Pryce Sandfort is heating up at just the right time-and the Big Ten is officially on notice.
The Nebraska junior forward was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday after a scorching two-game stretch that saw him average 23 points per game on a blistering 64% shooting clip, including 47% from deep. His efforts weren’t just about stuffing the stat sheet-they were the driving force behind a pair of statement wins for the Huskers, including a road upset of No. 13 Illinois and a dominant blowout over Wisconsin.
Let’s start with that Illinois game. Sandfort didn’t just show up-he took over.
He dropped a career-high 32 points, hitting 12 of his 18 shots and knocking down six triples, tying his personal best. And he didn’t wait around to get going.
Sandfort poured in 26 of those points in the first half alone, including Nebraska’s first 15 points of the night. That kind of early offensive explosion set the tone for the Huskers and rattled a ranked Illini squad on their home floor.
To put it in perspective: his 26-point first half ranks as the fourth-highest scoring half by any power conference player this season. That’s elite company.
Earlier in the week, Sandfort was efficient and effective in Nebraska’s 90-60 demolition of Wisconsin-a win that marked the largest margin of victory for the Huskers in the history of that series. He chipped in 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, playing within the flow of the offense and letting the game come to him. It was the kind of performance that doesn’t always make headlines but shows just how locked in Sandfort is right now-picking his spots and delivering when it counts.
These two wins also helped Nebraska push its record-setting start even further. The Huskers are now 15-0, extending both their all-time win streak and their best start to a season in program history. And Sandfort has been right at the center of it all.
On top of the Big Ten honor-shared with Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson-Sandfort also earned national recognition, being named Dick Vitale’s National Player of the Week. It’s a nod not just to the numbers, but to the impact. When a player puts together back-to-back performances like this-lighting up a ranked team on the road and anchoring a blowout win at home-it’s hard to ignore.
Sandfort is playing with confidence, efficiency, and a scorer’s mentality that’s lifting Nebraska into the national conversation. If he keeps this up, the Huskers won’t just be one of the feel-good stories of the early season-they’ll be a real threat come March.