No. 9 Nebrasketball Outlasts Iowa in Overtime on Senior Day
LINCOLN — Momentum for the Big Red going into tournament time.
On an emotional Senior Day at Pinnacle Bank Arena, No. 9 Nebrasketball held off Iowa in overtime, 84-75. The Huskers improved to 26-5 on the year and 15-5 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Hawkeyes fell to 20-11 overall and 10-10 in the league.
The win avenges a loss to the Hawkeyes in Iowa City last month.
- The Game
- The Stats
- What’s Next
- Big Ten Standings
- The Tournament Picture
- Video Analysis
- Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes
- Nebraska Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Schedule
The Game
As has been the case for a while now, Nebrasketball got out to a slow start.
The Huskers made just one shot in the first five minutes, as the Hawkeyes held a small lead of 10-8 at the 11:52 mark. A Cale Jacobsen layup jumpstarted a 7-0 Husker run.
The Big Red would not trail for the rest of regulation.
The lead stretched to as many as 11 points in the second half. Both teams were red hot. At one point, Iowa had made five straight shots. Nebraska built its lead by cashing in on 10-of-11.
The Hawkeyes, however, didn’t go away. Runs of 4-0 and 6-0 closed the gap as the Huskers went multiple minutes between baskets.
Going into the final minute of regulation, with Nebraska up 68-62, Iowa was the aggressor. Kael Combs was allowed to freely drive to the basket for back-to-back layups. After Jamarques Lawrence missed the front end of a one-and-one, Combs again drove, this time getting fouled on the shot.
Combs went 1-for-2 at the line. Pryce Sandfort proceeded to make both of his on the other end to put NU up by 70-67. Bennett Stirtz missed a shot from the wing, but an offensive rebound was passed out to Combs at the top. Combs tied the game with 2.7 seconds to go.
All tied up in Lincoln 😱@IowaHoops hits the game-tying triple with 2.7 left.
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/i3fSUqkWOe
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 8, 2026
A trio of timeouts later, Jacobsen inbounded the ball to Sam Hoiberg, whose half-court heave came up just short.
In the extra period, Nebraska struck first with a Jacobsen three-pointer. A pair of Hoiberg free throws extended that lead to five points.
But, again, Iowa responded. The Hawkeyes got their own three-pointer and free throws to tie the game.
And, again, it was Jacobsen to respond. The Nebraska native hit a three-pointer in the corner to go up 78-75 with 90 seconds to go in overtime. Iowa missed two shots and had two turnovers the rest of the way, as Hoiberg made a pair of free throws and Lawrence got a steal and a layup to clinch the victory.
The Stats
Nebraska shot 50% for the game, including 10-of-27 on three-pointers. Iowa made 48.2% of its shots, making 11-of-30 from deep.
In overtime, the Huskers shot 80% (4-of-5), while the Hawkeyes went just 1-for-6 (17%).
Nebraska, due in part to having the lead and Iowa attempting to extend the game, shot 12 more free throws. The Huskers went 20-for-27 at the line, while the Hawkeyes went 10-for-15.
Hawkeyes Cooper Koch and Combs led all scorers with 18 points each.
A trio of Huskers led the Big Red on Saturday. Hoiberg, Sandfort, and Jacobsen scored 15 points each. Rienk Mast rounded out the balanced scoring with 14 points.
Beyond the scoring, Jacobsen grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Sandfort pulled down seven. Lawrence had a game-high six assists, followed by five from Sandfort. Hoiberg notched five steals.
What’s Next
The regular season has come to a close, and attention now turns to the Big Ten Conference Tournament. The win over Iowa, plus Michigan beating Michigan State, Nebraska secures the 2 seed in the BTT.
Nebraska gets a triple bye to the quarterfinals on Friday in Chicago. The Huskers will take on the survivor of Purdue (7), Indiana (10), Northwestern (15), and Penn State (18). That quarterfinal game will tip at 5:30 p.m. CDT and be televised on the Big Ten Network.
Big Ten Standings
Here are the final standings ahead of the conference tournament.
- Michigan
- Nebraska
- Michigan State
- Illinois
- Wisconsin
- UCLA
- Purdue
- Ohio State
- Iowa
- Indiana
- Minnesota
- Washington
- USC
- Rutgers
- Northwestern
- Oregon
- Maryland
- Penn State
The Tournament Picture
Nebraska entered the day on the 3-line on 47 of the 53 brackets on Bracket Matrix. One bracket had NU as a two and the others put the Huskers at a four.
By the metrics, the Huskers opened Sunday at 12th in the NET, 18th in KPI, 8th in SOR, 9th in WAB, 17th in BPI, 12th in the KenPom, and 18th in the Torvik.
While Nebraska is fighting for as high a seed as possible, the order of the teams with the Huskers is just as important. The two closest first weekend sites are St. Louis and Oklahoma City.
With Sunday’s win, Oklahoma City is squarely on the table as Nebraska jockeys for position with Illinois, Purdue, Iowa State, Alabama, Texas Tech, and Kansas. The order of those teams, all behind Houston, will determine who gets OKC.
The selection show is set for 5 p.m. CDT on Sunday, March 15. It will air on CBS.
Video Analysis
Jack Mitchell and Kaleb Henry break down the win and look ahead to the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
A double-digit lead in the second half went away, but the Huskers got it done in overtime. Kaleb Henry has four Quick Kernels from the win at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to [email protected].
Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes
- Nebraska improved to 26-5 on the season, matching the program record for most wins in a season since 1990-91.
- Nebraska finishes tied for second in the Big Ten standings, the program’s best conference finish in the Big Ten era and since tying for second in the Big Eight in 1992-93.
- Nebraska finishes with a 15-5 Big Ten record, its most conference wins in school history. NU went 8-2 at home in Big Ten play and 7-3 on the road.
- Nebraska finished with 84 points, matching the most points Iowa has allowed this season. Nebraska became just the third time to score above its season average against Iowa this season
- Nebraska improves to 1-1 in overtime games this season
- Nebraska hit 10 3-pointers in the win, setting a school record with 327. That broke the old mark of 319 set in 2023-24.
- Nebraska has now hit 10 or more 3-pointers 20 times on the season.
- Nebraska forced Iowa into a season-high 19 turnovers, as its previous high was 16 against Iowa State on Dec. 11, 2025.
- Cale Jacobsen finished with career highs in both points (15) and rebounds (eight) off the bench. Jacobsen’s previous career high was 11, done three other times, most recently at UCLA on March 3. Jacobsen’s previous career high in rebounds was six, set five other times, most recently against Northwestern on Feb. 14.
- Jacobsen tied for team-high honors with 15 points, the first time in his career he has led NU in scoring. He is the sixth different Husker to lead NU in scoring this season.
- Sam Hoiberg had five steals this afternoon, upping his career total to (158). He passed Tyronn Lue, who had 154 steals between 1995-1998. Hoiberg now has 66 steals on the season, moving into ninth place on NU’s single-season chart.
- Nebraska improves to 15-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points.
Nebraska Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Schedule
- Oct. 18 Nebraska 90, BYU 89
- Oct. 27 Nebraska 91, Midland 50
- Nov. 3 Nebraska 86, West Georgia 53
- Nov. 8 Nebraska 96, Florida International 66
- Nov. 11 Nebarska 69, Maryland-Eastern Shore 50
- Nov. 15 Nebraska 105, Oklahoma 99 (Sanford Pentagon)
- Nov. 20 Nebraska 84, New Mexico 72 (Hall of Fame Classic)
- Nov. 21 Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85 (Hall of Fame Classic)
- Nov. 25 Nebraska 80, Winthrop 73
- Nov. 29 Nebraska 72, South Carolina Upstate 63
- Dec. 7 Nebraska 71, Creighton 50
- Dec. 10 Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60
- Dec. 13 Nebraska 83, Illinois 80
- Dec. 21 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
- Dec. 30 Nebraska 86, New Hampshire 55
- Jan. 2 Nebraska 58, Michigan State 56
- Jan. 5 Nebraska 72, Ohio State 69
- Jan. 10 Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
- Jan. 13 Nebraska 90, Oregon 55
- Jan. 17 Nebraska 77, Northwestern 58
- Jan. 21 Nebraska 76, Washington 66
- Jan. 24 Nebraska 76, Minnesota 57
- Jan. 27 Michigan 75, Nebraska 72
- Feb. 1 Illinois 78, Nebraska 69
- Feb. 7 Nebraska 80, Rutgers 68
- Feb. 10 Purdue 80, Nebraska 77
- Feb. 14 Nebraska 68, Northwestern 49
- Feb. 17 Iowa 57, Nebraska 52
- Feb. 21 Nebraska 87, Penn State 64
- Feb. 25 Nebraska 74, Maryland 61
- Feb. 28 Nebraska 82, USC 67
- March 3 UCLA 72, Nebraska 52
- March 8 Nebraska 84, Iowa 75
- March 13 vs. TBD 5:30 p.m. BTN (Big Ten Tournament)
- March 10-15 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago
Home games are bolded. All times central.
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