Nebraska men’s basketball improved to 2-0 thanks to a dominant 96-66 win over Florida International at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskers started strong at noon, as the score quickly showed. After easily brushing off West Georgia 86-53 on Monday, Nebraska carried that momentum into its game against the Panthers.
Rienk Mast was close to his first career triple-double two seasons ago against Michigan, but fell short.
It finally came on Saturday.
He only needed 25 minutes to put up the best numbers of his career, with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Success from the 3-point line
Nebraska hit 17 3-pointers on Saturday off 34 shot attempts. It was raining threes and the crowd was loving it.
Ten of the 12 players for the Huskers who saw playing time notched a shot from beyond the arc, shooting an even 50% as a collective.
Positioning was the tale of the contest for Nebraska; each player knew exactly where they needed to be to burn them in a scoring opportunity. The majority of the team’s 3-pointers came from the corner, distributing the ball from down in the paint and kicking it outside to the open man.
In his second year with the Huskers after transferring from Wisconsin, senior guard Connor Essegian found his stride, as he knocked down three of his own, off five attempts.
Although many players found success, it was a tad different for junior forward Pryce Sandfort. In the afternoon, the Iowa transfer shot 6-for-9 from downtown, providing lots of momentum to the dominant production.
Rienk Mast has been very effective in his return
“I am really happy for him for all of his work and how it’s paying off,” Fred Hoiberg said of Mast postgame.
Eighteen points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, marking the third triple-double in school history.
“I knew I was going to have a good passing game,” Mast said. “I knew there would be lots of opportunities to kick it out.”
He got to work early in the first half, accumulating 14 points and 10 boards in only 14 minutes. Most of his baskets came in the paint, aside from the two 3-pointers he connected with.
“Everyone was saying go get it,” Mast said.
Mast collected 10 of the team’s 29 total assists on 37 made shots from the field, which marked the most under head coach Fred Hoiberg, who’s in his eighth season at the helm of the program.
After redshirting the entire season last year due to his knee surgery, Mast has been a vital piece in Nebraska’s impressive start to its season.
“It was a very long year,” Mast said. “Days like these are what that whole year was about, to get back to this.”
His energy is felt by the entire team, as his stunning efforts on the offensive end are followed by his teammates.
Hoiberg is glad to have him back in the rotation, as he knows his presence was missed drastically in the team’s unfortunate finish to its 2024-2025 regular season, as they dropped five in a row.
The depth on this team is underappreciated
It’s the second consecutive game in a row for Nebraska putting up more than 85 points, which is something that they struggled with to end the season last year. This is a new team with high aspirations and a high ceiling, especially given their start thus far.
Five players reached double-digits in the points column. Sandfort finished with 20, scoring nine of which in less than two minutes on three straight triples.
“It was nice to see Pryce on that little stretch he had, to increase our lead,” Fred Hoiberg said. “Sam (Hoiberg) had a nice steal to get him a three.”
Every player who touched the court had a positive impact on the game, in one way or another. Most players found themselves on the stat sheet in the score column; meanwhile, senior guard Sam Hoiberg posted an astonishing plus-34 in +/-, proving he’s one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten conference.
“He’s made big plays in the first two games,” Fred Hoiberg said. “Six assists and one turnover, that’s making an impact when the ball isn’t going in the basket.”
The Huskers surely have a different look to the squad from last year, but they look better than ever, driven with purpose and hunger.
Nebraska will be back at home on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 7:00 p.m. CST to take on Maryland Eastern Shore.