NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers made light work of No. 13 Troy Trojans in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, taking them down, 76-47, to keep their March Madness dreams alive.
In doing so, history was written for the program.
The Cornhuskers have made nine trips to “The Dance,” beginning in 1986, but there were no wins to be found for them in those appearances.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Rienk Mast of the Nebraska Cornhuskers celebrates during the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Troy Trojans held at the Paycom Center on March 19, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Shane Bevel/NCAA Images)
But there was no doubting Nebraska Thursday despite a hot start by Troy in this contest.
Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska’s sharpshooter, was a major reason they ran away with the game. He was effective from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting five of his eight three-point attempts and recording 17 points over the first 20 minutes.
HIGH POINT CALLS ON MAJOR CONFERENCES TO AVOID HIS TEAM AFTER MARCH’S GOAT: ‘THEY HAVE TO PLAY US’
Sandfort went on to score 23 points as he took a spot on the bench in the second half when head coach Fred Hoiberg knew he could rest his starters with a big lead.
Meanwhile, Troy struggled after that start, shooting just 28% from the field for the entire game, going just 13-of-46 including 8-of-28 from three-point territory.
Victor Valdes of the Troy Trojans defends Braden Frager of the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first half of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Paycom Center on March 19, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
For the Cornhuskers, Jamarques Lawrence also added 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while Braden Frager also came off the bench for 13 points.
The last time Nebraska made the tournament was in 2024, when they failed to overcome Texas A&M in a 98-93 loss. And before that, the Cornhuskers couldn’t pull it off until 2014, when they fell to No. 6 Baylor, 74-60.
But the Cornhuskers felt different coming into the tournament this year, 27-6 in a very successful season. However, they fell to Purdue in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament – the No. 2 seed falling to No. 7.
There was a chance this Cornhuskers team could have been a much higher seed if not for that loss to the Boilermakers, but they got the ball rolling in historic fashion on Thursday.
Braden Frager and Berke Buyuktuncel of the Nebraska Cornhuskers react after a basket and foul against the Troy Trojans in the first half of the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Paycom Center on March 19, 2026 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Next, they will face another team with a good history this year as the Vanderbilt Commodores defeated McNeese State to advance to the second round.
