OKLAHOMA CITY — Out of the locker room and into the Paycom Center hallway, the Nebraska contingent went, traces of delirium on their faces and drips of water rolling off their mussed follicles. It had been almost 20 minutes since the game of their lives, the game of this NCAA Tournament, the game that will always be remembered by Nebraska and Vanderbilt fans — in very different ways — was won on the tiniest of bounces.
Yet as they walked toward a postgame news conference late Saturday night to discuss it all, they passed a tunnel leading into the arena and were greeted with screams. Nebraska fans with seats around the tunnel spotted them, because thousands of Nebraska fans were still in their seats, reveling, the music still thumping in the arena, as if some kind of encore would be happening.
As if Nebraska 74, Vanderbilt 72 — won and lost several times by both teams until Braden Frager’s layup went for Nebraska and Tyler Tanner’s halfcourt shot went in and out for Vanderbilt — weren’t enough.
“Heyyyy!” Nebraska’s Rienk Mast yelled to the fans, giving them a point as the Cornhuskers kept marching, and dripping, and laughing.
Mast gave teammate Pryce Sandfort a slap on the back as Sandfort said to Frager, of the winning basket made possible when Sandfort zipped a pass to him: “I was so close to pulling that 3. Oh my God. And you were wide open.”
And Mast sat and listened as coach Fred Hoiberg told the assembled media: “You guys have no idea how invasive that (left knee) procedure that Rienk went through. … More than anything, I’m just happy for him because you see the joy. It was hard.”
It took everything for South Region No. 4 seed Nebraska (28-6) to survive the greatness of Tanner and No. 5 seed Vanderbilt (27-9), earning the first Sweet 16 in program history and a Thursday date in Houston with No. 1 seed Florida or No. 9 seed Iowa. It took the 15,000 or so fans in red in the arena, making it feel much more like a Big Ten home game in February than a March Madness setting.
It took hot shooting early, clutch shooting late, eight missed Vanderbilt free throws, four scorers in double figures and the ability to summon composure through the fatigue and panic as Vanderbilt turned a 10-point deficit into a five-point advantage with 5:34 to play.
It took Mast taking over in timeout huddles to make sure the Cornhuskers didn’t lose that composure.
“That’s what he does,” Nebraska’s Cale Jacobsen said of Mast, who also had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound senior from Groningen, Netherlands, is only on this team because he had to miss all of last season recovering from knee surgery. As the Lincoln Journal-Star recently reported, it was far beyond a typical knee surgery — it was a cartilage transplant from a cadaver to alleviate a condition called osteochondritis dissecans.
And there was ample risk that his knee would reject the tissue, and a long time period of Mast rehabilitating but not knowing for sure. Just as so many things had to come together for the Cornhuskers to follow up the program’s first NCAA Tournament win with another, Mast’s successful recovery was a central part of a team coming together that could make that kind of history.
This NCAA Tournament, like the last one, has been light on Cinderella stories and heavy on big brands and big favorites rolling. Saturday night at Paycom Arena was the Big Ten vs. the SEC, the top two money hoarders in an industry guided by their hoarding.
But it was also two groups of players and coaches as endearing as your average mid-major No. 13 seed. It was little Tanner, the lightly regarded 2024 recruit, dropping 27 and nearly one of the greatest shots in NCAA Tournament history. It was little Sam Hoiberg, on his birthday (and the birthday of twin and Nebraska manager Charlie), extending his career with so many gutty plays. It was big Mast in the middle of it all, a guy who probably shouldn’t be playing, facilitating and narrating for his team.
“He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” Sam Hoiberg said. “My dad said it to you guys, the most disciplined player, and it’s all true. I live with Rienk, I see it every single day, how disciplined he is. But he’s such a good dude, too.”
That dude zipped a pass to Berke Buyuktuncel with 2:08 left for his fourth assist to give Nebraska back a 68-67 lead. Then AK Okereke drilled a corner 3-pointer for Vanderbilt. Then Mast tried to take the lead right back with his fourth 3-pointer but it missed — into the hands of Hoiberg, who tied the game with the rare diminutive point-guard putback.
Then Tanner sliced through the Nebraska defense as he did all night, a layup for a 72-70 lead with 58 seconds left. Then Hoiberg tried to answer with a drive, missing — into the hands of Mast, whose putback tied it with 37 ticks left. One more Nebraska stop, Sandfort rebounding a Chandler Bing miss, set up the final sequence.
Sandfort to a cutting Frager. Tanner from behind halfcourt, then to the court on his back, both hands to his face.
“Hit every part of the rim,” Fred Hoiberg said.
“I think it took me a half a second to register it didn’t go in, and then I just screamed in elation,” Sam Hoiberg said.
“I just about died,” Sandfort said.
“Like, I just went completely blank,” Mast said.
As for Tanner, when asked if he thought it was going in, he could only nod his head. The devastation on the Vanderbilt side was exactly as you’d expect. And for Vanderbilt fans, this one might occupy a higher spot on a list that includes Matthew Fisher-Davis mistakenly fouling Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh with his team up and 17 seconds left … and the Murray State buzzer-beater in 2010 … and Roy Hibbert’s obvious but uncalled travel in 2007 … and that 1993 loss to Temple …
“This is going to take a long time for myself and this team to get over,” said Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington, who has worked wonders in two seasons.
“They were so close to being in our shoes,” Jacobsen said of the Commodores. “My heart goes out to those guys.”
But his guys are moving on, and might be as Cinderella-like as any group left in this thing. A few feet away from Jacobsen, Mast was holding court with reporters. He moved some chairs out of the way to create space. He started to grab one for himself, stopped and said: “Nah, I don’t need it.”
“This is unbelievable,” Mast said. “Like, ‘Oh my God, we really did this. … Last year was pretty tough. But like throughout that whole year, this is what you work toward. I’m so grateful to stand where I’m at right now.”
