Let’s keep these guys out of the NCAA Tournament
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Game Thread Nebrasketball Game #31: Cockeye (Senior Day) - Sunday, March 8th, 4:00pm FOX
- Thread starter Seaofred92
- Start date
Let’s keep these guys out of the NCAA Tournament
Wow Cockeye no longer a lock? Crazy
the Dutch ambassador will have a triple double
They've had two awful losses the last 3 weeks.
If they lose out and miss the tourney it would be very reminiscent of our team last season
I think USC's current slide is more reminiscent of what happened to Nebraska last season.
What was the deal with one of their star players sitting with his mom in the stands rather than with his teammates on the bench?
Torn labia
I hate these fuckers so fucking much. Fuck.
Fred sayeth...
Game #31
Opponent: Cockeye
Date: Sunday, March 8
Tipoff: 4:00 p.m. (CT)
Senior Day Ceremony: Approx. 3:40 p.m. (CT)
Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, NE
TV: Sunday's game will be broadcast on FOX with Connor Onion and Nick Bahe on the call. It will also be online on the FOX Sports and FOX One apps.
Radio: Sunday's game will be carried on the Huskers Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Jeff Smith on the call, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KCRO (660 AM) and KIBM (1490 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. The pregame show begins an hour before tipoff and will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers App.
HUSKERS BATTLE Cockeyes ON SENIOR DAY
The No. 9/9 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the final time this season, as the Huskers play host to Cockeye on Senior Day. Tipoff is set for shortly after 4 p.m. and the game will be televised on FOX, broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports and Fox One apps.
The Huskers (25-5, 14-5 B1G) will honor their five seniors - Kendall Blue, Jared Garcia, Sam Hoiberg, Jamarques Lawrence and Rienk Mast - during pregame ceremonies which will start around 3:40 p.m. This group of seniors has guided the Huskers to one of the best seasons in school history and could etch their names into the record book with a win on Sunday. Lawrence, Mast and Hoiberg were key contributors to Nebraska's 2024 NCAA Tournament team and have played significant roles in helping NU post three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
Nebraska looks to bounce back from a disappointing 72-52 loss at UCLA late Tuesday to complete a split on the West Coast. Hoiberg's 12 points led three Huskers in double figures, as the Huskers were held to 38 percent shooting in seeing its three-game win streak snapped.
The Huskers enter the final weekend with plenty on the line. NU is tied for third in the Big Ten standings with Illinois entering Saturday's action. A win on Sunday would assure the Huskers of at least a third-place finish and the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament next week. NU could clinch a triple-bye with a loss but would need Wisconsin to win at Purdue on Saturday.
Cockeye (20-10, 10-9 B1G) comes off a 71-68 loss to Michigan Thursday night in Cockeye City. The Cockeyes erased a 10-point second-half deficit to pull even at 66-all with less than a minute to go before Michigan escaped with the win. Bennett Stirtz led Cockeye with 21 points, four assists and three steals while Cam Manyawu added 14 points and eight rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY
Cockeye leads the all-time series 28-15 in a series that dates back to 1907. Nebraska leads 12-7 in games played in Lincoln, and Cockeye leads 16-8 as Big Ten Conference opponents.
This is NU's third-oldest series against a Big Ten foe, as only NU's series with Minnesota and Wisconsin have been around longer.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3 - Pryce Sandfort has three 30-point games this year following his 32-point effort at USC on Feb. 28. The only players with more 30-point games in a season are Dave Hoppen (6, 1984-85), Brice Williams (4, 2024-25), Andre Smith (4, 1979-80), Eric Piatkowski (4, 1993-94) and Tyronn Lue (4, 1997-98).
317 - Nebraska's 317 3-pointers this season is two shy of the school record of 319 set in 2023-24. NU has hit 10-or-more 3-pointers in 19 games this season.
53.4 - Nebraska's top four scorers (Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence) are combining for 53.4 points per game. None of them were in the Husker lineup last season.
80+ - Nebraska is 52-10 (.839) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 43-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of the 2022-23 season, four came in overtime.
1,072 - Rienk Mast now has 1,072 career rebounds and is one of only five active players with at least 1,000 career rebounds, Carson Towt (Notre Dame), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Izaiyah Nelson (South Florida) and Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan).
13 - Pryce Sandfort has 13 20-point games on the season, which ties for the third-most by a Husker in the Big Ten era. The only Huskers with more 20-point games in a season in the Big Ten era are Brice Williams (20, 2024-25) and James Palmer (18, 2018-19).
5 - Braden Frager became the fifth Husker since 1996-97 to earn multiple conference rookie/freshman of the week, joining Bryce McGowens (2021-22), Shavon Shields (2012-13), Toney McCray (2008-09) and Joe McCray (2004-05).
1 - According to Stathead, Sam Hoiberg is the only player nationally at 6-0 or under averaging at least five rebounds per game this season. Over the past six seasons, only two power conference players 6-0 or under have grabbed 5 or more rebounds per game (Braden Smith, 2023-24; RJ Davis, 2022-23).
WORTH NOTING
• The Huskers are looking to earn their second top-three Big Ten finish in the last three years which would be the first time that has happened for the Huskers in the Big Ten era and first the first time since the early 1990s (1990-91, 3rd; 1992-93, t-2nd).
• A Husker win on Sunday, along with a Michigan State loss to Michigan, would put the Huskers in a tie for second, their best conference finish since the 1992-93 season.
• Pryce Sandfort enters Sunday's Big Ten finale needing just three 3-pointers to tie the Big Ten record for most 3-pointers in conference play. The mark is 80 set by Michigan State's Shawn Respert in 1994-95.
• Rienk Mast will make his 150th career appearance in Sunday's regular-season finale. He is 97-52 (.651) in games he's appeared in during his college career. Mast ranks 13th among all active NCAA players in games played entering this weekend's action.
• Nebraska's 25-5 record marks the first time that Nebraska has won 25 of its first 30 games in a season.
• Nebraska's 25 wins marks just the second time in program history that Nebraska has won 25 or more games in a season (also 1990-91). With a win on Sunday vs. Cockeye, Nebraska will match a school record for wins in a season.
• The Huskers now have three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. Nebraska's 25 regular-season wins is already a school mark, bettering the mark of 24 set by the 1990-91 team which entered the Big Eight Conference Tournament with 24 wins.
• Nebraska has 46 wins over the past two seasons. It is the most wins in a two-year stretch in school history. NU won a combined 45 games spanning the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
• Nebraska finished 7-3 on the road in Big Ten play in 2025-26. The seven road wins in conference play broke the school record of five, set most recently in 1965-66. NU is 10-3 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena this season.
• Nebraska’s 14-5 Big Ten record is already the most conference wins in school history. The previous high for conference wins was 13, set in 2017-18, when NU finished with a 13-5 mark.
• Nebraska is 15-2 at home this season and is 54-13 (.806) at Pinnacle Bank Arena over the past four seasons. The regular season finale vs. Cockeye on March 8 will be the ninth straight sellout in Big Ten play.
• Nebraska's 20-0 start marked just the third time in the last 30 years a Big Ten team has started 20-0 and the first since Ohio State opened the 2010-11 season with 24 straight wins.
• Nebraska is 12th in the NET rankings released on March 6. The Huskers are one of five Big Ten teams in the top 15 of the NET (No. 2 Michigan, No. 5 Illinois, No. 9 Purdue, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 12 Nebraska). As of March 6, Nebraska's is 13-5 in the first two quads (7-5 in Q1, 6-0 in Q2).
• Nebraska saw its school-record 24-game win streak snapped on Jan. 27. It nearly doubled the previous mark of 14 set two other times (1912-13 and 1990-91) and was the longest win streak by a Big Ten team since Ohio State won 24 straight to open the 2010-11 season.
• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 69-30 (.697) while the 69 wins are fifth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-81; Illinois-74; Michigan State-75; Wisconsin-70; Nebraska-69) as of March 6.
Opponent: Cockeye
Date: Sunday, March 8
Tipoff: 4:00 p.m. (CT)
Senior Day Ceremony: Approx. 3:40 p.m. (CT)
Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena - Lincoln, NE
TV: Sunday's game will be broadcast on FOX with Connor Onion and Nick Bahe on the call. It will also be online on the FOX Sports and FOX One apps.
Radio: Sunday's game will be carried on the Huskers Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Jeff Smith on the call, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KCRO (660 AM) and KIBM (1490 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. The pregame show begins an hour before tipoff and will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers App.
HUSKERS BATTLE Cockeyes ON SENIOR DAY
The No. 9/9 (AP/Coaches) Nebraska men's basketball team returns to Pinnacle Bank Arena for the final time this season, as the Huskers play host to Cockeye on Senior Day. Tipoff is set for shortly after 4 p.m. and the game will be televised on FOX, broadcast on the Huskers Radio Network, as well as on Huskers.com and on the official Huskers app. The game will also be available on the Fox Sports and Fox One apps.
The Huskers (25-5, 14-5 B1G) will honor their five seniors - Kendall Blue, Jared Garcia, Sam Hoiberg, Jamarques Lawrence and Rienk Mast - during pregame ceremonies which will start around 3:40 p.m. This group of seniors has guided the Huskers to one of the best seasons in school history and could etch their names into the record book with a win on Sunday. Lawrence, Mast and Hoiberg were key contributors to Nebraska's 2024 NCAA Tournament team and have played significant roles in helping NU post three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history.
Nebraska looks to bounce back from a disappointing 72-52 loss at UCLA late Tuesday to complete a split on the West Coast. Hoiberg's 12 points led three Huskers in double figures, as the Huskers were held to 38 percent shooting in seeing its three-game win streak snapped.
The Huskers enter the final weekend with plenty on the line. NU is tied for third in the Big Ten standings with Illinois entering Saturday's action. A win on Sunday would assure the Huskers of at least a third-place finish and the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament next week. NU could clinch a triple-bye with a loss but would need Wisconsin to win at Purdue on Saturday.
Cockeye (20-10, 10-9 B1G) comes off a 71-68 loss to Michigan Thursday night in Cockeye City. The Cockeyes erased a 10-point second-half deficit to pull even at 66-all with less than a minute to go before Michigan escaped with the win. Bennett Stirtz led Cockeye with 21 points, four assists and three steals while Cam Manyawu added 14 points and eight rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY
Cockeye leads the all-time series 28-15 in a series that dates back to 1907. Nebraska leads 12-7 in games played in Lincoln, and Cockeye leads 16-8 as Big Ten Conference opponents.
This is NU's third-oldest series against a Big Ten foe, as only NU's series with Minnesota and Wisconsin have been around longer.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3 - Pryce Sandfort has three 30-point games this year following his 32-point effort at USC on Feb. 28. The only players with more 30-point games in a season are Dave Hoppen (6, 1984-85), Brice Williams (4, 2024-25), Andre Smith (4, 1979-80), Eric Piatkowski (4, 1993-94) and Tyronn Lue (4, 1997-98).
317 - Nebraska's 317 3-pointers this season is two shy of the school record of 319 set in 2023-24. NU has hit 10-or-more 3-pointers in 19 games this season.
53.4 - Nebraska's top four scorers (Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager and Jamarques Lawrence) are combining for 53.4 points per game. None of them were in the Husker lineup last season.
80+ - Nebraska is 52-10 (.839) under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including a 43-7 mark over the last three-plus seasons. Of those seven losses since the start of the 2022-23 season, four came in overtime.
1,072 - Rienk Mast now has 1,072 career rebounds and is one of only five active players with at least 1,000 career rebounds, Carson Towt (Notre Dame), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Izaiyah Nelson (South Florida) and Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan).
13 - Pryce Sandfort has 13 20-point games on the season, which ties for the third-most by a Husker in the Big Ten era. The only Huskers with more 20-point games in a season in the Big Ten era are Brice Williams (20, 2024-25) and James Palmer (18, 2018-19).
5 - Braden Frager became the fifth Husker since 1996-97 to earn multiple conference rookie/freshman of the week, joining Bryce McGowens (2021-22), Shavon Shields (2012-13), Toney McCray (2008-09) and Joe McCray (2004-05).
1 - According to Stathead, Sam Hoiberg is the only player nationally at 6-0 or under averaging at least five rebounds per game this season. Over the past six seasons, only two power conference players 6-0 or under have grabbed 5 or more rebounds per game (Braden Smith, 2023-24; RJ Davis, 2022-23).
WORTH NOTING
• The Huskers are looking to earn their second top-three Big Ten finish in the last three years which would be the first time that has happened for the Huskers in the Big Ten era and first the first time since the early 1990s (1990-91, 3rd; 1992-93, t-2nd).
• A Husker win on Sunday, along with a Michigan State loss to Michigan, would put the Huskers in a tie for second, their best conference finish since the 1992-93 season.
• Pryce Sandfort enters Sunday's Big Ten finale needing just three 3-pointers to tie the Big Ten record for most 3-pointers in conference play. The mark is 80 set by Michigan State's Shawn Respert in 1994-95.
• Rienk Mast will make his 150th career appearance in Sunday's regular-season finale. He is 97-52 (.651) in games he's appeared in during his college career. Mast ranks 13th among all active NCAA players in games played entering this weekend's action.
• Nebraska's 25-5 record marks the first time that Nebraska has won 25 of its first 30 games in a season.
• Nebraska's 25 wins marks just the second time in program history that Nebraska has won 25 or more games in a season (also 1990-91). With a win on Sunday vs. Cockeye, Nebraska will match a school record for wins in a season.
• The Huskers now have three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. Nebraska's 25 regular-season wins is already a school mark, bettering the mark of 24 set by the 1990-91 team which entered the Big Eight Conference Tournament with 24 wins.
• Nebraska has 46 wins over the past two seasons. It is the most wins in a two-year stretch in school history. NU won a combined 45 games spanning the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
• Nebraska finished 7-3 on the road in Big Ten play in 2025-26. The seven road wins in conference play broke the school record of five, set most recently in 1965-66. NU is 10-3 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena this season.
• Nebraska’s 14-5 Big Ten record is already the most conference wins in school history. The previous high for conference wins was 13, set in 2017-18, when NU finished with a 13-5 mark.
• Nebraska is 15-2 at home this season and is 54-13 (.806) at Pinnacle Bank Arena over the past four seasons. The regular season finale vs. Cockeye on March 8 will be the ninth straight sellout in Big Ten play.
• Nebraska's 20-0 start marked just the third time in the last 30 years a Big Ten team has started 20-0 and the first since Ohio State opened the 2010-11 season with 24 straight wins.
• Nebraska is 12th in the NET rankings released on March 6. The Huskers are one of five Big Ten teams in the top 15 of the NET (No. 2 Michigan, No. 5 Illinois, No. 9 Purdue, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 12 Nebraska). As of March 6, Nebraska's is 13-5 in the first two quads (7-5 in Q1, 6-0 in Q2).
• Nebraska saw its school-record 24-game win streak snapped on Jan. 27. It nearly doubled the previous mark of 14 set two other times (1912-13 and 1990-91) and was the longest win streak by a Big Ten team since Ohio State won 24 straight to open the 2010-11 season.
• Since the start of the 2023-24 season, NU is 69-30 (.697) while the 69 wins are fifth among Big Ten teams in that span (Purdue-81; Illinois-74; Michigan State-75; Wisconsin-70; Nebraska-69) as of March 6.
Say what you want about the BIG Network and their on-air talent, but the Journey is so well done! Such a great show.