No. 23 Nebraska men’s basketball has matched its best start to a season in school history as the Cornhuskers thrashed Wisconsin, 90-60, Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
Nebraska moved to 10-0 on the year, matching the 1977-78 team for the best start in school history. The Huskers were led by a double-double by Rienk Mast, who scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Lincoln native Braden Frager tallied 15, while Pryce Sandfort and Berke Buyuktuncel contributed 14 each. Sam Hoiberg pitched in 12. Nick Boyd led the Badgers with 20 points, while Nick Winter chipped in 10.
The Huskers’ defense was stifling through, holding Wisconsin to just 34 percent shooting and a minuscule 22 percent from three-point range. Nebraska also dominated the paint, outscoring the Badgers 44-24 in the free-throw lane.
Wisconsin had an early 13-9 lead with 15:42 to go in the first half. But a 10-3 Nebraska run capped by a Hoiberg layup put the Huskers ahead, 19-16, with 12:36 to go in the first half. A 5-0 Badgers run put Wisconsin back ahead, 21-19, with 11 minutes to go in the half, but then Nebraska retook the lead with an 8-1 run to build a 27-22 edge with eight minutes to go in the half. Late in the half, the Huskers took control with a 10-0 run to take a 47-31 lead to halftime.
The Huskers kept rolling in the second half, opening a 22-point lead off a Mast hook shot to push the advantage to 61-39 with 15:19 to play. An 11-0 Nebraska run in the middle of the half built the lead to 77-48 with under nine minutes to play. Wisconsin never seriously challenged NU from there.
Nebraska is back in action Saturday at No. 13 Illinois. Pregame coverage begins at 2 pm, with tipoff at 3 pm on KLIN.