Nebraska Basketball Stuns Big Ten: Huskers’ Buzzer-Beater Upset You Can’t Miss

Nebraska basketball is back on the national stage, and this time the Huskers arrive armed with both momentum and history-making opportunity. Fred Hoiberg’s fourth-seeded squad (26-6) tips off its Round of 64 matchup against No. 13 Troy at 11:40 a.m. CT inside Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center, seeking the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Why this March Madness opener matters • Ending the drought: Nebraska is 0-8 all-time in the Big Dance. Senior guard Sam Hoiberg, a first-team All-Defensive pick, called breaking through “the only thing left to do” for this veteran core. • Best season ever: The Huskers’ 26 wins tie a school record and include 15 Big Ten victories, the most in program history. • Regional path: A win sets up a potential second-round clash with the winner of Texas A&M-Providence in the South Region. Players to watch • Pryce Sandfort – The 6-7 junior averages 17.8 ppg and has already shattered the Nebraska single-season mark with 113 made threes, good for seventh nationally. • Sam Hoiberg – His 4.09-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks third in Division I. • Rienk Mast – The Bradley transfer supplies 13.5 points, 5.8 boards and inside toughness. Troy counters with twin-engine guards Cooper and Cobi Campbell plus Sun Belt rebounding leader Thomas Dowd (10.1 rpg), all part of a 22-11 team that thrives on pace and offensive rebounding. Keys to the game 1. Win the glass: Nebraska must neutralize Troy’s second-chance attack after being outrebounded in its Big Ten quarterfinal loss to Purdue. 2. Value possessions: The Trojans force tempo and turnovers; the Huskers need another clean night from Hoiberg and Lawrence to keep the game in half-court. 3. Early confidence: NU shot just 24 percent from deep during its last three outings. A quick Sandfort triple could ignite a fan base expected to turn Paycom Center into a de-facto home arena. Women keep dancing The Nebraska spotlight isn’t limited to the men: Amy Williams’ No. 11 seed women stormed past Richmond 75-56 in the First Four behind freshman phenom Britt Prince’s 22 points, advancing to face sixth-seeded Louisville on Saturday. It marks the first time since 2015 that both Husker programs reached the NCAA Tournament in the same season. Bottom line A breakthrough win would cement 2026 as the year Nebraska basketball finally joined the March Madness winners’ circle. With veteran guards, elite three-point shooting and a fan base ready to descend on OKC, the Huskers have their clearest path yet to erase decades of bracket frustration.