Nebraska basketball clobbers USC 82-67 thanks to masterful second half

Nebraska basketball (25-4, 14-4) opened its West Coast trip with a dominant 82-67 win over USC on Saturday. The Huskers trailed at halftime but imposed their will in the second half, outscoring Eric Musselman’s squad 51-31.

Pryce Sandfort led the way with another masterful performance. He scored 32 points with five 3-pointers and numerous driving layups. It marked his third 30-point outing of the season.

Sam Hoiberg played just seven minutes in the first half, but proved to be the difference in the second. He tallied seven points, five rebounds and two assists. Braden Frager had another strong day off the bench with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Huskers shot 44% from the field and 35% from deep in the win. They outscored USC 42-32 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 41-25. 18 offensive boards led to 19 second-chance points. Nine steals turned into 19 points off of turnovers.

Here is an instant recap of the victory:

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Trojans frustrate Nebraska’s offense early

Nebraska was fortunate to trail by just five at halftime. The Huskers shot just 35% in the first half — including a 5-of-11 clip on layups — and turned it over seven times.

Sam Hoiberg played just seven minutes before checking out with his second foul. USC outscored Nebraska 24-16 while he was on the bench.

Sandfort carried his offense with 12 first-half points thanks to multiple fanciful drives to the rim. He was 5-of-8 from the field while the rest of the team was just 7-of-26. 10 offensive boards and eight Trojan turnovers kept the Huskers around.

Nebraska’s defense controlled the game early, nabbing five steals in the first eight minutes. The Huskers took advantage. They scored six points off turnovers and eight second-chance points before the under-12 timeout.

USC forward Chad Baker-Mazara started hot with five quick points, but back-to-back triples from Sandfort and Hoiberg helped Nebraska put together an 8-0 run. The game’s first stoppage didn’t come until 13:22 remained in the first half as the Huskers held a slim 13-10 lead.

Hoiberg picked up his second foul and checked out with 11:40 left in the half. Nebraska didn’t score for over two minutes before Sandfort spun to the rim for a driving layup. Braden Frager hit his first 3-pointer, but forward Jaden Brownell answered to put the Trojans back on top, 21-20, with 9:41 remaining in the half.

Sandfort and Baker-Mazara continued to duel. The latter added another triple to give USC its largest lead of the day but Sandfort responded with a tough mid-range jumper.

Rienk Mast finally found some rhythm, scoring five straight Nebraska points, but Baker-Mazara and the Trojan offense kept their foot on the gas. USC led by as many as seven, 36-29, with 1:46 left in the half. Sandfort broke a scoring drought with a driving layup, and the Huskers trailed 36-31 at halftime.

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Hoiberg makes the difference

Hoiberg checked back in after the break and immediately made his presence felt. He opened the scoring with a layup and got involved on a steal that led to a fast-break bucket for Sandfort.

Sandfort kept the hot hand on the Huskers’ next possession, drilling a deep 3-pointer while being fouled. He hit the free throw, returning the lead to Nebraska, 39-38, with 18:22 remaining. The Huskers opened the half on a 12-2 run thanks to 10 combined points from Hoiberg and Sandfort. They scored on their first six possessions of the half.

To make matters worse, Baker-Mazara went into the locker room with 16:59 left and didn’t return. That spelled danger for the Trojans.

USC went over three minutes without a field goal, making just one shot before the under-16 timeout. The Huskers dominated the boards out of the break with an early 7-1 rebounding advantage, four of which came on the offensive glass.

Nebraska began to feel itself down low. Mast, Frager and Berke Buyuktuncel each forced their way to the rim, pushing Nebraska’s lead to 51-42 and forcing a USC timeout with 13:38 left. The Huskers scored 16 points in the paint over the first seven minutes of the second half.

Guard Alijah Arenas put together a 4-0 personal run to slow the momentum, but Frager responded by earning two trips to the charity stripe. He sparked a crushing 15-0 run highlighted by a physical and-one layup from Buyuktuncel.

Sandfort drilled his fourth 3-pointer with 9:14 left, ballooning his total to 25. Nebraska took full control, building a commanding 64-46 lead. After a USC timeout, he knocked down two free throws to extend the Husker advantage to 20.

The Trojans put together a late 6-0 run but never got closer than 12 as Nebraska coasted to its program-record 14th conference win, 82-67.

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