Braden Frager kissed the ball off the glass with his left hand and gave Nebraska a 74-72 lead with 2.2 seconds left. He was certain the Cornhuskers were heading to the Sweet 16. Then, Tyler Tanner caught the inbound, took one dribble, and launched from half court.
The ball dropped into the cylinder. The Oklahoma City arena went silent.
Then, it bounced out.
Nebraska Just Barely Advances to Sweet 16
Nebraska survived Vanderbilt 74-72 Saturday night in one of the most harrowing second-round finishes in recent NCAA Tournament memory. Tanner, who had scored a game-high 27 points, came within an inch of stealing the game with a desperation heave that rattled in and out as time expired.
“That last shot, man, it just took my breath away,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “That kid is an unbelievable player, and when that thing was up in the air, I was like, ‘Man, that’s going in.’ It hit every part of the rim. Thankfully, it bounced out.”
The players on the court thought it was good. Frager, still processing the shot he had just hit to put his team ahead, froze when Tanner’s heave dropped.
“I thought it went in,” Frager said. “I didn’t know how to react, and I was just — everybody started celebrating. I was like, ‘Yeah, he actually missed it, so…'”
Guard Sam Hoiberg had a direct view from the sideline.
“My heart sank as that ball went in the hoop, and then it went out,” he said. “And I think it took me half a second to register it didn’t go in, and then I just screamed in elation. I thought it was in.”
Pryce Sandfort could barely speak.
“I just about died,” Sandfort said. “I was on the side, so I didn’t know the angle it was on. But man, I just want to thank the good Lord Jesus Christ for that one.”
A Program That Never Won a Tournament Game Is Now in the Sweet 16
This is Nebraska basketball rewritten. The Cornhuskers did not have a single NCAA Tournament victory in program history entering this week.
They picked up their first two days ago in the first round. Now they have their second, and they are in the Sweet 16 for the first time ever.
Nebraska fans packed the arena in Oklahoma City and never sat down. They threw popcorn like confetti when the final buzzer confirmed the win. Handmade signs reading “Sweet 16 Corn Season” and “GBR” dotted the stands.
Vanderbilt had a brilliant player in Tanner, who made the Huskers earn every possession. The shot at the buzzer was the kind of attempt that ruins bracket runs and breaks fanbases. This one stayed cruel only for an instant before physics intervened and gave Nebraska the greatest finish in its program’s history.
The Cornhuskers are not done.
“We’re flying back home at 11 o’clock tomorrow,” Fred Hoiberg said. “We’ll get back.”
The Sweet 16 awaits, and Nebraska has now proven it belongs there.
