Pryce Sandfort scored 32-plus points for a second time in the last week, and No. 12-ranked Nebraska rallied from a second-half deficit to send Southern California to its fifth consecutive loss with Saturday’s 82-67 decision in Los Angeles.
The Cornhuskers (25-4, 14-4 Big Ten Conference) shot just 12-of-34 (35.3%) in the first half to USC’s 13-25 (52%). Behind Chad Baker-Mazara’s 14 points by intermission, the Trojans led for almost 14 of the opening 20 minutes and took a 36-31 lead into halftime.
Nebraska exploded out of the break, however, with Berke Buyuktuncel’s dunk just 3:03 into the second half punctuating a 12-2 run. The spurt gave the Huskers a lead they held the rest of the way.
USC (18-11, 7-11) lost Baker-Mazara during those pivotal early minutes of the half, as he took a hard fall that relegated him to the bench for the rest of the way.
Nebraska capitalized shortly thereafter, scoring 15 unanswered points. The back-breaking stretch lasted 5:03 and overlapped with a stretch of Nebraska holding USC without a made field goal for more than six minutes.
The Trojans’ shooting cooled dramatically in the second half, with USC going just 10-of-26 from the floor overall and 0-of-9 from 3-point range. The Trojans finished 4-of-21 from beyond the arc for the contest.
Nebraska shot 8-of-23 from long range, led by Sandfort’s 5-of-10 effort. He finished 12-of-21 from the floor overall, finishing with 32 points — one shy of the career-high 33 points he set last Saturday vs. Penn State.
Braden Frager joined Sandfort in double-figures with 17 points to along with eight rebounds off the bench. Rienk Mast added 11 points.
Alijah Arenas matched Baker-Mazara’s team-high for USC with 14 points. Kam Woods chipped in 12 points, and Jaden Brownell scored 10 points with a team-high five rebounds in the loss. The setback extended the team’s losing streak to five games, three of which came at home.
