No. 8 Huskers Look for 17th Win Tuesday against Oregon

The No. 8/10 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team returns home Tuesday night, as the Huskers welcome Oregon to Lincoln. Tipoff between the Huskers and Ducks from a sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for shortly after 8 p.m. and the game will be carried nationally on BTN and broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app.

The Huskers (16-0, 6-0 B1G) remained unbeaten following an 83-77 win at Indiana Saturday afternoon. The Huskers trailed 51-36 with 16:54 left before rallying down the stretch. NU, which outscored the Hoosiers 47-26 after Indiana took a 16-point lead, averaged 1.57 points per possession in the final 20 minutes and shot 57 percent from the field, including 8-of-16 from 3-point range. The win snapped Indiana's 13-game home win dating back to last February. 

Senior Jamarques Lawrence led NU with a career-high 27 points, setting seasons bests in field goals (eight), 3-pointers (five), rebounds (five) and steals (three) in the process. He had 16 of his 27 points after halftime.  Lawrence has put together a solid senior year, averaging career bests in scoring (10.5 ppg), assists (3.6 apg), field goal percentage (.450) and 3-point percentage (.403) while posting nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

The Huskers, whose 16-0 start is the best in program history, is eighth in Monday's AP poll, matching the highest ranking in program history. NU was also ranked eighth during the 1965-66 season.

Best Starts in School History
No.	Wins	Year
1.	16-0	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

Oregon (8-8, 1-4 B1G) heads to Lincoln after falling to Ohio State, 72-62, last Thursday. Nate Bittle's 14 points and nine rebounds led four Ducks in double figures, as Oregon was held to 33 percent shooting. Oregon has battled injuries, as their top three scorers (Bittle, Jackson Shelstad and Kwame Evans Jr.) have all missed significant time during the first half of the season. Tuesday's game with Oregon will be the Ducks' first trip to Lincoln since the 2011-12 campaign.

Numbers to Know
.750 - Nebraska is 6-2 in its last eight Big Ten road games dating back to last season following Saturday's win at Indiana. The Huskers have also won their last 10 games away from Lincoln since March 31, 2025.

5 - Nebraska's 16-point second-half comeback against Indiana marked the Huskers' fifth double-digit comback during the 20-game win streak - vs. Arizona State (11), vs, UCF (14), vs. Oklahoma (16), USC Upstate (11) and at Indiana (16).

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.

5.3 - Sam Hoiberg is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (min. 3 assists per game) at 5.3-to-1 as of Jan. 12. Over the last seven games dating back to Dec. 10, Hoiberg has 27 assists and just four turnovers in 206:26 of game action.

16 - With 121 career steals, Sam Hoiberg is now 16 away from tying Benny Parker (137, 2013-16) and Larry Florence (137, 1997-2000) for 10th on NU's career steals list.

1003 - Rienk Mast now has 1,003 career rebounds after grabbing six at Indiana. He is one of only three active players with at least 1,000 career rebounds, joining Notre Dame's Carson Towt and Gonzaga's Graham Ike on that list. 

6 - Including Tuesday's game with Oregon, six of the Huskers eight remaining home games are sold out. The only games with remaining tickets are weeknight games vs. Washington (Jan. 21) and Maryland (Feb. 23).

Huskers Match Best Ranking In School History
The Huskers continued to move up the polls on Monday, climbing to eighth in the AP poll and 10th in the coaches poll. It is NU's second straight week in the top 10.

• The No. 8 ranking matches the highest ranking in school history, as Nebraska was No. 8 on Feb. 21, 1966. That was during a four-week run in the top 10.

• Prior to 2025-26, the 1965-66 season was the only other season where Nebraska was ranked in the top 10. NU spent four straight weeks in the poll (Feb. 7-28) in 1965-66, climbing to a program-best eighth on Feb. 21, 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. 

• The Huskers improved to 45-22 (.672) all-time when ranked in the AP poll following the win at Indiana on Saturday. 

• 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). 

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

• Nebraska’s 5-0 Big Ten start is the program's best conference start of the Big Ten era (2011-12 to present). A win against Oregon on Tuesday would give NU a 6-0 conference mark for the first time since opening the 1965-66 season with seven straight wins in the Big Eight.

• With a 16-0 mark, Nebraska is unbeaten entering January for the first time since the 1928-29 season. The 1928-29 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 stayed at No. 12 in the NET on Jan. 12 following Saturday's win at Indiana. The Huskers are one of six Big Ten teams in the top 20 of the NET (No. 1 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 14 Michigan State and No. 20 Iowa) as of Jan. 12. No conference has more teams in the top 25 and top 50 of the NET than the Big Ten. 

• As of Jan. 12, Nebraska's five Quad 1 wins ties for second nationally, trailing only Duke's nation-leading seven Quad 1 wins. NU is also 9-0 in the first two quads. 

• Nebraska comes into the Oregon game with 20 straight wins, breaking the school record for consecutive wins. The 20 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. The Jan. 2 win over MSU is the only time in the 20-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	20 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 have excelled in close games this season, going 4-0 in games decided by one possession, including three times in Big Ten play. Last year, NU was 0-6 in games decided by one possession. 

• Nebraska is now 2-0 against ranked foes this season following the win over No. 9 Michigan State on Jan. 2. Since March 1, 2022, the Huskers are now 11-11 in the last 22 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 Coach Fred Hoiberg picked up his 100th win at Nebraska on Saturday at Indiana. Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 60-25 (.706) while the 60 wins ties for fourth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-73; Michigan State and Illinois-63; Nebraska and Wisconsin-60).

• Nebraska completed its non-conference slate 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).

• After hitting 14 3-pointers at Indiana, the Huskers are tied for the Big Ten lead and ranked 23rd nationally with 10.6 3-pointers made per game as of Jan. 12. It is on track to break the school record by more than 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 10 times this season, 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. 

• Nebraska is averaging 81.2 ppg, which is the Huskers' highest scoring average after 16 games since the 1995-96 season (88.3 ppg). The 1995-96 team marked the last time Nebraska averaged 80.0 ppg in a season. Nebraska's highest season average under Hoiberg is 77.7 ppg in 2024-25.

• NU's team 1.91-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks fourth nationally as of Jan. 12. NU is one of three Big Ten teams in the top five nationally in that category (Purdue, 1st; Northwestern 2nd; Nebraska 4th). 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 Tuesday's game with Oregon ranked seventh in the Big Ten and 25th nationally with 18.2 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 different 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-2).

• The Huskers posted their third double-digit comeback of the season against Indiana on Saturday, overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit (also 16 vs. Oklahoma and 12 vs. USC Upstate). It marked the 12th time under Hoiberg NU has overcome a double-digit deficit, including seventh in the last two seasons. 

• Nebraska has been stout defensively, ranking third in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.384). The Huskers have held 10 of its 16 opponents to under 1.0 points per possession, including six of the last nine opponents. 

• Over the last three-plus seasons, NU is 49-3 (.941) when holding foes to under 1.00 PPP and 51-5 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. 

• As of Jan. 12, there have been 17 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 20 double-digit scoring runs this season, which is tied for ninth nationally according to EvanMiya.com as of Jan. 11. It is third among Big Ten teams, trailing only Michigan (26) and Purdue (21).

• Rienk Mast is one of 21 players nationally - and eight from power conference teams - averaging at least 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as of Jan. 12.  He comes into the Oregon game averaging a career-high 16.1 points per game.

• Mast (1,654 points, 1003 rebounds) is one of two active Division I players with at least 1,600 points and 1000 rebounds as of Jan. 11, joining Gonzaga's Graham Ike (2,261 points, 1,031 rebounds). Mast also ranks in the top 15 among active NCAA players in points, rebounds and games played. 

Indiana Recap
Behind a career-high 27 points from Jamarques Lawrence, No. 10 Nebraska erased a 16-point second-half deficit and rallied for an 83-77 win at Indiana Saturday at Assembly Hall.

Nebraska found itself down 51-35 three minutes into the second half. But fueled by a pair of double-digit scoring runs, the Huskers out-scored the Hoosiers by 22 over the final 17 minutes to remain unbeaten, improving to 16-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play. Lawrence scored 16 points in the second half to lead the comeback. He hit 8-of-13 shots from the field in the game - including tying his career high with five 3-pointers - to lead Nebraska with 27 points while adding five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Rienk Mast (13 points), Pryce Sandfort (12) and Braden Frager (11) also scored in double-figures. Cale Jacobsen was big off the bench with seven points, as he had a perfect shooting night from the field (2-of-2), from the 3-point line (1-of-1) and from the free throw line (2-of-2). Berke Buyuktuncel added eight points, four rebounds and four assists, while Sam Hoiberg scored five points and had a team-high five assists with three steals.

Lamar Wilkerson led Indiana with 32 points. The Hoosiers fell to 12-4 on the season and 3-2 in conference play. Nebraska handed Indiana its first home loss of the season, as the Hoosiers had been 10-0 at home.

Notes from the Indiana Game
• NU improves to 16-0 for the first time in school history and extends its win streak to a school-record 20 games.

• NU improves to 5-0 in Big Ten play, its best start since opening Big Eight play with a 7-0 record in 1965-66. 

• The Huskers improved to 3-0 on the road in conference play for the first time since the
1975-76 season.

• The Huskers have now won the last five meetings in the series dating back to Jan. 3, 2024. 

• Nebraska overcame a 16-point deficit with 16:54 remaining. It was the second 16-point deficit NU has overcome this season (also vs. Oklahoma).

• Jamarques Lawrence finished with a career-high 27 points, topping his previous best of 21 set against New Mexico on Nov. 20. It is his third career 20-point game and second of the season. Lawrence tied his career best with five 3-pointers and also had season bests in rebounds (five) and steals (three). In NU’s last two wins in Bloomington, Lawrence is 10-13 from 3-point range. 

• Nebraska hit 14 3-pointers on the day, the 10th time this season NU has reached double-digit 3-pointers.

• Nebraska with a 13-0 second-half run, the 20th double-figures run for the Huskers this season.