Pryce Sandfort’s third straight 20-plus outing powers Nebraska to 19-0 and keeps the Huskers alone atop the Big Ten as the nation’s second-longest active streak hits 23.
LINCOLN, Neb. — The number keeps climbing and the noise keeps growing. No. 7 Nebraska brushed off a first-half ankle scare to beat Washington 76-66 Wednesday night, stretching the nation’s most shocking unbeaten streak to 23 games and stamping the program’s first-ever top-10 ranking with another exclamation point.
Pryce Sandfort did the heavy lifting, scoring 23 on 8-of-14 shooting and burying back-to-back daggers from deep midway through the second half that turned a 10-point cushion into a 17-point rout. It was the junior wing’s third consecutive 20-point outing, a personal heater that has coincided with Nebraska’s toughest stretch of Big Ten play.
First-Half Blitz Sets the Tone
Nebraska’s burst came early and it came fast. After Washington trimmed an 11-4 deficit to 20-18, Sandfort triggered a 13-2 run by himself, scoring eight in the sequence and forcing Mike Hopkins into a timeout that never really slowed the Huskers’ roll. Sam Hoiberg capped the spurt with a transition triple and a steal-and-score layup, pushing the lead to 41-28 at the break.
The Huskies entered having used nine different starting lineups in 15 days while navigating injuries to key rotation pieces. That instability showed—Nebraska out-rebounded Washington 38-28 and held the visitors to 38 percent shooting, the 11th time this season the Huskers have held a Power-6 opponent under 40 percent.
Washington’s Short-Handed Fight
Hannes Steinbach did everything he could to keep the Huskies within striking distance, posting a rugged 21-point, 12-rebound double-double and repeatedly drawing double-teams in the post. Zoom Diallo added 18 and six assists, slicing into the lane off high ball screens that Nebraska eventually adjusted to by switching everything late.
Yet every time Diallo or Steinbach trimmed the deficit to eight, Nebraska answered—first with Mast’s corner three, then with Lawrence’s baseline floater, finally with Sandfort’s step-back at the 3:12 mark that restored a 16-point cushion and emptied the Husker student section into the aisles.
Injury Watch: Frager in a Boot
The only cloud over an otherwise perfect night was Braden Frager’s left-ankle sprain. The sophomore guard—Nebraska’s second-leading scorer at 13.3 ppg—went down in a scramble under the Husker basket with 7:43 left in the first half and returned to the bench after halftime in a walking boot. Coach Fred Hoiberg called the injury “day-to-day” post-game, but losing Frager’s downhill speed would test Nebraska’s back-court depth heading into a Saturday trip to Minnesota.
What 23 Straight Really Means
Nebraska is now one of three unbeaten teams left in Division I, joining undefeated front-runners Duke and Clemson. The streak is already the longest single-season run in program history, eclipsing the 1915-16 team’s 16-game tear, and sits four wins shy of the 30-game stretch Kansas rode to the 2022 national title.
More importantly, the Huskers sit alone atop the Big Ten at 8-0, a half-game clear of Michigan State and Maryland with a favorable slate ahead: Minnesota (away), Rutgers (home), and Northwestern (home) before a Feb. 1 showdown at Purdue that could decide the conference crown.
Bracket Implications & Fan Fever
BracketMatrix already slots Nebraska as a No. 2 seed in its latest aggregate, but NET and KenPom metrics suggest a top-line is in play if the Huskers reach February unscathed. Inside Pinnacle Bank Arena, students sported “23 & Me” shirts—an organic campaign that began after win No. 20 and shows no sign of slowing.
Up Next
- Washington returns home to face Oregon on Sunday, desperate for a Quad-2 win to steady a slipping NCAA résumé.
- Nebraska visits Minnesota on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET, where the Huskers will be favored to push the streak to 24 and keep the dream of an unbeaten regular season alive.
For real-time streak alerts, bracket projections and instant analysis on every Nebraska game, keep your browser locked on onlytrustedinfo.com—the fastest source for the stories that shape March Madness.
