It was another slow start in a buy game for Nebraska men’s basketball in an 86-55 win over New Hampshire Tuesday night in Lincoln.
The Huskers trailed four-win New Hampshire 25-20 with 8:54 left in the first half.
It was a half in which Nebraska was out of sorts defensively and made just two of its 13 3-point attempts on the offensive end. The first 3 came on the second possession of the game from Berke Büyüktuncel.
For whatever reason, Nebraska has not started fast against teams as a heavy favorite. Despite the slow starts, the Huskers are 13-0 and finished nonconference play unbeaten for the first time since the 1928-29 season.
Adjustments were made in the first half. The Huskers focused more on their offensive game plan, making it an emphasis to get paint touches and get to the free-throw line.
“That was a big part of the game plan,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said of the paint touches. “They do a good job when you look at their analytics of taking away the 3 and we really stressed to our guys to get downhill and get paint touches.”
Nebraska ended the first half outsourcing New Hampshire 18-10 on points in the paint and 42-12 in the game. The size advantage was clear even in warmups, and Nebraska used that to garner a 44-33 rebounding advantage.
After leading by just three, 41-38 at halftime, the Huskers’ defensive adjustments in the second half won them the game.
“I thought our urgency on our closeouts was much better,” Hoiberg said. “I thought our rotations were crisper in the second half. They made eight 3s in the first, shooting 47%. They shoot 15% in the second half and that was all because of the urgency our guys showed on that end. I thought our hand activity was really good, forcing turnovers and getting out in the break.”
Threes Not Falling
The 2025-26 Husker team was built to shoot the 3 better than it did in 2024-25. That hasn’t been consistent in the 13 games thus far; there have been spurts and fits, but Tuesday against New Hampshire, the 3s weren’t falling. Finding a way to still win in blowout fashion is impressive.
“That was a big question I think people had about this team,” Hoiberg said. “Can you win ugly, a rock fight type of game? I think we’ve shown we’ve been very efficient inside the arc and we’re going to have to continue to do that. It’s only going to get tougher with the size of the teams we’re playing against.”
Tuesday, Nebraska finished the game making just five of its 23 shots from beyond the arc.
After the game, Hoiberg remained confident in his team’s shooting ability.
“I’m confident that we’re going to take the lid off,” Hoiberg said. “This team shoots it too well, just need to get a little confident from outside.”
Nebraska won’t go away from shooting the 3 with the number of shooters at all five positions.
“Keep hunting it, keep working on that confidence and those shots are going to fall,” Hoberg said.
Ugnius Jaruševičius Debut
Jaruševičius made his Husker debut at the 13:55 mark of the first half and played a total of 10:31 in the game.
“Uggy shook a lot of rust off tonight, and it was good to see him back out there in the second half,” Hoiberg said.
The 6-foot-11 senior missed the first 12 games of the season with a back injury that has taken some time to get right. He’s not fully healthy, but you can see the skill set he brings. His first offensive attempt was a wing 3-pointer that hit nothing but the net.
“It felt good. It’s been a while since I got to play basketball,” Jaruševičius said. “Nothing is promised, so I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can.”
It’s been a two-month process for him to get on the court, one with fits and starts.
“It was a lot of ups and downs, just trying to get better every day,” he said. “It’s still hurting, but not as much, not as bad as it was, but it’s getting better for sure.”
Nebraska is going to need his size, length and strength in Big Ten play. Getting him back in the lineup heading into the teeth of the season is a bonus.
“The past few months, there’s been a lot of lifting and not as much on-the-court activity,” he said of his journey back to game action. “Just getting back in shape, get shots up, just play basketball, that’s it.”
