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brooke prior
multiple authors
Oklahoma City — Braden Frager Frozen.
seconds ago, nebraska The forward and Lincoln native etched his name in the history of his hometown program.
Facing a tying game with nine seconds left, Frager received a pass from the guard price sandfortDriven the lane and kissed the ball off the glass with his left hand for the bucket that gave the Cornhuskers a 74-72 took the lead with 2.2 seconds remaining and seemed destined to send Nebraska to its first Sweet 16.
Then the last time is over, Vanderbilt guard tyler tanner Caught the inbounds pass, took the dribble and launched the ball from halfcourt. The ball fell into the cylinder when the clock read 0.0.
But just as fast as it went in, it went out and exploded into the crowd. Frager and his companions did the same.
“I thought it went in,” Frager said. “I didn’t know how to react, and I just – everyone started celebrating. I said, “Yeah, he really missed it, so…”
Sandfort also added his own memories, describing the moment while sitting next to Frager on the post-game podium, when his teammate shook his head, still in disbelief.
“I almost died,” Sandfort said. “I was on the sidelines, so I didn’t know what angle it was, but man, I just want to thank the good Lord Jesus Christ for it.”
when nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg Seeing the ball coming out, he started shouting loudly – not that anyone could hear it amid the collective roar of the crowd.
“When that ball went in the hoop and then went out, my heart sank,” said Hoiberg, who had eight points and six assists. “And I think it took me half a second to register that it didn’t go in, and then I screamed with joy. I thought it was in.”
Just inches away from a heartbreak, Nebraska survived to pick up the program’s second NCAA Tournament win just two days after its first.
Coach Fred Hoiberg said, “That last shot, man, it took my breath away.” “That kid is an unbelievable player, and when that thing was in the air, I said, ‘Man, he’s going in.’ It hit every part of the rim. Thankfully, it bounced.”
As Nebraska players cleared the bench, they were leaping onto the hardwood running to hug each other and their coaches, fans tossed popcorn into the stands like confetti and waved handmade signs that read, “Sweet 16 Corn Season” and “GBR.”
For 40 minutes, the heavily pro-Nebraska crowd never left its feet and kept the noise at a constant pace during the back-and-forth battle.
“I know it had to be incredible on TV,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said of the atmosphere. “It was an incredible game. I mean, it sucks that we were on the side we were on, but I mean, a high level game, and I’m sure the crowd picked them up and let them play – they played very hard.
“…It’s one of the best environments or toughest environments I’ve ever trained in. The fans were incredible, incredibly supportive and wild for them.”
On the court, the Huskers rallied forward Burke Büyüktunsel As he picked up a giant Sweet 16 flag and waved it toward the crowd. Meanwhile, Frager and a few others ran across the court to hug and celebrate Kent Pavelka, the radio voice of Nebraska basketball for more than 50 years.
Then, when Frager and Sandfort did post-game interviews with Pavelka, the rest of the team took a giant stride around the field for high-fives and expressed their appreciation to the fans who spent two games on their feet rooting for the team to a historic win. As the team made their way around the Paycom Center, a loud cheer accompanied their loop across the field like a verbal wave.
Once they completed their media obligations, Fraser and Sandfort raced into their laps, creating another wave of joy.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Fraser said. “Couldn’t have done it without all these guys here, without all these guys on the team. We had a great crowd. I feel like they carried us a lot in this, and that was a big part of it.”
Even when the team walked off the court to another ovation, the celebration didn’t stop. As the arena’s DJ played “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas, the Nebraska cheerleaders formed a conga line and danced around the baseline and the band danced and took pictures. Still wearing his headset, Pavelka stood from his courtside seat, turned to face the cheering fans behind him, extended his arms and began to dance with them to the music.
It was a national championship party fitting, yet it was only a second-round victory.
But for a program without an NCAA Tournament win until just a few days ago, it was an occasion worth celebrating — just not for very long.
Fred Hoiberg said, “We’re coming home tomorrow at 11 o’clock.” “We’ll come back, we’ll regroup. We’ll find out after the game tomorrow who we’re going to play – if I’m not mistaken, Iowa and Florida, and then start working right away, drawing up a game plan. Don’t know if we’ll play Thursday or Friday. And then we’ll take it from there.”
