Nebraska beats USC, sets new school record for regular season wins at 25

The Nebraska men’s basketball team improved to 25-4 Saturday with a 82-67 win over USC on the road. The 25 regular season wins set a new NU school record, which was previously held by the 1990-91 team. Its 14th conference win also set a single-season record.

The Huskers, who trailed 36-31 at halftime, dominated in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 51-31. A scoring explosion from junior forward Pryce Sandfort, tons of layups near the basket and steady defense allowed the Huskers to pull away.

The up-and-down first half included a handful of three-pointers on both sides, five for Nebraka and four for USC. The teams also combined for 15 turnovers in the opening half.

Early in the first period, threes on back-to-back possessions by Sandfort, his second of the day, and senior point guard Sam Hoiberg gave the visitors a 13-8 lead.

USC clawed back with a strong defensive performance and two long-distance shots from Jaden Brownell. The second made Brownell three gave USC a 21-20 edge about halfway through the first half.

Foul trouble for Hoiberg stalled the Big Red offense in the middle of the half.

From there, the Trojans kept the lead for the rest of the half. Senior Chad Baker-Mazara hit a three and a couple of free throws, followed by a Brownell layup off of an NU turnover. That brought the score to 28-22 USC.

Husker senior forward Rienk Mast quickly responded, knocking down a three to cut the lead in half.

Baker-Mazara kept the pressure on Nebraska with an awkward floater that found the bottom of the net and two made free throws. Trojans 32, Huskers 27.

USC expanded the advantage to as many as seven, 36-29, following consecutive shots from guard Jerry Easter II.

Nebraska’s leading scorer Sandfort provided some relief before the intermission. The junior spun through the lane for a left-handed layup, which made it 36-31 USC at the first half buzzer.

Sandfort led the offense with 12 points in the first half. Mast added seven.

With Hoiberg back on the hardwood, the Huskers played tough coming out of the locker room.

The senior point guard started the action with a layup off a steal from Sandfort. Nebraska’s defense kept the intensity up with another steal. This time it was junior forward Berke Büyüktuncel taking it away with Sandfort finishing the fast break with a jam. The 5-0 burst brought the margin down to one at 36-35 USC.

NU followed a USC dunk with an 8-0 run. Sandfort hit an and-1 three, tying the game at 38. His free throw provided the Huskers their first lead since 9:54 remaining in the first half at 39-38.

Hoiberg made a layup and Büyüktuncel slammed in a dunk to expand the lead to 43-38, the Big Red’s largest advantage of the game.

A media timeout and a successful USC coaches’ challenge on an out-of-bounds play slowed down the action with the score neck-and-neck at 43-40.

Then, the Huskers started to make hay in the paint.

Büyüktuncel, Sandfort, Mast and freshman Braden Frager all made shots inside. That pulled NU in front, 51-42, on a separate 8-2 run and a part of a larger 16-4 spurt for the visitors.

And the Huskers just kept the second half onslaught going.

Minutes later, Frager, Büyüktuncel and Sandfort all hit shots close to the basket on a massive Big Red run. Then, Sandfort rattled home a straight-away triple, making it 64-46 Nebraska, prompting a Trojan timeout.

Sandfort made a couple of free throws for good measure, totaling a 15-0 run, stretching the lead to 20 at 66-46.

Despite a late push and full-court press from USC, Nebraska kept the home team at arms length with offensive rebounding and solid shot selection, closing it out for a 15-point win.

For an area that’s been a pain point this year, the Huskers dominated the rebounding margin, 41-25. That included 18 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points.

Sandfort led the offense with 32 points, his second 30-point game out of the last three. Frager scored 17 while Mast added 11.

The Cornhuskers will stay out west for a matchup with UCLA Tuesday.