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By Bryan Colbert Jr.
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Nebraska went to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history last March and still opened this season outside the AP Top 25.
It took Fred Hoiberg’s team two games to change that.
The Huskers landed at No. 25 in Monday’s Associated Press men’s basketball poll after beating Le Moyne 106-64 in Lincoln and Providence 67-58 on a neutral floor in Connecticut.
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Pryce Sandfort led Nebraska in scoring both nights. The difference was when the Huskers needed him most.
Against Le Moyne, Sandfort and Cale Jacobsen combined for 30 points before halftime at Pinnacle Bank Arena. By the time the Huskers headed to the locker room, they led by 26. Sandfort finished with 20 points, Jacobsen scored a career-high 16 and all eight Nebraska players who saw the floor scored.
The 106 points were the program’s most since the Huskers put up 110 against Doane in 2020.
Five days later, Nebraska had a three-point lead and more than 13 minutes to protect it.
Providence had cut the margin to 41-38 when the Huskers turned to a pair of players their fans knew well from March.
Braden Frager, whose layup with 2.2 seconds left against Vanderbilt sent Nebraska to the Sweet 16, knocked down a 3-pointer.
Sandfort followed with a 3 of his own, then added a dunk as the Huskers stretched the lead to 12. He finished with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
All eight Huskers scored in the opener against Le Moyne. Against Providence, Sandfort carried more of the offense himself, scoring 25 of Nebraska’s 67 points.
Nebraska’s defense helped put the game away after Providence cut the lead to three. The Huskers finished with 12 steals, and the Friars made just seven of their 38 attempts from 3-point range.
Five days after scoring 106 in Lincoln, Nebraska needed only 67 to beat a Big East opponent by nine.
Monday’s poll left little room for Nebraska.
Iowa State dropped out after losing to Memphis, and the Huskers claimed the final spot behind No. 24 Kentucky.
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They’ll take that ranking into Wednesday’s home game against Lindenwood before traveling to Sioux Falls to face Boise State on Sunday.
When Nebraska last played in Lincoln, the home crowd saw Sandfort and Jacobsen combine for more points in a half than some teams get from their leading scorers all night.
On Wednesday, those fans will get their first look this season at a ranked Nebraska team. The Huskers spent all of one home game outside the Top 25.
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