‘Storybook End’: Nebraska earns its first NCAA Tournament win

OKLAHOMA CITY — With just over two minutes until his team officially made history, Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg sent on a pair of substitutes in relief of junior forwards Bryce Sandvoort and Berk Buyuktuncel.

The overwhelmingly pro-Huskers crowd roared into life, just as it had throughout a historic afternoon as No. 4 seed Nebraska earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament win with a 76-47 win over No. 13 Troy, wildly celebrating two men who helped the program finally achieve a feat that has eluded them in their past eight trips to the Big Dance. The duo joined senior goalkeeper Jamarques Lawrence and senior forward Renk Mast on the bench, as they began to enjoy the atmosphere and the impending victory.

“You get to the five-minute mark, and you kind of know, ‘Hey, this is in the pocket,’” said Mast, who had 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists. “You start looking around and seeing the amount of smiles you see from everyone in the crowd. It was really special.”

Less than 30 seconds later, Hoiberg pulled out his son Sam Hoiberg and sixth man Braden Frager to applaud them. When the final horn blew, the Huskers emptied their bench, embracing each other, their coaches and longtime program staff as they set a new single-season program record with 27 wins.

The moment was the culmination of seven seasons of hard work for Fred Hoiberg, who had three straight losing seasons to begin his tenure as Nebraska’s coach from 2019 to 2022. But after going 16-16 in 2022-23, Nebraska has three straight seasons with at least 20 wins, as well as two NCAA Tournament berths and now a tournament win.

“It’s almost like a storybook that ends up winning this tournament,” said Sam Hoiberg, a fourth-year senior who was part of the Nebraska team that lost to Texas A&M in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. “We felt like it was the last thing we needed to do to put this program forward.

“It was tough with those teams that weren’t winning games, especially when I was on the bench. So just being able to reap the benefits of all the things we did this season was incredible.”

Entering this year’s NCAA Tournament, the Huskers were the only team from a major conference (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East) without a win in the event. Their 29-point win represented the largest margin of victory in the team’s first-ever victory since Fordham beat Furman by 31 points in 1971, according to ESPN research.

Sandfort led all scorers with 23 points on seven three-pointers and two free throws. The junior transfer from Iowa State scored 17 points in the first half as he buried five of eight threes to help Nebraska get past a fast-starting Troy team. Sandfort’s seven 3-pointers were one of a career high he set earlier this year and set a program record for most 3-pointers made in an NCAA Tournament game.

Before the game, he was surprised by his brother, Payton Sandfort, who had made his NBA debut with the Oklahoma City Thunder in Brooklyn the night before.

“Those guys were looking for me in transition off rebounds,” Bryce Sandvoort said of the teammates who helped him get open. “They gave me some great passes. And Payton, seeing him there, was really special. He’s been in one game this year. So for him to come to this game was special.”

But for all the relief and jubilation that came with Nebraska winning its first-ever championship, Hoiberg was quick to remind his players that they were not yet done with the Round of 32 looming.

“This is the most emotional for me,” Hoiberg said, adding that he started letting it soak in at the 1:13 mark. “Both seats were empty, and it’s emotional for me. I’m thinking about my dad, who’s home right now. I hope he gets a chance to watch this. I can’t wait to talk to him just because of what it means to our family. And it’s emotional. There’s no doubt about that.”

“But these guys have stepped up all year. They’ve been very resilient. They’ve had big wins. They’ve overcome tough losses, and I’m confident they will do it again and stay put.”