Buyuktuncel triple-double helps Nebraska fight off North Dakota 78-55

Nebraska (12-0, 2-0) basketball is one-step closer to finishing 2025 unbeaten. The Huskers hosted Summit League opponent, North Dakota (5-9, 0-0) and weathered another slow start in a buy game to handle the Fighting Hawks 78-55

Berke Buyuktuncel had a second-half for the Husker record books. He tallied the first triple-double of his career, behind a career high ten assists. The first-half was anything but a dream start for the Huskers. They shot an abysmal 11.1% from 3-point range and struggled to protect the ball. They were able to grab a second-half lead, letting their defense and Buyuktuncel carry them the rest of the way in the battle with the Fighting Hawks.

Here is an instant recap of the Huskers up-and-down performance….

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Nebraska limps into halftime with worst half of the season

The Huskers played their worst half of the season in the first 20 minutes. Both teams left plenty to be desired on the offensive side of the ball. Nebraska entered Sunday as the best 3-point shooting team in the Big Ten, making 11.2 per game. The 3-point side of the NU offense didn’t seem to find its way on the court with the Huskers in the first-half.

NU started 0-for-10 from beyond the arc, including a possession when Jamarques Lawrence missed three of his own. Unfortunately, the Fighting Hawks weren’t to blame for the lack of shooting. The Huskers had plenty of open looks but could not find the bottom of the net. Jared Garcia broke the 3-point drought with a corner make at the 10-minute mark.

UND didn’t provide much of an offensive show compared to NU. The Fighting Hawks were fresh off a win over Winthrop, an opponent the Huskers narrowly beat earlier this season. Nebraska was able to bring its typically steady defense to counteract the Fighting Hawks. UND struggled to find offensive flow, working late into many possessions and putting up tough looks. They shot 31.3% in the first-half, which was only a few steps above NU’s 28.1%.

Braden Frager was able to give his team a slight energy lift on offense. The redshirt freshman continued his steady production as Nebraska’s first man off the bench. He tallied eight first-half points. A 3-point play from the Lincoln Southwest product brought NU within three, 24-21, with just over a minute to go in the half.

One bright side for NU was on the glass. The Huskers won the first-half offensive rebounding battle 5-3, and the overall rebounding battle 23-22. Garcia provided productive minutes off the bench once again with three points and three boards. Rienk Mast had three offensive boards but struggled shooting going 2-for-6 from the field and 0-for-3 from deep.

The Huskers went into the half down 26-24 and were lucky to be there. Only two players, Cale Jacobsen and Buyuktuncel, were on the positive side of the plus-minus at plus-1 each.

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Buyuktuncel, Frager lead flashy second-half

Nebraska wasted little time reclaiming the lead after the break. Sam Hoiberg provided the spark, bookending the intermission by scoring the final basket of the first-half and the first of the second. The senior weaved through the lane to tie the game before Buyuktuncel hit a free throw on the ensuing possession to pull ahead 27-26. The Pinnacle Bank Arena crowd, packed on a Sunday night just four days before Christmas, fueled the Huskers’ second-half surge. The arena erupted when Lawrence hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Hoiberg to reach the 30-point mark, which was only Nebraska’s third conversion from deep.

Hoiberg anchored the effort with a complete performance at point guard. He buried a 3-pointer with 14 minutes remaining, bringing his totals to seven points, four rebounds, and three assists. The other key guard, Lawrence, became the first Husker to enter double figures with a make from beyond the arc to give the Huskers a 43-35 lead with a tick over ten minutes to go.

Pryce Sandfort struggled to find his rhythm against UND just days after a dazzling performance against Illinois. In that previous outing, he scored a career-high 32 points, including 26 in the first-half. Against the Fighting Hawks, however, he was held scoreless until the seven-minute mark of the second-half. His first 3-pointer, which came on his sixth attempt of the night, finally pushed the Nebraska lead to a commanding 52-38.

UND’s Greyson Uelman hit back-to-back 3-pointers with six minutes remaining to cut the deficit to 10. Hoiberg drew a foul on the ensuing possession, hitting two free throws to reach double figures and extend the lead back to 12. Frager maintained his strong play with several key possessions in the second half, including two 3-point plays. The latter gave the Huskers a 65-49 lead at the under-4 media timeout. He finished the game with game-high 17 points.

The Huskers used ball movement and playmaking to steady the ship in the second-half. Buyuktuncel recorded a career high ten assists, most of which came in the second-half. Buyuktuncel finished with a full stat sheet, posting a triple-double. His previous career high was four assist. Also of note, Huskers transfer center Ugnius Jaruševičius was rumored to be returning from injury against UND, and even went through warmups with the team but did not see any time on the floor during the game.

NU has one buy game to go against New Hampshire. The Wildcats will head to Lincoln Dec. 30 for an 8 p.m.n tip as the Huskers look to cap off the undefeated 2025.

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