‘No panic’ Nebraska puts No. 10 ranking on line against Oregon
The Big Ten's last unbeaten team will try to extend the best start in school history when No. 10 Nebraska hosts Oregon in conference play on Tuesday night in Lincoln, Neb.
The Cornhuskers (16-0, 5-0 Big Ten) have won 20 in a row, which includes their four-game sweep to claim the College Basketball Crown postseason tournament in Las Vegas last March and April. There have been plenty of close calls since then, most recently Saturday's 83-77 win at Indiana in which they trailed by 16 in the second half.
"We've been in this spot before," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. "There's just no panic with this group, that's where I've been most impressed. Their emotions are the same, their body language doesn't change."
Oregon (8-8, 1-4) comes to town on a two-game skid, most recently losing by 10 at home to Ohio State on Thursday. The Ducks were within three early in the second half before giving up a 21-0 run.
"We just had some really bad offensive possessions," Oregon coach Dana Altman said.
Nebraska received a career-high performance at Indiana from senior guard Jamarques Lawrence, who scored 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting despite playing with an ankle injury. Hoiberg said how Lawrence handles treatment in between games will determine whether the injury impacts his play on Tuesday.
The Cornhuskers' linchpin, though, is seventh-year senior Rienk Mast. The 6-foot-9 forward, who had a triple-double against FIU on Nov. 8, leads the team in scoring (16.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.6) and ranks third in assists (2.9). He missed the 2024-25 season while recovering from knee surgery.
"We missed that a year ago, with Rienk not out there on the court with us," Hoiberg said. "Not only what you're seeing him do on the floor, but also his leadership."
Oregon, which made the NCAA Tournament in its first season in the Big Ten in 2024-25, is off to its worst start in conference play since a 1-5 start in the Pac-12 during 2013-14. The Ducks' issues have been compounded by the absence of junior point guard Jackson Shelstad (15.6 ppg, 4.9 apg). He has missed the last three games with a hand injury.
"I've been through a lot of ups and downs in 46 years," said Altman, in his 16th season with Oregon. "I am disappointed, our team is disappointed. But if we don't get to work and play harder and play a lot smarter, we're going to struggle."
While guard play has been an issue with Shelstad out, Oregon isn't lacking for size up front. Hoiberg considers the Ducks the "longest" team in the league thanks to their ability to start 7-foot center Nate Bittle alongside 6-9 forwards Kwame Evans Jr. and Sean Stewart.
It will be a homecoming of sorts in Lincoln for Altman, who from 1994-2010 was head coach at nearby Creighton. He was 10-7 against Nebraska with the Bluejays, which included three wins in Pinnacle Bank Arena.
In addition to the perfect overall record, Nebraska is off to its best start in the Big Ten since joining in 2010-11. Two more wins and it will match the school record for best conference start that occurred when it began 7-0 in the Big Eight in 1965-66.
Coincidentally, that's the only other season Nebraska has appeared in the top 10 of the Associated Press national poll. The Cornhuskers climbed as high as No. 8 on Feb. 21, 1966.
"I'm not going to discount what our guys have done with the start, but at the same time we're not going to let them get comfortable with this," Hoiberg said. "We just went over the halfway point in our season, and we haven't had a hiccup yet."