked the last time Nebraska averaged 80.0 ppg in a season. Prior to Friday’s win, NU was 0-25 when held under 60 points under Fred Hoiberg.

• NU’s team 1.98-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fifth nationally as of Jan. 3. NU is one of three Big Ten teams in the top five nationally in that category (Northwestern 2nd; Purdue, 3rd). It is on track to shatter the school mark of 1.81 set in 1984-85. NU’s best assist-to-turnover ratio under Hoiberg is 1.38-to-1 in 2023-24. The Huskers have four games with at least 20 assists and six or fewer turnovers (vs. Oklahoma, Winthrop, at Illinois, North Dakota).

• Nebraska enters Monday’s game with Ohio State ranked fifth in the Big Ten and 26th nationally with 18.6 assists per game. It is an increase of 4.4 assists per game from last season. NU has averaged 20 assists only two times in school history (1990-91 and 1984-85), and Nebraska’s highest assist per game total under Hoiberg is 15.3 per game in 2023-24.

•Nine Huskers have posted double-figure efforts this season, while four players have had at least one 20-point performance (Pryce Sandfort-5; Rienk Mast-4; Braden Frager-2; Jamarques Lawrence-1).

• The Huskers posted their second double-digit comeback of the season against USC Upstate on Nov. 29, overcoming a 12-point first-half deficit. During its 18-game win streak, NU now has four comebacks from 10+ points (Arizona State, UCF, Oklahoma and USC Upstate). 

• Nebraska has held 10 of its 14 opponents to under 1.0 points per possession, including six of the last seven opponents. 

• Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 49-3 (.941) when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 50-5 when holding opponents to under 70 points. Nebraska has improved its KenPom defensive efficiency in each of the past three seasons and is on track to continue that trend in 2025-26.

• Following the win over New Hampshire on Dec. 30, Nebraska has won a school-record 22 straight non-conference games dating back to Nov. 22, 2024. It is also the nation’s longest non-conference win streak. NU has also won 16 straight home games against non-conference foes dating back to the 2023-24 season. 

• Rienk Mast is one of 11 players nationally – and five from power conference teams – averaging at least 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as of Jan. 3.  He comes into the OSU game averaging a career-high 16.6 points per game on 50 percent shooting, including 39 percent from 3-point range.

• Mast (1,629 points, 993 rebounds) is one of two active Division I players with at least 1,600 points and 900 rebounds as of Jan. 3, joining Gonzaga’s Graham Ike (2,211 points, 1,024 rebounds). Mast also ranks in the top 15 among active NCAA players in points, rebounds and games played. 

• Pryce Sandfort has been one of the Big Ten’s top transfers, as he enters the Michigan State game averaging 16.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Sandfort has a team-high five 20-point games, including a career-high 32 points at No. 13 Illinois on Dec. 13.

• Sandfort is making a similar leap that his brother Payton made between his second and third collegiate seasons. The elder Sandfort saw his scoring average jump from 10.3 to 16.4 while also averaging more than two more rebounds per game as a junior. 

• Sandfort is third in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game (3.0) and three games with at least five 3-pointers (FIU, vs. Kansas State and at Illinois). 

• Braden Frager has emerged as one of the top freshmen in the Big Ten as he comes into Monday’s game with Ohio State averaging 11.4 points per game. 

• Frager ranks sixth among all Big Ten freshmen in scoring and is one of two Big Ten freshmen averaging double figures while starting under 50 percent of their team’s games.

• With his two Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honors, he is just the third Husker player in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present) to earn multiple weekly honors. 

• In the Big Ten era, only one Husker freshman finished the season averaging double figures – Bryce McGowens in 2021-22 (16.8 ppg) – while only seven Husker freshman in school history have finished the year averaging double figures. 

• Nebraska is 47-14 (.774) over the past three-plus seasons when Sam Hoiberg plays at least 20 minutes.  The senior is setting career bests in nearly every category, including scoring (8.3 ppg), rebounding (4.9 rpg), assists (3.9 apg) and steals (1.7 spg). 

• Hoiberg became Nebraska’s most recent graduate, as he received his degree in media and sports communications on Dec. 20. Hoiberg joins Rienk Mast (who has both undergraduate and graduate degrees), Cale Jacobsen and Jared Garcia as graduates on the 2025-26 Husker roster.

• As of Jan. 3, there have been 16 triple-doubles in Division I basketball this season while Nebraska is the only school with multiple players recording a triple double. Over the last seven seasons, only five schools – Nebraska (2025-26), Iowa State (2023-24), Western Kentucky (2021-22), Portland (2021-22) and Utah (2019-20) – have had multiple players record triple-doubles in the same year. 

• NU has 16 double-digit scoring runs this season, which is tied for 12th nationally according to EvanMiya.com as of Jan. 3. It is third among Big Ten teams, trailing only Michigan (25) and Purdue (18)

Michigan State Recap
Rienk Mast had 19 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:50 left as No. 13 Nebraska held on for a 58-56 win over No. 9 Michigan State on Jan. 2 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Mast drained his only three of the second half breaking a 55-all deadlock. Nebraska, which trailed 55-52, held Michigan State to one point over the final 4:30 to come back and extend its win streak to 18 games dating back to last season.  Pryce Sandfort added 13 points and three three-pointers despite being strapped with foul trouble the entire game. Sandfort scored eight points in the second half but was called for his fifth foul on a Carson Cooper desperation drive with 0.7 seconds left. Cooper, who finished with six points, missed the first free throw to send the sellout cowed of 14,841 fans into a wild frenzy. He missed the second free throw intentionally but was called for a violation, and Nebraska threw the ball into the frontcourt to kill the clock and claim the victory.

Jamarques Lawrence added 12 points for the Huskers, who stymied the Spartan offense from start to finish by forcing 21 turnovers and held MSU to a season-low point total.

Notes from the Michigan State Game
• Nebraska improved to 14-0 on the season, extending the best start in school history and has won 18 straight games dating back to last season

• Nebraska win over No. 9 Michigan State was the 27th win over a top-10 team in school
history and first since defeating No. 6 Wisconsin in 2023-24. Nebraska has now won its last three games against top-10 teams.

• Fred Hoiberg now has five top-10 wins at Nebraska following tonight’s game and 12 top-10 wins in his collegiate coaching career. 

• Rienk Mast made six three-pointers which is one shy of his career high seven that he made earlier this season against Winthrop. It is the third time this season he made at least five 3-pointers in a game. The three blocked shots also tied a career high set two other times, most recently in 2023 when he was at Bradley

• Nebraska’s 58 points was a season low (previous low was 69 vs. UMES) and the first time in the 18-game win streak that NU was held under 1.00 points per possession. 

• Michigan Stats was held to a season low 56 points. The previous low was 60 vs. Duke on Dec. 6.