Nebraska starts fast, cruises against Penn State

Pryce Sandfort got off to a hot start Saturday and he finished strong, helping Nebraska cruise to an 87-64 victory over Penn State.

The junior transfer from Iowa, who struggled in his first game against his former team on Tuesday, hit his first five three-point shots on his way to 20 points in the first half. While he struggled at times during the second half, he hit three more three-pointers to tie a single-game Nebraska record on his way to a career high 33 points.

Sandfort’s 20 first-half points matched what Penn State scored and were two more than his teammates scored as the Huskers took a 38-20 halftime lead.

From there, the game was pretty much on cruise control as Nebraska stretched its lead to as many as 28 points early in the second half. Penn State never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

In a post-game interview on the Big Ten Network, Sandfort credited his teammates with putting him in the right situations to take good shots.

“Give all credit to my teammates and coaches, getting me in the right spots, getting me the ball on time and on target,” he said.

Nebraska, which shot 52% overall and 40% from three-point range, improved to 23-4 on the season and 12-4 in the Big Ten.

Braden Frager scored 15 points for the Huskers, while Sam Hoiberg had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.

The news wasn’t all good for Nebraska, however.

Berke Buyuktuncel was a late scratch with an illness. Also, Jamarques Lawrence went down in the second half with an apparent leg injury. He left the game and did not return.

The Huskers return home to face Maryland at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The game will be televised by BTN.