Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort celebrates during the Hall of Fame Classic against Kansas State. (Courtesy: Nebraska Athletics)
Nebraska Claims Hall of Fame Classic Title With Grit, Control, and a Dramatic Finish
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nebraska men’s basketball left the Hall of Fame Classic with something more valuable than a trophy. The Huskers left with proof that this team can win in multiple ways — by composure against chaos, by force at the rim, and by surviving one of the wildest finishes of the early season.
After downing New Mexico 84–72 in Thursday’s semifinal, Nebraska edged Kansas State 86–85 in a thriller Friday night at the T-Mobile Center to capture the Hall of Fame Classic championship. And for head coach Fred Hoiberg, the two victories revealed a team learning how to bend without breaking.
Handling New Mexico’s Chaos
New Mexico’s pressure-heavy, turnover-hunting defense has unraveled plenty of opponents early this season. Nebraska knew what was coming — and still felt the nerves.
“When you play against a team that plays so much different than anything you’ve faced, you’re a little nervous going into it,” Hoiberg admitted. “But our guys did a great job in the first [half].”
The Huskers’ poise showed most after the Lobos made their inevitable run. A flurry of traps and fast-break buckets cut into Nebraska’s lead, but the Huskers counterpunched by doing the opposite of what New Mexico wanted: slowing down.
“Once we finally went out there and slowed the pace, I thought we got the game back under control when they had total momentum,” Hoiberg said. “This is a really good win for our team.”
With disciplined spacing and patient half-court execution, Nebraska pulled away late, securing a high-quality win to open the event.
A Big 12-Style Battle With Kansas State
If Thursday was about composure, Friday was about toughness and survival.
Against Kansas State, Nebraska rediscovered its inside scoring — and did so at an elite clip.
“We were 14 of 17 from two in the first half,” Hoiberg said. “We talked about getting back to what was making us successful.”
Even with the paint dominance, the game shifted into a back-and-forth slugfest late. Every possession seemed to carry postseason urgency, reinforced by an atmosphere Hoiberg knew well.
“It reminded me of the old Big 12 Tournament days,” he said. “It’s always fun coming back here. For our fans to show up the way they did – I thought it was close to 50-50 out there – our fans are what makes this place special.”
Ultimately, Nebraska needed a final defensive stand in the closing seconds to protect a one-point lead — and when the horn sounded, the Huskers had their most dramatic win of the season.
“Elation,” and Then the Next Step
For guard Sam Hoiberg, the feelings afterward were immediate, but so was the perspective.
“Elation — but I think we’re already focused on the next game with Winthrop,” he said. “We don’t want to get too high on this one because we expected to win this tournament.”
That mixture of confidence, maturity, and forward focus is exactly what Fred Hoiberg pointed to as the biggest lesson from the two-day run.
“I think the biggest thing that we learned is the adversity we were able to handle,” he said.
Nebraska didn’t just win the Hall of Fame Classic. It proved it can adapt to any tempo, win with finesse or force, and keep its composure when the stakes go up — traits that may define how high this team can climb as the season unfolds.