It’s a shame it was only an exhibition. Nebraska men’s basketball’s first public showing of the 2025-26 season was a successful one, as the Cornhuskers upset No. 8 BYU, 90-89, Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. The game was the first of two exhibition games for Nebraska before the 2025-26 season; the other will be against Midland University on Oct. 27.
In his return from missing all last year with a knee injury, Rienk Mast paced the Huskers with 31 points on 11-for-15 shooting, including a blistering 7-for-8 behind the arc. Connor Essegian added 20 points on 5-for-10 shooting for three, while Pryce Sandfort added 12 points in his Husker debut after transferring from Iowa. Jamarcus Lawrence dished out nine assists in his return to Nebraska after transferring from one season to Rhode Island.
AJ Dybantsa, one of the top true freshmen in the nation, scored 30 points in his Cougars debut. Khadim Mboup added 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Aleksej Kostic and Richie Saunders both scored 11 for BYU.
The Cougars had the early advantage in the game, 23-13 with 11 minutes to play until halftime. A 15-3 Huskers run punt NU on top in thunderous fashion, as Jared Garcia dunk gave Nebraska a 28-26 lead with eight minutes to in the first half. The rest of the first half was within one possession the rest of the way until BYU took a 50-46 lead with 1:12 to go until halftime with a putback by Mboup.
The Huskers went on a 9-2 run to take a 55-52 lead with 18:17 remaining. After the Cougars cut the lead to one, a 15-4 Nebraska run opened the edge to 71-59 with 13:11 to go. The Huskers held off a late BYU charge and defeated the Cougars in an exhibition game.
Nebraska now prepares for its second and final exhibition game of the 2025-26 season, as the Huskers are set to take on Midland University on Oct. 27. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena, with pregame coverage at 5:30 p.m. on KLIN.