The No. 4 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the No. 13 seed Troy Trojans in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 19, 2026, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The victory marked the first NCAA tournament win in program history.[1][2]
Nebraska, a member of the Big Ten Conference coached by Fred Hoiberg since December 2019, had entered the tournament with strong momentum from a 27-6 regular season.[3] The Cornhuskers had lost in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals to Purdue earlier in March.[1]
Prior to this game, Nebraska had made eight appearances in the NCAA tournament without a win, holding a 0-8 record. The program's last appearance came in 2014 as a No. 11 seed, falling 60-74 to No. 6 Baylor in the first round.[1][2][4]
Troy, from the Sun Belt Conference, started the game strongly but was unable to sustain the effort against Nebraska. Key contributors for the Cornhuskers included guard Jamarques Lawrence and forward Braden Frager, who each scored in double figures.[1]
Nebraska advanced to the second round, where they will face the winner of the matchup between Vanderbilt and McNeese State.[1]
The Paycom Center, home arena of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, has hosted multiple NCAA tournament games in recent years.[5]
Sources
- Fox News Digital
Fox News Sports Coverage: Nebraska vs. Troy, 2026 NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2026
https://www.foxnews.com/sports - NCAA.com
Men's Basketball Tournament History
Accessed October 2024
https://www.ncaa.com/history/basketball-men/d1 - University of Nebraska Athletics
Men's Basketball Roster and History
Accessed October 2024
https://huskers.com/sports/mens-basketball - Wikipedia
Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
Accessed October 2024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_Cornhuskers_men%27s_basketball - Wikipedia
Paycom Center
Accessed October 2024
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paycom_Center
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