Troy University Athletics
Troy University
22-12,12-6Sun Belt
Nebraska
27-6,15-5Big Ten
Troy Falls to Nebraska in NCAA Tournament
3/19/2026 4:19:00 PM | Basketball (M)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Troy men's basketball's 2025-26 season came to a close on Thursday, as the Trojans fell 76-47 to Nebraska in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Troy (22-12, 12-6 SBC) held early leads in the opening minutes but was unable to get past the Huskers' interior defense, shooting just 28.3% (13-for-46) from the field.
Victor Valdes got the scoring started with a deep ball on Troy's second possession of the game, knocking down another a few trips later to give Troy an early 6-4 lead. The Trojans held a 9-6 advantage at the first media timeout after Cooper Campbell hit his first of two threes.
The Trojan offense sputtered soon after, going 2:41 without a point before Kerrington Kiel broke the stretch with a free throw.
On Nebraska's offensive end, the Huskers missed their first five 3-point attempts before Brice Williams knocked down his first triple of the game, giving Nebraska a 12-10 lead.
The Huskers then went just under three minutes before connecting on two more threes on back-to-back possessions, giving Nebraska an 18-15 advantage. Those shots sparked a 9-0 Nebraska run.
Theo Seng, making his first appearance since suffering a leg injury that had kept him out since Feb. 14, scored his first points on a layup to end the run.
Nebraska continued to take control of the game, using an extended 20-4 stretch to take a 32-19 lead with 5:08 remaining in the first half.
The lead eventually grew to 41-25 at halftime.
Sandfort finished the opening 20 minutes with a game-high 17 points, shooting 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
Troy scored the first five points of the second half, as Valdes knocked down his second three of the game.
This cut the lead to 11, but Nebraska responded with a quick six points from triples by Sandfort and Jamarques Lawrence to push its lead to 18 at 50-32.
Troy was unable to respond with any significant spurts the rest of the way, as Nebraska won 76-47.
Quotable – Head Coach Scott Cross
"I'd like to thank the good Lord for the opportunity to have your guts just absolutely ripped out. It stinks, but I told the guys in the locker room. They are not defined by a basketball game; they played an amazing team [in Nebraska]. I thought we did do some good things offensively and get some good looks in the first half. But its tough. It was an honor to play that game against a really good basketball team. I wish it would've went different, but that's the way the cards go sometimes."
Notables
- Troy moves to 0-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
- Thomas Dowd's nine rebounds were tied for a game-high. Dowd finishes the season with 343 rebounds, the most by a Troy player in a Division I season.
- Victor Valdes led the Trojans in scoring with 14 points, making a career-high four 3-pointers.
- Troy's 17 turnovers were its fourth-most in a game this season. The Trojans were 1-3 this season when turning the ball over 17 or more times.
- Troy is now 0-1 all-time against Nebraska.
