Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort shoots over Minnesota forward Bobby Durkin at The Barn. (Courtesy: USA Today)
Sandfort and #7 Nebraska Ignite in Second Half to Continue Historic Unbeaten Run
MINNEAPOLIS, Min. — #7 Nebraska continued its dominant run through Big Ten play on Saturday night, pulling away in the second half for a 76-57 win at Minnesota to improve to a perfect 20-0 on the season.
After a competitive first half, the Huskers flipped the switch coming out of the locker room, turning defensive stops into transition offense and wearing down the Gophers with their toughness and conditioning.
“We challenged them hard at halftime,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Championship teams respond the right way and that’s exactly what our guys did.”
Nebraska’s response was led by Pryce Sandfort, who erupted in the second half to finish with a game-high 22 points while stuffing the stat sheet with 10 rebounds and four blocks. After being held in check early, Sandfort found his rhythm as the Huskers pushed the pace and capitalized on rebounds and turnovers.
“I loved Pryce,” Hoiberg said. “I thought his 22 points was great but the 10 rebounds, the four blocks — that shows toughness.”
Hoiberg credited Nebraska’s improved effort on the glass and defensive pressure for jumpstarting Sandfort’s scoring surge.
“In the second half when we rebounded the ball or got steals, that’s what got Pryce going,” Hoiberg said. “And once he gets going, he gets confident and those looks get a lot easier.”
Sandfort echoed that sentiment, pointing to his teammates and the coaching staff for putting him in positions to succeed.
“I give all credit to my teammates and coaches,” Sandfort said. “Coach Hoiberg was drawing up plays for me, telling our guys to find me in transition. Super happy for this team.”
While Sandfort carried the offensive load, Nebraska also got a strong second-half performance from Jamarques Lawrence, who shook off a slow start and made key plays on both ends of the floor.
“I thought Jamarques had a really good second half — he really responded to some coaching at halftime,” Hoiberg said.
Lawrence said the team never wavered in its confidence in Sandfort, even when shots weren’t falling early.
“He wasn’t hitting and we were gonna keep going to him,” Lawrence said. “We keep believing in him — we knew he was gonna get going in the second half. It was no surprise.”
The Huskers’ ability to wear teams down as the game progresses has become a hallmark of their season, and Saturday was another example of Nebraska asserting its physicality late.
“I think you’ve seen that several times this year, that we’ve gotten stronger as the game goes on,” Hoiberg said. “We didn’t do a lot of live reps the last two days. We just don’t have a lot of bodies right now and I’ve got to make sure these guys are fresh during the game.”
Sam Hoiberg highlighted the team’s renewed energy and effort after halftime.
“The coaches were saying at halftime that they were playing harder than us, they were outworking us — and that’s one of our goals, for that to never happen,” Sam Hoiberg said. “And we responded really well to that.”
Nebraska’s conditioning also played a major role in the decisive second-half run.
“Shoutout to Kurt Joseph for [our conditioning],” Sam Hoiberg added. “We’re mentally tough to where we push through when we’re tired, and we just aren’t physically tired either so that really helps.”
Minnesota struggled to stop Nebraska’s momentum once it began building. Gophers guard Jaylen Crocker-Johnson summed up the night bluntly.
“We let their runs just defeat us,” Johnson said. “That’s all I can really say…we just got punked.”
Head coach Niko Medved acknowledged the toll Nebraska’s execution and shot-making took on his team’s confidence.
“I told the guys after the game, I thought for the first time down the stretch, they kinda looked like they lost their spirit,” Medved said. “I thought Nebraska really kinda broke us here today, and that hasn’t happened to this team in a long time.”
Medved specifically pointed to Sandfort’s ability to heat up quickly as a turning point.
“I told the guys, a guy like Sandfort — you gotta [defend him] for forty minutes,” Medved said. “We did it for a long time on him, but man, that guy can get going. Once we lost him a couple times and he made some shots, it kinda looked like it took our spirit.”
With the win, Nebraska moved to 20-0, a milestone Hoiberg kept in perspective with a trademark dry response.
“It’s one better than 19-0,” he said.
Behind a dominant second half, balanced contributions across the lineup and another standout performance from Sandfort, the Huskers once again proved why they remain one of the hottest teams in the country as they continue their unbeaten march through the season.