Nebraska men’s basketball started its 2026-27 campaign with the convincing win it needed. After some early questions were raised regarding the 1-2 record in the exhibition season, the Huskers dominated Le Moyne at home in all areas, earning a season-opening victory 106-64.
The Huskers offense entered into a strong rhythm in the first half. All eight players sent to the ground by head coach Fred Hoiberg scored. Cale Jacobsen And Pryce Sandfort combined for 30 points in the first half. The Naismith Trophy Watch List selection went 7-of-13 from the field and finished with 20 points for the game.
Jacobsen was a spark for the offense late in the first half. The senior went on a 10-2 run of his own, draining two 3-pointers. He scored a new career-high 16 points in the second half, breaking his previous mark of 15 points against Iowa in the regular season finale the previous season.
Trevan Leonhardt was a pleasant surprise on offense playing a real point guard. The senior newcomer had seven points, five rebounds and seven assists. The offense was as steady as a yacht throughout the game. The first eight players to touch the floor for NU had 7 or more points. Five Huskers finished in double figures with Jacob Lanier And Damon Wilkinson reflecting everyone’s 11 points. Connor Essegian made the most of his minutes in garbage time with 13 points in the last ten minutes of the game.
Here’s an instant recap of the season-opening blowout….
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Eight scorers lead Nebraska to big halftime lead
The Huskers began their path back to the NCAA tournament by earning the first bucket of the game with a Boden Kapke set up. Sandfort found its way on the board with four early points on 2-for-3 shooting early on. His first bucket, coming from a clean crossover, allowed him to surpass the 1,000 career points mark. The Dolphins offense was in sync from the start and had a 12-10 lead at the under-16 timeout.
The Huskers’ new point guard steadied a rocky shooting vessel. Leonhardt had four points midway through the first half while adding four rebounds and two assists. The Utah Valley transfer has big shoes to fill after Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence left a hole to fill at the guard spots. Unfortunately for NU, they were just 2 of 7 from distance after ten minutes in the first half despite a steady dose of good looks.
Lanier, the former four-star, notched his first official college bucket to lead the Huskers 24-17. Taj De Gourville drained the Huskers’ third 3-pointer of the night. The former San Diego State Aztec was first off the bench alongside Lanier and former South Dakota State Jackrabbit Wilkinson.
Wilkinson showed how steady the NU bench could be by adding nine more points in the first half, including a 7-for-7 clip from the line. Sandfort eclipsed the ten-point mark with a 3-pointer that came true thanks to two offensive boards from Lanier. The Huskers pushed that lead to 17 points after Jacobsen went on a solo 10-2 run for his first points of the season. Jacobsen, who is a 36 percent 3-point shooter in his career, made both long-range attempts he made in the first half, helping the Big Red take a 58-32 halftime lead.
Jacobsen and the Huskers walk away behind his career-high night
The Huskers didn’t slow down to start the second half. The balanced scoring continued as four different players scored in the first four minutes of the second half. Sandfort converted two free throws to bring his total to a game-high 18 points. NU extended its lead to 30 points with Kapke’s putback after Lanier missed a dunk attempt. Kapke finished the game with eight points in his Lincoln debut.
Jacobsen kept the offense going in the second half. The Ashland native scored a new career-high 16 points with 13 minutes left. The Huskers started letting the bench play with 8:28 left. Essegian checked in as the ninth man, marking his first real game action since his season-ending injury in 2025 non-conference play.
Essegian made his first appearance of the night after experiencing a serious slump in exhibition play and Nebraska had its largest lead of the night with 35. The bench continued to empty as the freshmen Colin Rice and tall sophomore Leo Curtis recorded to bring the total rotation to 11. Notably, Sam Ormewho was a key offseason acquisition, did not play despite expectations of him playing limited minutes.
Will Cooper, Kadyn Betts and originally from Nebraska Henry Burt scored the last Huskers off the bench after the under-four media timeout. Essegian made his time on the court count by scoring a total of three 3-pointers. His final score of the match took his team to the 100-point mark and a crushing victory.
The Huskers’ next game is Saturday, November 7 against Providence. The match will take place at 6 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
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