Iowa holds off Nebraska 77-71 to reach Elite Eight
HOUSTON – Nebraska’s magical ride in 2025-26 is over. The Iowa Hawkeyes (24-12) found a way to close it out 77-71 after the Huskers (28-7) controlled most of Thursday night’s Sweet 16 game in the Houston Toyota Center.
In a game that NU led by as many as 10, the Hawkeyes’ defense smothered the Nebraska offense to 5-of-23 three-point shooting in the second half. They also did a much better job rebounding after the Huskers controlled the board by a wide margin early. The Huskers had the lead for 32:21 of the game and only trailed for a total of 2:10.
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“They played great, especially down the stretch, and they deserved the win. It stings,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said following his team’s loss. “This one hurts about as bad as any I’ve been a part of, just because of what this group is all about. We don’t get to lace ’em up anymore together as a group.
“They have been all about the right things. These guys will be a part of the history of Nebraska basketball forever, for winning the first NCAA tournament game, getting to the Sweet 16, most wins in the history of the program, and the highest ranking. They just did so many things to elevate our program.”
The win is a crushing blow to what has been the best season in school history, having rival Iowa end the run.
Iowa didn’t take the lead until late in the second half
Iowa tied the game for the first time at the 15:05 mark of the second half. They took their first lead at 68-65 with 2:10 left in the game. The Hawkeyes hit back-to-back three pointers to build the lead to 71-65.
The two teams traded blows in the first half, as Nebraska jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first 3:06 of the game, having a commanding 7-0 edge on the boards.
Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager started the game a combined 5-of-6 behind the three-point line. However, the Hawkeyes stayed in the game with three-point shooting of their own.
The Hawks went 7-of-11 from behind the three-point line in the first half, including a 3-of-4 performance from Tate Sage. Iowa’s shooting brought what arguably should’ve been a bigger Husker first-half lead to 46-43 at the break.
“That was huge because they were absolutely punishing us. I mean, it felt like it was a 50-point lead, to be perfectly honest,” Hawkeye head coach Ben McCullom said to keep the NU lead to just 3 points at the half. “Like, we just made enough shots to hang in there, so then we were able to keep it close, and then we decided we wanted to guard that second half, which was good. And it slowed their tempo down a little bit, which was nice.
“But, man, they put it on us to start. Their game plan was fantastic. They’re obviously a very well-coached team and have really good players. But, yes, to keep it close in that moment, because I thought they were about 20 points better than us in that first half.”
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In the end, Iowa’s shooting and defensive plan against Nebraska was too much. Sandfort led NU with 25 points in defeat. Bennett Stritz led the way for Iowa with 20 points.
“They just took care of the ball way better than we did tonight, and they made the shots,” Hoiberg said. “They made ’em in the last five minutes. I thought we had some really good looks, unfortunately, they didn’t go down. They made ’em, and that happens some nights.
“Unfortunately, tonight on the biggest stage, it happened. But tip your hat to Iowa, they played a great basketball game.”
2025-26 will be a season to remember
When it’s all said and done, the 2025-26 Nebraska basketball season will be one to remember forever.
It will be a team that is talked about as the greatest in program history.
However, as Hoiberg has said, this is hopefully just the start of what his team has done over the last four seasons, winning more games than any team in school history.
“Now that we’ve done it, this can’t be one every eight years,” Hoiberg said. “It’s got to be something where we’re competing in this tournament, and as you see, anything can happen. You can compete for championships if you get hot at the right time.
“Again, I’m so proud of these guys for everything that they accomplished for Nebraska basketball, and I know Husker Nation as well, as much as this one stings, when we hang that banner next year, it’s going to be a hell of a celebration.”
