(summary from huskers.com)
Lincoln – Cale Jacobsen had six of his career-high 15 point in overtime, as No. 9 Nebraska scored the final nine points in overtime for an 84-75 win over Iowa Sunday afternoon at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Jacobsen, who finished with career highs in both points and rebounds (eight) in 30 minutes off the bench, have the Huskers the lead for good with 1:30 left in the extra period, breaking a 75-all deadlock.
From there, Nebraska took over, scoring the final nine points, including four straight points from Sam Hoiberg before Jamarques Lawrence scored out the 9-0 run with a steal and layup as Nebraska improved to 26-5 on the season and tied a school record for most wins in a season. Nebraska held the Hawkeyes to 1-of-6 shooting in the extra session after Iowa rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to get the game into overtime.
Jacobsen, Hoiberg and Pryce Sandfort had 15 points apiece while Rienk Mast added 14 as the Husker seniors finished the year with a 16-2 home mark. Nebraska shot 50 percent from the field and hit 10 3-pointers in becoming only the third team to score above its scoring average against Iowa, which came into the day leading the Big Ten in scoring defense at 65.2 ppg.
With the win, the Huskers secured the No. 2 overall seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament and will play in the quarterfinals on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m.
Iowa was led by Cooper Koch and Kael Combs, who had 18 points apiece as Iowa (20-11, 10-10 Big Ten will open Big Tournament action on Wednesday as the No. 9 seed and will play either Oregon or Maryland.
The first half was similar to the first meeting in Iowa City, as neither team led by more than six points as Nebraska took a 30-26 advantage to the locker room.
The Huskers used a 7-0 run to erase an early deficit, taking a 15-10 lead on a Jared Garica 3-pointer with 9:51 left in the half. Nebraska would lead the rest of the half, but could not shake the Hawkeyes, who kept it within six points the final 10 minutes of the half. NU shot just 42 percent in the opening 20 minutes while holding Iowa to 41 percent shooting.
The Huskers got some breathing room to start the half, as a trio of 3-pointers, including two from Sandfort and one from Mast held NU open the second half on a 10-4 run to stretch the lead to 40-30 after a Berke Buyuktuncel free throw with 16:16 left.
Nebraska, which shot 52 percent in the second half kept Iowa at bay, but the Hawkeyes would hang around, as they shot 61 percent after halftime. Nebraska led 64-54 after a pair of Mast free throws at the 5:13 mark, but 3-pointers from Koch and Tavion Banks quickly cut the Husker lead to 64-60 with 3:26 left.
The Huskers would push the lead to 68-62 after a steal and layup from Jacobsen with 1:47 left but could not close the door, missing two front ends of 1-and-1s to keep Iowa alive. Trailing 70-67 after a pair of Sandfort free throws with 13.7 seconds left, Bennett Stirtz missed a 3-pointer but Iowa got the rebound and Combs tied it at 70 with a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
Nebraska Game Notes
*-Nebraska improved to 26-5 on the season, matching the program record for most wins in a season since in 1990-91.
*-Nebraska finishes tied for second in the Big Ten standings, the program’s best conference finish in the Big Ten era and since tying for second in the Big Eight in 1992-93.
*-Nebraska finishes with a 15-5 Big Ten record, its most conference wins in school history. NU went 8-2 at home in Big Ten play and 7-3 on the road.
*-Nebraska finished with 84 points, matching the most points Iowa has allowed this season. Nebraska became just the third time to score above its season average against Iowa this season
*-Nebraska improves to 1-1 in overtime games this season
*-Nebraska hit 10 3-pointers in the win, setting a school record with 327. That broke the old mark of 319 set in 2023-24.
*-Nebraska has now hit 10 or more 3-pointers 20 times on the season.
*-Nebraska forced Iowa into a season-high 19 turnovers, as its previous high was 16 against Iowa State on Dec. 11, 2025.
*-Cale Jacobsen finished with career highs in both points (15) and rebounds (eight) off the bench. Jacobsen’s previous career high was 11 done three other times, most recently at UCLA on March 3. Jacobsen’s previous career high in rebounds was six set five other times, most recently against Northwestern on Feb. 14.
*-Jacobsen tied for team-high honors with 15 points, the first time in his career he has led NU in scoring. He is the sixth different Husker to lead NU in scoring this season.
*-Sam Hoiberg had five steals this afternoon, upping his career total to (158). He passed Tyronn Lue, who had 154 steals between 1995-1998. Hoiberg now has 66 steals on the season, moving into ninth place on NU’s single-season chart.
*-Nebraska improves to 15-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points.
