Troy coach Scott Cross met with the media following his team’s 76-47 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The victory was the first NCAA Tournament win in Nebraska basketball history.

The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who scored 23 points in the victory. The former Iowa Hawkeye shot 7-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-12 from the 3-point line. Rienk Mast contributed 13 points and 6 rebounds in the win.

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As a team, the Huskers shot 25-of-65 from the field, 14-of-39 from the 3-point line and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Troy shot 13-of-46 from the floor, 8-of-28 from beyond the arc and 13-of-14 from the charity stripe.

Cross told the press that while the defeat was difficult to take, he knows his team won’t let this season be defined by this one loss.

“Thank you for being here. I would like to thank the good Lord for the opportunity to just have your guts absolutely ripped out. It stinks, but I told our guys in the locker room, they’re not defined by this basketball game.”

Troy entered the NCAA Tournament on a four-game winning streak after earning the regular-season and tournament titles in the Sun Belt Conference. Cross acknowledged that this Nebraska team is one of the best teams he’s seen in his over 25 years of coaching.

“They played an amazing team. Nebraska is one of the best teams. I’ve been doing this since 1998. They’re really, really freaking good. The way they shoot the basketball and the way they defend, watching it on video, you’re, like, man, there’s no openings as you watch it on video.”

Nebraska and Vanderbilt will play on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on TNT.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Troy coach Scott Cross said after first-round loss to Nebraska

No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores defeated the No. 12 McNeese State Cowboys in the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Vanderbilt eliminated McNeese by a score of 78-68 on Thursday afternoon in Oklahoma City. McNeese took the lead early in the first half, but Vanderbilt came back in the second half in a close, back-and-forth game.

Now, Vanderbilt will face off against the No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the second round at Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City on Saturday, March 21.

Here is everything you need to know in order to buy Vanderbilt vs. Nebraska March Madness basketball second round tickets.

Nebraska men’s basketball is amid an historic season in 2025-26, earning a program-best No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s unprecedented territory for the Cornhuskers, who have never experienced success in March Madness.

Literally.

REQUIRED READING: Can Nebraska basketball make March Madness history in OKC vs. Troy?

Seventh-year coach Fred Hoiberg didn’t make the NCAA tournament with Nebraska until his fifth season with the program in 2023-24. The Cornhuskers missed the big dance again last season, although they won the inaugural College Basketball Crown championship before winning 20 consecutive games to start the 2025-26 season.

No. 13 seed Troy, who’s making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, won’t be an easy out. Nebraska will also certainly be looking to lift some historical blunders off its shoulders with a win.

Here’s what to know of Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament history:

Has Nebraska ever won an NCAA Tournament game?

Nebraska is the only Power conference program to have never won a Men’s NCAA Tournament game, and has its best chance in program history to win its first when it faces Troy in the first round on Thursday, March 19.

It’s the Cornhuskers’ ninth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, having last made the field in 2024. Nebraska lost to Texas A&M 98-83, despite being a No. 8 seed against the No. 9 Aggies in the first round.

REQUIRED READING: Ranking 8 most likely March Madness upsets in NCAA Tournament first round

Hoiberg said March 18 that he hasn’t addressed the program’s NCAA Tournament history leading up to the game, and that he doesn’t plan to. He did note, however, that there’s pressure involved with the game.

“I know the first question is going to be Nebraska has never won a tournament game,” Hoiberg said. “We realize that. Have I talked to our players about it? No, I haven’t. They know. They see it. Is there a pressure that goes along with that? Of course there is.” 

Hoiberg’s son, Sam Hoiberg, is one of Nebraska’s top players. He also addressed what it would mean for the school to win a March Madness game.

“That’s what I’ve been dreaming of since I became a player in this program,” Sam Hoiberg said. “That’s the only thing left to do is get that tournament win. It’s the unsaid thing in every single room, is we don’t have a tournament win. So being able to do it as a senior would be pretty cool.”

REQUIRED READING: March Madness team tiers: Pretenders to contenders, who can win it all?

Nebraska NCAA Tournament history

• 2024: No. 9 Texas A&M 98, No. 8 Nebraska 83
• 2014: No. 6 Baylor 74, No. 11 Nebraska 60 
• 1998: No. 6 Arkansas 74, No. 11 Nebraska 65
• 1994: No. 11 Penn 90, No. 6 Nebraska 80 
• 1993: No. 7 New Mexico State 93, No. 10 Nebraska 79 
• 1992: No. 9 UConn 86, No. 8 Nebraska 65
• 1991: No. 14 Xavier 89, No. 3 Nebraska 84
• 1986: No. 8 Western Kentucky 67, No. 9 Nebraska 59