On Saturday evening, the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball program punched its ticket to their first ever Sweet 16 appearance with a narrow victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores in the Round of 32 at the ongoing NCAA Tournament. This game was a back and forth affair throughout, and ultimately, Nebraska ended up getting the win when a shot from Tyler Tanner from beyond half-court hit the backboard and careened in and out of the rim before falling out.
After the game, Nebraska star Pryce Sandfort got 100% real on his reaction to the near-miss.
“I just about died. I just want to thank the good Lord Jesus Christ for that one,” he said, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
For some, the missed heave conjured up memories of Butler star Gordon Hayward's shot in the national championship game against Duke in the 2010 National Championship Game, when he was a member of Butler. In that contest, Hayward similarly launched a half-court shot, to the same end of the floor, no less, that went around the rim and out, ending his team's season in heartbreaking fashion.
While the stakes weren't quite as high in this one, it was still a brutal end to the season for Vanderbilt, which entered this tournament as the number five seed, having put together a strong regular season in SEC play.
Meanwhile, Nebraska will keep its magical season going, having defied expectations this year by making the NCAA Tournament and earning their first-ever March Madness win earlier this weekend, before holding on against the Commodores.
They will next take the floor later this week against an opponent that will be decided by the results of Sunday's Round of 32 action.
