Huskers Honored by Big Ten for Record-Breaking Season

By Nebraska Athletics

LINCOLN, Neb. — A season of firsts continued for the Nebraska men’s basketball program Tuesday, as the Big Ten Conference announced its annual awards. Pryce Sandfort, Braden Frager, Sam Hoiberg and Rienk Mast all earned conference accolades while Head Coach Fred Hoiberg was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

NU finished the Big Ten regular season with a 15-5 Big Ten record, breaking the school record for most conference wins, and tied for second in the conference regular-season standings. Nebraska’s No. 2 seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament is the highest seed the Huskers have ever had in a conference postseason tournament.

Sandfort earned first-team All-Big Ten honors by the coaches and second-team laurels from the media, giving the Huskers a first-team selection for the second straight year. Both the coaches and media pick five-member first, second and third teams.  In Big Ten play, Sandfort led the Huskers in scoring average at 19.4 points and added 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. The junior from Waukee, Iowa, hit 79 3-pointers in Big Ten play to rank second in conference history and finished among league leaders in league play in 3-pointers per game (3.95, first), 3-point percentage (.418, fifth), scoring average (eighth) and field goal percentage (.483, ninth). He totaled nine 20-point games in conference play, including 30-point efforts at Illinois, Penn State and at USC, and recorded his second career double-double in the win at Minnesota.

Frager took home a pair of honors, as he was named Sixth Man of the Year and was a member of the five-man All-Freshman team. The 6-foot-7 forward from Lincoln becomes the first Husker men’s player to earn an individual Big Ten Award since NU joined the Big Ten in 2011-12 and joins Bryce McGowens as the second Husker to be named to the All-Freshman team. Frager averaged 11.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in Big Ten action, ranking third on the team in scoring, second in 3-pointers and fifth in rebounds.  Among players who qualified for conference honors, Frager was the only Big Ten reserve who averaged double figures in conference action, as he posted nine double-figure efforts, including four of his six 20-point efforts off the bench.

Sam Hoiberg earned a pair of awards, as he was named honorable-mention All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media and was one of five players named to the all-defensive team. Hoiberg becomes the first Husker named to the Big Ten all-defensive team. In conference play, he anchored a Husker defense that led the conference in scoring defense, steals and 3-point percentage. Hoiberg averaged 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per outing, leading the Big Ten in steals, and ranked in the top 10 in both assist-to-turnover ratio (4.09-to-1, second) and assists (eighth). He posted a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 assists vs. Penn State and had two games with five steals, highlighted by a 15-point, five-steal performance in the win over Iowa.

Mast earned All-Big Ten honors for the second time in his career, as collected honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media. Mast averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in Big Ten action, pacing the Huskers in rebounding and ranking in the top three on the team in scoring (second) and assists (third). Mast reached double figures 12 times, including 26 points in a road win at Rutgers and 19 points, including six 3-pointers, in the win over Michigan State. Mast also had 17-point efforts in wins over Illinois and Wisconsin, the latter where he also collected 10 boards.  Mast was also Nebraska’s nominee for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for his leadership in helping the Huskers post the program’s best-ever Big Ten finish.

Fred Hoiberg was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year by his fellow conference coaches after guiding the Huskers to one of the program’s most successful seasons in school history. The Huskers finished the regular season with a 26-5 record and tied for second in the Big Ten with a 15-5 mark. NU set or tied school record for total wins, conference wins (15) and conference road wins (seven) on its way to the program’s best-ever Big Ten finish. The Huskers, who were picked 14th in the unofficial media poll, won their first 20 games as part of a school-record 24-game win streak dating back to last season’s College Basketball Crown and reached a program record No. 5 AP ranking in January. 

The No. 11/10 Huskers will open Big Ten Tournament action Friday evening as the No. 2 seed. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (central) and the game will be carried on BTN and on the Huskers Radio Network.