Three Things We Learned in Nebraska Basketball’s Exhibition Loss to BYU

Nebraska basketball dropped its second straight exhibition game Friday night.

After falling 79-74 to Saint Louis a week ago, the Huskers suffered an 11-point loss to BYU in Provo, Utah. While exhibition games don’t count, there are still reasons for concern but still plenty of time to work out the kinks before the regular season begins in early November.

Here are three things we learned from NU’s performance at the Marriott Center.

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1. BYU is a Bad Matchup for the Huskers (But That’s a Good Thing)

BYU guard Robert Wright III | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Outside of Robert Wright III, a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 18.1 points, 4.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game last season, BYU is an extremely big, athletic, and physical team. Nebraska struggled against those types of opponent’s last season. While Fred Hoiberg dipped into the transfer portal to address that weakness, the early results through two exhibition games haven’t been extremely encouraging.

Don’t get me wrong, BYU and Saint Louis are good teams. However, against Purdue, Michigan, UCLA, and Michigan State, the Huskers will face athletes with similar or more impressive physical traits. Fortunately, NU can learn from these matchups and make adjustments while the games still don’t count.

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The Huskers will need to outhustle, outwork, and outrun more physically imposing teams to replicate the success they had in 2025-26. It’s not a major concern just yet, but it’s certainly something to watch.

2. Nebraska’s Sports Cars Need to Be Used

Pryce Sandfort (21) and Braden Frager play defense during the Huskers’ win against Troy in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nebraska won a program-record 28 games a season ago, with First-Team All-Big Ten selection Pryce Sandfort and Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Braden Frager playing key roles. Through two exhibition games, however, neither has produced enough offensively.

Sandfort, who set a single-season…

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Publish date : 2026-10-17 15:43:00

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