Nebraska didn’t shoot it especially well, didn’t light up the scoreboard, and didn’t need to. The Huskers leaned on defense, toughness and Pryce Sandfort’s star turn to grind out a 67-58 neutral-site win over Providence on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
That result pushed Nebraska’s streak of consecutive non-conference wins to two dozen, a run that dates back to November 2024. It also gave Fred Hoiberg’s team its first real test of the season, and the Big Red handled the pressure without getting rattled by the setting.
Hoiberg expected the arena to be a tough place to play, and it was. Providence had its moments and even held a lead, but Nebraska never looked like a team that was going to get swallowed up by the environment. The Huskers stayed steady and kept playing their game.
That poise has been a theme for this Nebraska group. The Huskers have shown they can keep their composure no matter where they’re playing or who’s on the other side.
The top-five game at Michigan last season was a good example, when Nebraska was without Rienk Mast and Braden Frager and still nearly pulled it out. Saturday was a different kind of challenge, but the response was the same: no panic, no drift, just enough execution to come away with the win.
The defense was the real separator. Nebraska hit only 22 of 49 shots from the field and went a rough 5 of 24 from three, but Nate Loenser’s group made Providence work for everything. The Friars turned it over 18 times and shot just 19 of 62 overall.
The Huskers’ defensive rotations will keep improving as the new roles settle in, and the offense should come along too. Nebraska also still has work to do on the defensive glass, something Hoiberg already knew coming into the season.
Against Le Moyne, the Huskers were able to overwhelm the Dolphins with effort and athleticism for most of the night. That wasn’t as clean against Providence, but Nebraska still found a way to bow up when it mattered and do enough against a quality opponent.
Sandfort was the biggest reason the offense held together. The senior forward poured in 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting and looked every bit like the All-Big Ten player he was a season ago.
He didn’t just score, either. Sandfort helped run the offense, finishing with four assists and a rebound while committing only one turnover in 34 minutes.
Nebraska is going to lean on him a lot this season, and when he’s playing like this, the Huskers have a clear edge. His scoring is the headline, but the control he brought to the game against Providence was just as important. Through two games, Sandfort has answered the call.
In Other News...
Nebraska's 2027 Schedule Just Got A New Problem To Solve
The College Football Playoff is about to change again, and Nebraskas 2027 schedule is already feeling the ripple effects. Beginning that season, the field expands to 24 teams, with automatic bids going to the champions of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and the highest-ranked Group of Six champion, but the bigger immediate issue for the Cornhuskers may be the new scheduling requirement attached to it.
Power Four programs and Notre Dame will be required to play 10 opponents from that level each year, which means Nebraskas current 2027 slate needs a rethink. The Huskers have non-Power Four games on the books, so one of those matchups may have to be swapped out for a Power Four opponent to get into compliance, adding another layer of planning to a schedule that is still two seasons away from being final. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Rhule Suddenly Faces A Bigger Nebraska Problem Than One Loss
Nebraskas 24-13 loss to Illinois did more than knock the Cornhuskers off track. It extended a slide that has now reached four straight defeats after the 5-0 start, turning what once looked like a promising season into a much more complicated test of staying power for Matt Rhule and his staff.
Rhule responded by firing offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, a move that underscores how quickly the pressure has shifted from one bad afternoon to bigger questions about the direction of the program. The losing streak has put the coaching staff under the microscope and left Nebraska searching for answers not just on the field, but in the structure and leadership guiding the team forward. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Keeps Outgaining Teams But Now Faces A Bigger Football Problem
Nebraskas football program is still trying to make sense of a road loss at Illinois that came despite the kind of statistical edge teams usually expect to turn into a win. The defeat cost Dana Holgorsen his job, and it has left the Cornhuskers searching for answers in a season where the numbers did not match the result.
Elsewhere on campus, the mood has been much brighter. Nebraska volleyball clinched a share of the Big Ten championship for the fourth straight year, both basketball teams picked up recent wins, and the wrestling team opened its season with a victory over Wyoming. For a fan base used to tracking success across sports, the football setback stands out even more because the rest of the athletic department keeps moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]