Nebraska men’s basketball opens its 2026-27 regular season on Monday.
The Huskers’ third exhibition gave us a better idea of what Fred Hoiberg’s rotations might look like after the head coach made liberal use of his bench in the first two.
With all three exhibitions — losses to St. Louis and BYU and a win over Kansas State — there are things to be confident in heading into the season. There are still some things to consider as the season gets underway against Le Moyne.
Reasons for Confidence
The confidence in Pryce Sandfort is about as high as it gets heading into the season. Sandfort, a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection, averaged 18.1 points per game on nearly 48% shooting and 4.9 rebounds per game as a junior. He ranked fourth nationally in 3-pointers per game (3.7) while shooting 41.6% from beyond the arc. His 129 3-pointers last season broke the single-season program record and was the second-highest total in Big Ten history.
Wednesday, Sandfort was selected as one of 20 preseason candidates for the 2027 Julius Erving Award, recognizing the top small forward in the nation.
Teams will key on Sandfort more this season, but the added strength in the offseason should help him handle that physical toll on both ends of the floor.
Last season Braden Frager was named the Big Ten sixth-man of the year and was a member of the league’s all-freshman team. This season, Frager will need to improve on his 11.8-point and 3.8-rebound averages from a season ago.
For Nebraska to reach its full potential and return to a Sweet 16, Sandfort and Frager will likely need to average 30 to 40 points per game between them, something they are certainly capable of doing.
Supplemental Pieces
The Huskers will need a third scorer, and who that will be is still up in the air. Cale Jacobsen started the three exhibition games in place of injured Belmont transfer Sam Orme.
Nebraska brought in Orme to add a scoring punch at the power forward position, particularly from 3-point range. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 12.7 points on 55.9% from the field and 39.7% from beyond the arc.
Thursday, Fred Hoiberg said they are taking it slow with Orme because they don’t want his injured hamstring to linger throughout the season.
“We’re taking a very precautionary approach to this,” Hoiberg said. “Those hamstrings, quads, those types of things can be tricky and linger on if you try to rush back.”
Orme should be that third scorer, but we just haven’t seen him yet because of the injury.
“Sam’s got great size,” Hoiberg said. “His ability to shoot the ball, that’s his biggest strength.”
Trevan Leonhardt drives to the basket against St. Louis guard Quentin Jones (1). Photo by John S. Peterson.
Trevan Leonhardt is the team’s starting point guard. Nebraska targeted him early when the transfer portal window opened for two reasons: his maturity and his playmaking ability.
“His first instinct out there on the court is to be a playmaker and facilitator,” Hoiberg said. “He is elite at it.”
Leonhardt is not Sam Hoiberg with his on ball defensive pressure, but he did set the career steals record at Utah Valley (159), and getting deflections is what makes the Huskers’ defense successful. Offensively, Leonhardt’s ability to make good decisions and be the true initiator of the offense is something the Huskers will count on this season. He was fifth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.36-to-1).
“He’ll knock down shots,” Hoiberg said of Leonhardt. “He’ll step up and make a big one for us in games. That’s what he’s been doing for us in practice.”
Cale Jacobsen’s role will grow in 2026-27. He is one of the Huskers’ vocal leaders this season, a void that needs filled with the loss of Sam Hoiberg, Rienk Mast and Jamarques Lawrence. If he isn’t starting, he is more than likely to be the team’s first player off the bench. Jacobsen’s ability to play multiple positions and be the team’s swiss army knife will be key.
Question Marks
Consistent production from the post players and the backcourt is something the Huskers are searching for as they head into the regular season.
The replacement for Rienk Mast will be Boston College transfer Boden Kapke. It will be hard to replace Mast’s leadership along with his on-court presence. One of Mast’s best attributes was his playmaking. In the half-court, Mast could initiate the offense, make good decisions in dribble-handoff situations and hit cutters from the top of the key.
Kapke is not the passer that Mast is and doesn’t handle the ball like Mast. In the three exhibition games, Kapke played a total of 34 minutes, scored 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting, grabbed 10 total rebounds (six offensive) and his assist-to-turnover rate was 1.25.
After the three exhibition games, South Dakota State transfer Damon Wilkinson has performed a tick better. His physicality hasn’t been a surprise. His shooting ability from beyond the arc has been (2-of-3 after not attempting one as a Jackrabbit).
Damon Wilkinson makes a layup against the Kansas State Wildcats. Photo by John S. Peterson.
“Both those guys are going to play a big role,” Hoiberg said of Kapke and Wilkinson.
In addition to the playmaking, Mast was a much bigger threat from deep as a Husker (4.3 attempts per game across his two seasons) than either Kapke or Wilkinson have shown to be in their careers. Kapke shot 33.3% on 2.8 attempts per game last season at Boston College but made just one of his 10 attempts in the three exhibition games.
Leo Curtis is the other post player that Nebraska will incorporate. Hoiberg used the second-year player sparingly and situationally for the Huskers in 2025-26. Despite not playing in the final exhibition versus Kansas State, Curtis should have a bigger role this year, likely against teams with larger lineups.
“He will have more of a role certainly than he did a year ago where it was more by circumstance,” Hoiberg said of Curtis. “This year he’s shown more what he can do … All three of those guys, we are going to need them. When we get into league, we are going to need those big-big lineups, and I’m confident putting all three of those guys on the court.”
The offense and how Nebraska uses whichever of the three true post players is on the court will look different than with Mast, which has been and will continue to be an adjustment from last season.
Who will run the offense after Leonhardt is up in the air. Cale Jacobsen can fill that role and get the ball where it should go. Nebraska brought in San Diego State transfer Taj DeGourville to provide some length and explosiveness in the backcourt.
“That’s what we need out of Taj; we need that pace,” Hoiberg said. “He’s the most capable that we have on this team of playing with a burst and getting that ball up the floor quickly.”
Perhaps the star of the Huskers’ three exhibitions was Jacob Lanier. The freshman from Little Rock, Ark., provided a burst off the bench for the Huskers in all three. Lanier averaged over 15 minutes and 11.3 points while shooting 10-of-22 from the field, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range.
Lanier is a score-first guard and is still learning how to get his teammates involved in the offense. His scoring punch off the bench is something the Huskers will utilize in the regular season.
“Jacob has obviously been terrific,” Hoiberg said. “He’s obviously shown that he belongs on the court. I’ve been really pleased with him, and he took advantage of his opportunity.”
Jacob Lanier dribbles the ball against Kansas State Wildcat forward Isaiah Abraham. Photo by John S. Peterson.
In Nebraska’s exhibitions, particularly against Kansas State, the Huskers played a three-guard lineup that included Leonhardt, DeGourville and Lanier on the floor at the same time.
Despite the success as a team last season, rebounding and toughness is something the Huskers preached all year. It will be a primary focus once again after losing the team’s top three rebounders in Mast, Berke Büyüktuncel and Sam Hoiberg.
The guards will need to once again rebound down, and Hoiberg challenged Frager in the offseason to help fill that void.
Frager didn’t have a rebound in the first exhibition game against Saint Louis, then had seven in the first half at BYU and was the star in the 88-84 exhibition win against Kansas State with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
“We are going to need him,” Hoiberg said. “We lost the top three rebounders, toughness guys from our group from a year ago … We need someone to step up and fill that role … He’s certainly capable, and we need that consistency that he’s shown the last two games.”
Expectations are high after the first Sweet 16 appearance in program history. The 2026-27 roster has one surefire star in Sandfort. Frager’s increased role and consistent play could catapult him into an All-Big Ten player. If the supporting pieces from the transfer portal are hits and not misses, the 2026-27 Huskers can match those lofty expectations.
It all starts against Le Moyne on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Plus.
