Huskers Renew Rivalry with Oklahoma Saturday Night
The Nebraska men's basketball team hit the road for the first time this season, as the Huskers travel to Sioux Falls, S.D., for a matchup with Oklahoma. Tipoff from a sold-out Sanford Pentagon is set for 6 p.m. (central) and the game will be televised nationally on BTN and carried on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as Huskers.com and on the Huskers app.
The Huskers (2-0) used a career night from Sam Hoiberg and a strong defensive effort to down Maryland-Eastern Shore, 69-50, Tuesday night. Hoiberg scored a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and tied career highs in rebounds (seven) and steals (four) as the Huskers overcame an off night from 3-point range. NU's defense held the Hawks to 31 percent shooting and forced 16 turnovers. The Huskers limited UMES to a 2-of-20 shooting during a nearly 12-minute stretch in building a 31-point second half lead. Nebraska has been stout on the defensive end, holding all three opponents to under 0.90 points per possession on a combined 33.5 percent shooting.
While Hoiberg's performance was the highlight, Nebraska got another strong performance from Pryce Sandfort, as he finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added five rebounds. Sandfort leads a balanced Husker attack at 14.0 ppg while shooting 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from long range while averaging 3.0 3-pointers per contest.
Following three straight home games, NU begins a stretch of three straight away from home against an Oklahoma team which won 20 games and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2025. The Sooners are 2-1 on the year after a 95-69 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday. Xzayvier Brown's 19 points led five Sooners in double figures as Oklahoma shot 57 percent in the second half to pull away down the stretch. One of four first-year transfers in the OU starting lineup, Brown averages a team-high 18.7 points per game to pace a Sooner offense which is averaging 88.3 points per game on 49 percent shooting.
Following Saturday's game, the Huskers will play in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City next week, taking on New Mexico on Thursday, Nov. 20.
Numbers to Know
7 - Nebraska has won seven straight games dating back to last season. It is the nation's longest active winning streak and a win over Oklahoma on Saturday would give the Huskers their longest win streak since the 2010-11 season (11 games).
11.0 - Nebraska is averaging 11.0 3-pointers per game to rank sixth in the Big Ten as of Nov. 13. Last year, NU had just 17 3-pointers through the first three contests.
3.5 - Over the last seven games dating back to the College Basketball Crown, Sam Hoiberg is averaging 4.0 assists per game with a 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Hoiberg has double the number of steals (16) than turnovers (eight) in that stretch.
3- For just the third time in the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present), Nebraska returns multiple double-figure scorers with Rienk Mast (12.3 ppg in 2023-24) and Connor Essegian (10.7 ppg). In both previous instances (2018-19 and 2024-25), Nebraska has advanced to postseason play.
401 - Nebraska's 2025-26 roster entered the season with 401 career starts at the Division I level. Rienk Mast has 111 starts in his career while Kendall Blue has started 89 times during his career at St. Thomas.
.933 - Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 42-3 when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 44-5 when holding opponents to under 70 points. Nebraska has improved its KenPom defensive efficiency in each of the past three seasons.
.800 - Nebraska is 40-10 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 31-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of 2022-23, four were in overtime.
.957 - Nebraska is 22-1 at home in non-conference play over the last three-plus seasons and is 35-9 (.795) at home in non-conference action in Fred Hoiberg's tenure at Nebraska.
Worth Noting
• Nebraska's seven-game win streak matches the longest win streak for the Huskers under Fred Hoiberg, as NU also won the first seven games of the 2023-24 season. Nebraska is averaging 82.0 ppg on 48 percent shooting during its seven-game win streak and has scored at least 1.00 ppp in all seven contests.
• Nebraska is averaging 21.0 assists per game over the first three contests, which is well above NU's first three games totals for each season under Fred Hoiberg. Last year, NU averaged 14.7 assists per game for the season. NU's 2.03 assist-to-turnover ratio is also well above NU's early-season pace after three games
• Nebraska had 20-or-more assists in each of its first two games, including 29 against FIU, its highest total since having 35 against Northeastern Illinois on Dec. 21, 1994.
• Through three games, Nebraska has seven players who have reached double figures following Sam Hoiberg's 18-point effort on Tuesday. Of those seven players, five had had at least one game of at
least 18 points, including a pair of 20-point efforts (Braden Frager and Pryce Sandfort).
• Nebraska has had seven double-digit scoring runs over the first three contests, including three each against West Georgia and FIU.
• Nebraska's signing class of Colin Rice and Jacob Lanier is ranked by ESPN as the No. 24 signing class nationally during the early signing period.
• Seniors Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence are the only players on the Husker roster who played in the 2023 matchup with Oklahoma, as they both played the final 43 seconds against the Sooners.
Scouting Oklahoma
Oklahoma comes into Saturday’s game with a 2-1 record following its 95-69 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff Tuesday night. OU opened with a win over St. Francis before falling at No. 21 Gonzaga on the
road last Saturday. The Sooners revamped their roster in the offseason with eight newcomers while three others were on the 2024-25 roster returned after not playing last season.
The Sooners are led by a pair of high-scoring guards in Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack. Brown was a first-team All-Atlantic-10 pick at St. Joseph’s, where he averaged 17.6 points and 4.3 assists per game in 2024-25. This season, he is leading OU in scoring at 18.7 ppg on 54 percent shooting. Pack, who played previously at Kansas State and Miami, averaged 13.9 ppg in nine starts before suffering a season-ending foot injury last season. He has averaged double figures every year of his college career and is averaging 16.3 ppg. Tae Davis and Derrion Reid give the Sooners four double-figure scorers while Mohamed Wague is grabbed nearly eight rebounds and blocking two shots per game.
Head Coach Porter Moser, who played collegiately at Creighton and began his coaching career on the Bluejay staff, is in his fifth season at Oklahoma after previous stops at Arkansas-Little Rock, Illinois State and Loyola-Chicago. Moser guided Loyola-Chicago to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in his 10 years at the school, including a Final Four in 2018 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2021. At OU, he has guided the Sooners to consecutive 20-win seasons, including an NCAA Tournament appearance last season.
Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 105-83, that began on Jan. 31, 1921. Saturday’s meeting will be the first between the schools since the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, a game the Sooners won 69-56. This is the second non-conference meeting since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011-12, as the schools were conference rivals for 90 years. The matchup with Oklahoma is potentially one of two SEC opponents on the 2025-26 schedule, as Nebraska could face Mississippi State on the second day of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City.
Painting Sioux Falls Red This Weekend
For the third straight year, Nebraska will be playing a neutral-site game at the Sanford Pentagon when the Huskers take on Oklahoma. It will be a busy Husker basketball weekend, as the Sanford Pentagon will host a women's basketball matchup between Nebraska and North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon.
• The Husker men are 2-1 in the building, which hosted its first college game on Nov. 8, 2013. That was also the date of the first game at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Nebraska defeated Oklahoma State (94-74, 12/16/18) and Oregon State (84-63, 11/18/23) before falling to Saint Mary’s (77-74, 11/17/24) last season.
• A capacity crowd of 3,200 is expected as tickets went quickly once they went on sale in September.
UMES Recap
Behind a career-high 18 points from Sam Hoiberg and 19 from Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska improved to 3-0 on the season with a 69-50 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore Tuesday night.
Hoiberg hit 7-of-10 shots from the field, tied career highs in rebounds (seven) and steals (four) and added four assists without a turnover as he bettered his previous career high of 15 set on two other occasions.
Sandfort led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while adding five rebounds, as Nebraska built a 31-point lead in the second half en route to its seventh straight win dating back to last season.
Nebraska took control of the game in a 12:38 stretch spanning the final four-plus minutes of the first half and 8:08 of the second half, outscoring UMES 37-9 while holding the Hawks to 2-of-20 shooting in that stretch.
Notes from Tuesday's Win
• Nebraska extended its win streak to seven games and improved to 4-0 all-time against UMES
• Hoiberg's 18 points topped his previous career high of 15 set two other times, most recently against Lindenwood on Nov. 6, 2023. He has reached double figures in three of NU's last eight contests.
• Nebraska held Maryland-Eastern Shore to 31.0 percent shooting, the third straight opponent NU has held under 40 percent shooting
• Nebraska is now 22-1 at home in non-conference play over the last three-plus seasons.