Nebraska chasing history in challenge from No. 13 seed Troy
Maybe this is the year for No. 4 seed Nebraska.
Underdog Troy stands in the way of the Cornhuskers in a first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday in Oklahoma City, where Pryce Sandfort and Nebraska are shooting for some history.
"It was kind of like a dream come true, but we still have a lot of work to do," Sandfort said about the level of focus for the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska (26-6) has never won an NCAA Tournament game.
"It's on steroids now," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said of the difference between regular season and NCAA Tournament games. "We know what's at stake. Our guys have done a lot of really good things this year. A lot of those things happened because our guys had great focus. The importance of every possession this time of year. If you go out and execute, at the end of the day things take care of themselves."
Troy (22-11) stands in the way, but this isn't your typical No. 13 seed.
The Trojans won more than 20 games for the fifth season in a row and nearly took down Kentucky in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Hoiberg said first impressions from the film review session was the swagger Troy brings to the court.
"They take care of the ball. Do a really good job on the glass. They've got talent all over the floor. They've got experience all over the floor," Hoiberg said.
Hoiberg said managing emotions and handling adversity are massive in a one-and-done context. They bowed out in their first Big Ten tournament game Friday in a 16-point loss to Purdue (74-58) that sent Nebraska to a five-day prep period for the NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska scored plenty of significant wins this season, beating Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Among marquee opponents for Troy, the Trojans had a one-point loss on Southern California's home court (107-106) and a 79-69 win over Mid-American Conference tournament champion Akron on their resume.
Troy coach Scott Cross, named Sun Belt Coach of the Year, had to replace four starters from the 2025 tournament team. Rather than turn the spigot in the NCAA transfer portal, Cross said the coaching staff made the decision to buy into developing the players they already knew were willing to pay the price to experience success.
It paid off, and the approach is still on display. When senior forward Theo Seng went down with a knee injury, Jerrell Bellamy -- another senior -- jumped into the starting spot for the past six games. He caught fire at the right time and averaged 18.5 points and three blocks in two Sun Belt tournament games. Seng is expected to play in some capacity on Thursday, but Cross won't shorten his rotation.
"I look at them as 1A and 1B," Cross said. "(Bellamy) had to step into a 30-minute role for us once Theo went down. He's so hard to guard on the pick-and-roll and is as athletic as anybody in the country. And he's really improved defensively for us. He's a shot blocker; he's a rim protector."
The interior battle between Troy's bigs and Nebraska's Rienk Mast -- a square-build, below-the-rim spoke in a 3-point reliant offense -- sets up as intriguing theater. Mast can triple-pivot his way out of most interior defensive looks, but the seventh-year senior who transferred from Bradley is still chasing a tournament win in his 152nd career game.
Troy's defensive pressure and energy to challenge the Cornhuskers' array of perimeter shooters is another stirring subplot.
Junior forward Thomas Dowd, MVP of the Sun Belt tournament, and junior Victor Valdes felt the sting of last year's tournament loss to Kentucky in Milwaukee. Both helped carry Troy down the stretch. It was all with a focus on putting the team back in the Big Dance.
"The first meeting we had, it was like, 'All right, we're going to go back dancing,'" Valdes said.
The winner of the Thursday matinee will match up against either No. 5 seed Vanderbilt or 12th-seeded McNeese State on Saturday.