Nebraska men’s basketball, for the first time in program history, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and faced Vanderbilt on Saturday night. With seconds left, the Huskers scored the go-ahead shot to make it 74-72 and watched the Commodores miss a game-winning three, punching their ticket to the Sweet 16.
Braden Frager landed the game-winning shot, driving in a layup with 2.2 seconds on the clock and capping off a strong comeback by Nebraska. Vanderbilt pinned the Huskers in a 67-62 deficit with just over five minutes left after Nebraska spent most of the night with the lead.
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The Huskers closed out the night with a 12-5 run to continue their historic season. Nebraska is now 28-6 on the season, extending its single-season school record for wins. This is also head coach Fred Hoiberg’s second trip to the Sweet 16 after leading Iowa State in 2013-14.
The Huskers shot 29-of-52 from the floor, 9-of-19 from beyond the arc and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Vanderbilt hit 24-of-58, 13-of-37 and 11-of-19, respectively. The Commodores, however, struck big in the second half from three-point range, going 10-of-22 to get back into the game. Tyler Tanner led Vanderbilt in scoring, dropping 27 points.
But Nebraska finished the night with four players scoring in double digits, combining for 55 points. Frager and Pryce Sandfort co-led the team, both tallying 15 points and five rebounds. Frager hit 6-of-11 in total. Sandfort shot 5-of-9, including 3-of-6 from three.
Rienk Mast totaled 13 points, going 5-of-10 on the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also hauled in five rebounds. Berke Büyüktuncel scored 12 points, finishing 5-of-6 from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range. Jamarques Lawrence tallied nine points, shooting 4-of-6 on the night and 1-of-1 from the line.
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Sam Hoiberg rounded out the squad, earning eight points by going 3-of-6 in total and 2-of-2 from the line. He also secured four rebounds and a team-high six assists.
Nebraska now heads to the South Regional in Houston and will play the winner of Florida/Iowa in the Sweet 16 next week.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska basketball survives Vanderbilt to advance to the Sweet 16
