Basketball Big Ten MBB Scores and Standings (12/21)

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December 21
#2 Michigan 102, La Salle 50
#7 Gonzaga 91, Oregon 82
#15 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
Pittsburgh 80, Penn State 46
USC 102, UC-Santa Cruz 63
Minnesota 78, Campbell 50

Standings
1. Nebraska (12-0, 2-0)
1. Michigan (11-0, 2-0)
1. Michigan State (11-1, 2-0)
1. Purdue (11-1, 2-0)
1. UCLA (9-3, 2-0)
6. Illinois (8-3, 1-1)
6. Indiana (9-3, 1-1)
6. Cockeye (10-2, 1-1)
6. Minnesota (7-5, 1-1)
6. Ohio State (8-3, 1-1)
6. USC (12-1, 1-1)
6. Washington (7-4, 1-1)
6. Wisconsin (7-4, 1-1)
14. Maryland (6-6, 0-2)
14. Northwestern (7-5, 0-2)
14. Oregon (6-6, 0-2)
14. Penn State (8-4, 0-2)
14. Rutgers (6-6, 0-2)

Games for Monday - December 22
Siena at Indiana (5:00 PM - BTN)
#18 Illinois vs. Missouri (at St. Louis) (7:00 PM - FS1)
Central Michigan at Wisconsin (7:00 PM - BTN)
San Diego at Washington (9:00 PM - BTN)

Next Nebraska Game - Tuesday, December 30
New Hampshire at #15 Nebraska (8:00 PM - BTN)

 

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Buyuktuncel's Triple-Double Leads Huskers Past North Dakota
Huskers.com

Lincoln - Behind Berke Buyuktuncel’s first triple-double, No. 15 Nebraska overcame a slow first half and posted a 78-55 win over North Dakota Sunday night.

Buyuktuncel finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, capping the performance with a 3-pointer with 2:03 remaining before leaving to a standing ovation from the 14,519 fans in attendance. It marked the fourth triple-double in school history and second of the season, as Rienk Mast had one against FIU on Nov. 8.

Buyuktuncel’s effort keyed the Huskers’ second-half outburst, as Nebraska (12-0) shot 63 percent in the second half and outscored North Dakota 54-29 after halftime enroute to the Huskers’ 16th straight win dating back to last season.

Braden Frager posted a game-high 17 points to lead four Huskers in double figures. Sam Hoiberg tallied 15 points and four assists while Jamarques Lawrence added 13 points and three assists. As a team, the Huskers had 22 assists to just six turnovers against a UND squad which entered Sunday forcing 16.8 turnovers per game.

Early on the Huskers got off to a slow start, hitting just 4-17 shots from the field as UND built an early 16-8 cushion before Jared Garcia’s 3-pointer ended a stretch where NU went 0-fo-10 from long distance. The Huskers, who shot just 28 percent in the first half, stayed in the game on the defensive end, holding UND to 31 percent shooting over the first 20 minutes.

Trailing 24-18 with 2:05 left in the half, Frager’s 3-point play sparked a 6-2 spurt to close the half as the Huskers closed to with 26-24 with a Hoiberg basket with 12 seconds left in the half.

Nebraska got the second half going, scoring six straight points out of the gate as Lawrence’s 3-pointer with 18:19 left in the half forced a Fighting Hawks timeout.

UND scored five straight points to pull within 31-30 before a Lawrence jumper and a Hoiberg 3-pointer ignited a 11-1 spurt as the Huskers built a 43-32 lead with 11:12 left after a Lawrence jumper. North Dakota closed to within 43-37 before Nebraska used another 11-1 run to stretch the lead back to 16, at 54-38 after a Pryce Sandfort 3-pointer and a pair of Frager free throws.

From there, the Huskers stretched the margin to as much as 25 en route to their 21st straight non-conference win.

Eli King led North Dakota (5-10) with 13 points while Marley Curtis added 10 as the Fighting Hawks shot just 33 percent and were outrebounded 42-30.

The Huskers will be off until Dec. 30, when Nebraska hosts New Hampshire in its final non-conference game. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) and the game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network. Tickets are available by visiting Huskers.com/Tickets.

 

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Postgame Notes
- With the win, Nebraska improved to 12-0 on the season, extending its best start in school history

- Nebraska has now won 16 straight dating back to last year, extending its own school record streak

- Nebraska's men (12-0) and women (12-0) are both unbeaten as Nebraska joins Cockeye State and Vanderbilt as the only Division I schools with unbeaten men's and women's teams

- Berke Buyuktuncel's triple-double tonight (12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) was the fourth in school history and the second this season. Buyuktuncel never had a double-double before tonight

- All of NU's triple-doubles have come under Fred Hoiberg -- Buyuktuncel and Rienk Mast this year, Dalano Banton in 2020 and Cam Mack in 2019

- Buyuktuncel's 10 assists more than doubled his previous career high of four set at Ohio State last year

- Four Huskers scored in double-digits -- Braden Frager (17), Sam Hoiberg (15), Jamarques Lawrence (13) and Berke Buyuktuncel (12)

- Braden Frager's 17 points off the bench was NU's 13th double-figure game off the bench of the season. It also marked the second time Frager has led NU in scoring this season

- Nebraska had 22 assists and six turnovers, the eighth time in 12 games NU has had 20+ assists

- Sam Hoiberg finished with four assists and no turnovers and now has a 48-to-8 assist-to-turnover ratio

- Nebraska held North Dakota to 33.3 percent shooting, the ninth opponent held under 40 percent this season

- Nebraska has now won a school-record 21 straight non-conference games dating back to 2024 and 15 straight non-conference games at home dating back to 2023

 

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	1st	2nd	TOTAL
North Dakota	26	29	55
Nebraska	24	54	78

North Dakota	STATS	Nebraska
19-57 (33.3%)	FG	28-62 (45.2%)
10-29 (34.5%)	3FG	6-27 (22.2%)
7-9 (77.8%)	FT	16-19 (84.2%)
30	Rebounds	42
20	Fouls	11
13	Assists	22
12	Turnovers	6
6	Steals	5
1	Blocks	2
2	Pts off Turnovers	15
16	Pts in Paint	40
0	2nd Chance Pts	6
2	Fast Break Pts	7
23	Bench Pts	24

SCORING

NORTH DAKOTA
Eli King - 13
Marley Curtis - 10
Greyson Uelmen - 8
Anthony Smith III - 8
Garrett Anderson - 5
Wylee Delorme - 5
George Natsvilshvili - 3
Reggie Thomas - 3
TOTAL - 55

NEBRASKA
Braden Frager - 17
Sam Hoiberg - 15
Jamarques Lawrence - 13
Berke Buyuktuncel - 12
Pryce Sandfort - 7
Rienk Mast - 7
Jared Garcia - 3
Cale Jacobsen - 2
Leo Curtis - 2
TOTAL - 78