January 17th, 2026

No. 8 Nebraska stays unbeaten with a dominant 77-58 win over Northwestern

By Canadian Press on January 17, 2026.

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Braden Frager and Pryce Sandfort each scored 20 points and No. 8 Nebraska stayed unbeaten with a 77-58 victory at Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.

Sam Hoiberg had 12 points and seven rebounds to help the Cornhuskers (18-0, 7-0 Big Ten) add another win to the best start in school history.

Nebraska led 34-29 at halftime and stretched the advantage to 41-32 minutes into the second half after Hoiberg capped a 7-0 spurt with a 3-pointer. The Wildcats (8-10, 0-7) got as close as 46-41 a few minutes later but the Cornhuskers answered with a 17-3 run to turn the game into a rout.

The Cornhuskers turned 11 Wildcat miscues into a dozen points as they retained at least a share of the conference lead.

Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli, who started the day as the nation’s second leading scorer, led the hosts with 22 points and 10 rebounds, but managed just seven points after the break.

Tre Singleton added 14 points as the Wildcats dropped their fifth straight.

Up next

Nebraska: Welcomes Washington on Wednesday night.

Northwestern: Visits Southern California the same evening.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The Associated Press



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