The No. 4 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the No. 13 seed Troy Trojans 76-47 in a first-round game of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 19 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The win marked the first NCAA tournament victory in program history for Nebraska, a Big Ten Conference member coached by Fred Hoiberg since 2019. Prior to this game, the Cornhuskers had a 0-7 record across seven previous appearances dating back to 1986.[1]
Nebraska's most recent prior appearance came in 2024 as a No. 8 seed, falling 87-97 in overtime to Texas A&M in the first round.[2] Before that, in 2014, Nebraska lost 60-74 to No. 6 Baylor in the first round.[3]
Pryce Sandfort led the Cornhuskers with 23 points, scoring 17 in the first half on five of eight three-point attempts. Jamarques Lawrence added 13 points on four-of-eight shooting, while reserve Braden Frager also scored 13 points.
Troy, representing the Sun Belt Conference, shot 28% from the field (13-for-46) and eight-for-28 from three-point range. Nebraska pulled away after an early hot start by the Trojans, allowing coach Hoiberg to rest his starters late in the second half.
Nebraska advances to the second round to face the winner of Vanderbilt over McNeese State.
Sources
- Encyclopedia: Wikipedia. "Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball." Accessed October 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Cornhuskers_men%27s_basketball#NCAA_Tournament_results
- ESPN. "Texas A&M 97-87 Nebraska (Mar 21, 2024) Final Score." March 21, 2024. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401591425
- ESPN. "Baylor 74-60 Nebraska (Mar 20, 2014) Final Score." March 20, 2014. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/400526003
