The 10th-ranked Nebraska basketball team remained undefeated Monday night, using a late 9-0 run to defeat Ohio State, 72-69, at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Nebraska led for the majority of the game but found itself trailing 58-57 with under five minutes to play. But the Huskers responded with the decisive 9-0 run to turn the one-point deficit into an eight-point lead with under two minutes to play. Nebraska then held off a late rally by Ohio State to improve to 15-0 on the season and 4-0 in Big Ten Conference play.
It was a balanced night for the Big Red offense as all eight Huskers who played scored at least three points. Jamarques Lawrence and Pryce Sandfort each had 11 points while Rienk Mast scored 12 and Braden Frager led the Huskers with 15 points. Frager scored nine of his 15 points in the second half, including scoring seven of Nebraska's final nine points down the stretch with a pair of key three-point plays.
Ohio State shot better than Nebraska from the field and the 3-point line, and the Buckeyes enjoyed a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers. But the Husker reserves outscored the Ohio State bench 22-0, and Nebraska enjoyed a plus-nine advantage on the glass, led by nine rebounds from Sam Hoiberg, who also paced NU with four assists.
Nebraska shot 44 percent in the game compared to 46 percent for Ohio State, and the Huskers were 8-of-29 from beyond the arc while the Buckeyes were 9-of-26 from the 3-point line. Nebraska had an edge at the free throw line, converting 14-of-17 free throws while Ohio State was just 8-of-13 from the line.
John Mobley Jr. led Ohio State with a game-high 22 points, but the Buckeyes (10-4, 2-2 Big Ten) lost a one-possession game for the third time this season.
The Huskers shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and enjoyed a 21-13 advantage on the glass to take a 38-31 lead at the break. All eight Huskers who saw action broke into the scoring column in the first 20 minutes, including seven from Lawrence and six each from Berke Buyuktuncel, Hoiberg and Frager.
The Huskers opened the game with a 10-1 run in the first 1:59 game following 3-pointers from Sandfort and Lawrence. The Buckeyes clawed back into the game and were within 15-13 before the Husker bench keyed a 12-0 spurt over the next 3:10 to push the lead back to double figures. NU got 10 of the 12 points in the run from the bench and built a 27-13 advantage following Cale Jacobsen’s 3-point play at the 8:31 mark.
Mobley had 12 first-half points to keep OSU within striking distance, cutting the lead to five on two occasions, the last being at being at 36-31 with 2:03 left before a Buyuktuncel basket pushed the lead back to seven at the break.
Nebraska continued to lead until Ohio State took its first lead of the game at 49-48 at the midway point of the second half. The Buckeyes built the lead to as large as three before a 7-2 Husker spurt gave Nebraska a one-point advantage with 5:25 remaining. Ohio State answered with a 3-pointer to take its final lead before the Huskers responded with their 9-0 run.
Ohio State did not go away and made it a one-point game with 14 seconds remaining, but Lawrence knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with nine seconds remaining, and the Huskers forced a miss on the Buckeyes' final possession.
The Huskers wrap up a two-game road trip at Indiana this Saturday, Jan. 12. Tipoff in Bloomington is set for 11 a.m. (CT) and the game will be carried on BTN and the Huskers Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
* - Nebraska was ranked 10th in the AP Poll and 11th in the coaches poll on Monday. It marked NU’s highest AP ranking since Feb. 28, 1966, when the Huskers were ranked ninth.
* - Nebraska improved to 15-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Big Ten, extending the program’s best start in school history
* - Nebraska has now won 19 straight games dating back to the 2025 College Basketball Crown
* - Nebraska improves to 9-22 all-time against Ohio State with wins in five of the last seven meetings dating back to March 1, 2022
* - Tonight marked NU’s first win as a top-10 team since a 79-69 win over Kansas State on March 1, 1966.
* - Nebraska improved to 4-0 in Big Ten play for the first time in school history (2011-12 to present) and 4-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1975-76 team started 4-0 in the Big Eight Conference.
*-Nebraska had its 17th double-figure run of the season with a 12-0 spurt in the first half
*-Freshman Braden Frager led NU with 15 points off the bench. It was the third time he led NU in scoring and his ninth double-figure performance off the bench
*-Nebraska outscored OSU’s bench 22-0.
*- Sam Hoiberg led NU with nine rebounds, the third time he topped NU in boards this season. Hoiberg has grabbed 9 or more rebounds in two of the last three games. He also had four assists to one turnover and went 2-4 from 3-point range to match his season high.
*-Nebraska out-rebounded Ohio State, 38-29 and allowed just two second-chance points
*-Nebraska improves to 4-0 in games decided by one possession with three of those away from home.