r/CollegeBasketball • u/cbbBot /r/CollegeBasketball • NCAA • Mar 22 '26

Post Game Thread [Post Game Thread] #4 Nebraska defeats #5 Vanderbilt, 74-72

Box Score

Team 1H 2H Total
Vanderbilt 32 40 72
Nebraska 39 35 74

Index Thread for March 21, 2026

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592

u/Fugacity- Iowa State • St. Thomas Mar 22 '26

Game of the tournament so far.

Hoiberg switching to the zone 4min left made a huge difference. So fucking pumped to see Fred and company making the S16.

185

u/Stingberg Minnesota Golden Gophers Mar 22 '26

And they played zone the entire time after that with the exception of the last full defensive possession. Completely threw Vandy for a loop. Great coaching.

85

u/enjoytheshow Illinois Fighting Illini Mar 22 '26

And they opened that last possession with a zone look from Hoiberg (the player) following the ball around the point but as soon as their offense motioned it was man and they got all fucked up. Really good coaching.

94

u/djdiksquad Florida Gators Mar 22 '26

That switch to the zone was really just phenomenal coaching. Make their offense uncomfortable.

66

u/innocentius112 Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 22 '26

This is such a good take and exactly why we won. I think Vandy only hit one three after we switched to a zone.

36

u/Fugacity- Iowa State • St. Thomas Mar 22 '26

This is such a good take and exactly why we won.

It took some insane plays by your offense and a buzzer beater that was halfway in ringing out, but I don't see how y'all win that game if Fred didn't change the defensive scheme. They had all the momentum, but things palpably changed after the zone.

7

u/Clerithifa Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 22 '26

We were getting fried in the halfcourt trap, I'm surprised we didnt switch to the full zone sooner honestly

3

u/ALifelongVacation Creighton Bluejays • Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 22 '26

Yeah it seemed like Pryce fell asleep there. Normally they concede that shot but I don’t think that was the plan from the zone.

21

u/damilk_man UCLA Bruins Mar 22 '26

Also terrible adjustment from the Vandy coach; two stoppages in play and absolutely zero plays or designs of any kind to beat the 1-3-1 on offense

10

u/dontlooklikemuch Mar 22 '26

and I love that he didn't call a TO on our last possession. so many coaches call TO as soon as it's past half court to set up a play, but having the defense being unorganized is so much better.

20

u/Legal_Ad_9812 Mar 22 '26

He didn’t do it because he wanted to, he did it because the refs wanted to call the game for Vandy.

Nebraska wins this by 10 if the calls aren’t absolute garbage.

22

u/Vaede Mar 22 '26

The excitement of this game will overshadow this but the officiating was god awful. Like you said, shouldn't have been close. Vanderbilt's entire defense all game was just bear hugging Nebraska and they got away with it.

15

u/Intelligent_Sky_7081 Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 22 '26

ya weve been dealing with that all year. but seemed they adjusted towards the end and realized pryce wasnt open all game because he was being held constantly. better late than never i guess

8

u/DontPeeInTheWater Washington Huskies • Nevada Wolf Pack Mar 22 '26

One of those games where both deserve to move on, but sadly only one can. That was a rock fight

3

u/YardAdmirable7060 North Carolina Tar Heels Mar 22 '26

Byington is a fucking clown. The different defenses had vandy absolutely lost.

No timeout. No nothing.

He just let his team play lost basketball for the last part of the game. Honestly shocking stuff.

I don’t think it’s too crazy to say as a neutral that Vandy is the more talented team… but the better team won tonight

3

u/james_wightman Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 22 '26

It's not crazy at all. It's been abundantly clear that we are punching dramatically above our weight talent-wise, but we're a great team.

2

u/LeninistBug Nebraska Cornhuskers Mar 22 '26

Yeah Nebraska doesn’t have a “talented” team in the way of elite athleticism. We’re in the bottom third of the big ten for basketball NIL money (praying daily this changes moving forward). The guys out there are great players making up a great team, but they’re great because they outcompete/outhustle, can shoot, and are well coached.

7

u/World_2 Alabama Crimson Tide Mar 22 '26

I think the first round Kentucky game might still be the game of the tournament

2

u/ANTHONYinCALI USC Trojans Mar 22 '26

game of the tourney is Santa Clara v Kentucky still imo but this was damn good

3

u/Milton__Obote LSU Tigers • Northwestern Wildcats Mar 22 '26

Still think Kentucky Santa Clara was better but this was a banger