The No. 4 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers beat the No. 13 seed Troy Trojans 76-47 on March 19, 2026, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The victory was the first in program history for Nebraska, which had gone 0-10 in prior NCAA tournament appearances dating to 1986.[1]
Pryce Sandfort scored a game-high 23 points for Nebraska, including 17 in the first half on five of eight three-point attempts. Jamarques Lawrence and reserve Braden Frager added 13 points apiece. Troy shot 28 percent from the field (13-for-46), including eight of 28 from three-point range.
Nebraska, coached by Fred Hoiberg since 2019, entered the tournament with a 27-6 record after losing to Purdue in the Big Ten Conference tournament quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed.[1]
The Cornhuskers' most recent prior NCAA tournament trip was in 2024 as a No. 12 seed, falling 83-98 to No. 5 Texas A&M in the first round at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] Before that, in 2014, Nebraska lost 60-74 to No. 6 Baylor in the first round at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[3]
Nebraska advances to the second round to face the winner of Vanderbilt and McNeese State.
Nebraska (Big Ten Conference) and Troy (Sun Belt Conference) met for the first time in the NCAA tournament.[1]
Sources
- NCAA.com
Nebraska men's basketball all-time tournament history
Accessed October 2024
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2024-03-21/nebraska-mens-basketball-makes-first-ncaa-tournament-appearance-10-years - ESPN
Texas A&M vs. Nebraska - Game Summary - March 24, 2024
March 24, 2024
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401581785/texas-am-nebraska - ESPN
Nebraska vs. Baylor - Game Summary - March 21, 2014
March 21, 2014
https://www.espn.com/ncb/game?gameId=400526583&invUrl=baylor-nebraska
