No. 13 Nebraska men\u2019s basketball (14-0, 3-0) closed out a dog fight with a win over No. 9 Michigan State (12-2, 2-1), 58-56, Friday, Jan. 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the loudest game I have ever played here,\u201d Jamarques Lawrence said. \u201cThe fans here are amazing, the atmosphere, I am just blessed to be a part of this journey.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
An electric home crowd helped the Husker defense all night, as Nebraska forced the Spartans into 19 turnovers, eight more than their season average.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we were nobody, they wouldn\u2019t have stormed the court,\u201d Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. \u201cThis is kind of a new experience, it\u2019s the beauty of what you do when you build a program, I was telling myself, \u2018Great\u2019.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In one of the most anticipated games on the regular-season slate, a sold-out crowd inside Pinnacle Bank Arena witnessed the first top-15 men\u2019s basketball matchup in the building\u2019s history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud of our guys, we found a way to win an ugly one tonight,\u201d Fred Hoiberg said. \u201cWe can certainly learn from this. It\u2019s always better to learn when you’re in the left column.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The best start in school history continues to get better, now at 14-0 this season. The Huskers have won 18 games in a row, the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mast\u2019s three-ball sparks momentum\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rienk Mast led the way for Big Red. The veteran\u2019s 19 points, with 15 of them coming in the first half, helped propel Nebraska\u2019s offense against the Spartans.<\/p>\n
With the team needing someone to step up offensively, Mast filled those shoes at the perfect time. When the Spartans led 16-14, Mast knocked down a three to give the Huskers their first lead in nearly six minutes.<\/p>\n
One was all he needed. From that point on, he continued to make shot after shot, forcing Izzo to call a timeout.<\/p>\n
At the end of the half, Mast finished 5-for-7 from the 3-point line, responsible for nearly half of the team\u2019s 33 points.<\/p>\n
It took him 17 and a half minutes into the second half to score again. Mast did it with a 3-pointer from the right wing when the game was knotted up at 55 apiece to take a late lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had good confidence going into this game,\u201d Mast said. \u201cWhen Pryce got in foul trouble, I knew they were going to be more of a load for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sandfort overcomes adversity<\/p>\n
Scoring started slowly for both teams, with neither team finding its sweet spot from the floor in the opening four minutes. They shot a combined 2-for-13 from the field in that span, with one of them being a 3-pointer from junior forward Pryce Sandfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After picking up two fouls early on, head coach Fred Hoiberg decided to pull him for the majority of the half, as Sandfort only tallied six minutes and shot 2-for-4 from the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time he was put back in the game in the second, he instantly positively impacted the game, knocking down a contested three from distance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At 41-38, with just over 11 minutes to go in the game, senior guard Sam Hoiberg sprinted down the floor and found Sandfort in the corner for the easy triple.<\/p>\n
Despite fouling out toward the end, Sandfort accumulated 13 points in 21 minutes, with three 3-pointers.<\/p>\n
Sam Hoiberg\u2019s effect outside the box score\u00a0<\/p>\n
The way Sam Hoiberg views the court is truly something to watch each time the Huskers take the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not a kid in the Big Ten or NCAA basketball that plays harder than that kid,\u201d Izzo said. \u201cHe plays 28 minutes, he guards people, motivates; I love Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday night, Sam was everywhere, leading his defense to execute from all spots. Just before the under-eight media timeout, the Spartans committed eight turnovers, as they looked all out of sorts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In most games, you may not see a high-point performance in the box score from Sam. However, what he provides to this team is one of the primary reasons they have the record they do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To start the second half, Sam found himself in a tricky situation, as he racked up three fouls with 15 minutes to go. He was charged with defensive fouls on consecutive possessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halfway through the second half, he helped force a seven-minute field goal drought for the Spartans, which was flipped into offense on the other end for a 10-0 run for the Huskers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking Ahead<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge win for our program, I am not going to discount that,\u201d Fred Hoiberg said. \u201cBut, we have to get past it and move on to Ohio State.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Jan. 5, Nebraska will hit the road to continue conference play in Columbus, to take on Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. CST.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a fluke, this isn\u2019t just a hot streak,\u201d Mast said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to keep proving people wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eli Rodriguez is a men\u2019s basketball beat writer at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @efrodriguez23<\/a>.<\/p>\n