No. 8 Nebraska men’s basketball hammered Oregon, 90-55, Tuesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The victory was the Cornhuskers’ 21st straight as a program, dating back to last year’s Crown Tournament championship.
Nebraska (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) was led were led by Pryce Sandfort’s 28 points including a blistering seven-for-11 from beyond the arc. Braden Frager matched Sandfort’s perimeter shooting, hitting seven-of-11 three-pointers while scoring 23 points. Sam Hoiberg tallied 11 points on six steals. The Ducks (8-9, 1-5 Big Ten) were led by Wei Lin’s 14 points. Takai Simpkins scored 12 and Nate Bittle tallied 10.
Nebraska’s defense was pesky throughout, forcing 16 Oregon turnovers, which the Huskers converted into 23 points. Meanwhile, the Ducks tallied just four points off six NU turnovers.
The game started closely contested, as Nebraska started shooting cold, but made up for it with tough rebounding and opportunistic defense. The Huskers forced nine Oregon turnovers in the first half, while committing just four in the game’s first 20 minutes. Nebraska grabbed six offensive rebounds in the first half, which converted into 11 second-chance points. Meanwhile, Oregon did not get a single offensive rebound in the first half. The extra chances for Nebraska wore down the Ducks, and the Huskers ended the half on a 14-2 run over the final three-anrd-a-half minutes to take a 42-30 lead to halftime.
Nebraska’s hot streak continued into the second half, as Sandfort drained a three-pointer off a Hoiberg steal, then Hoiberg hit a layup to push the lead to 47-30 NU, forcing Dana Altman to take a timeout. Oregon hit three free throws out of the timeout, but then the Huskers scored the next five points. After Sandfort hit three straight free throws, Frager punctuated the run with a vicious left-handed dunk to grow the Nebraska lead to 52-33 with 15:51 remaining. A 7-0 run punctuated by a Hoiberg three-pointer opened the lead to 59-37 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game. The Huskers erased any remaining drama from the game with a 15-3 outburst to open a 76-44 lead with 7:26 remaining.
The Huskers are next in action Saturday at Northwestern. Pregame coverage begins at 2 p.m., with tipoff at 3 p.m. on KLIN.