The Nebraska Cornhuskers are taking on the Troy Trojans in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. Moments before tip-off, head coach Fred Hoiberg shared a message to his team as they prepared to play for the program's first-ever tourney win.
Hoiberg, who is 53 years old, had a calm demeanor while talking with Andy Katz of Turner Sports. He claimed that his team is ready to take on Troy, and that the Cornhuskers are viewing this matchup as just another game.
“I think we're ready,” said Hoiberg. “The big message that we've given to our team all week is it's another game for us. We don't need to jump off the map. Going all the way back to when we got this group together in our first workout in June, this team's been all about the right things. They've been very unselfish, they play hard, they've been connected. And that's what we have to do today if we want to have a chance to advance.”
Fred Hoiberg spoke with @TheAndyKatz as @HuskerMBB locks in for a chance at the program's first ever #MarchMadness win 👀 pic.twitter.com/H9KtybTQrw
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) March 19, 2026
The 2023-24 campaign was the last time Nebraska reached the NCAA Tournament. However, in the previous 18 tournament appearances in the program's history, the Cornhuskers have never secured a single victory to advance to the second round. A victory over Troy on Thursday would be historic for the program.
Fred Hoiberg is an experienced head coach, as he served that role for the Iowa State Cyclones and the Chicago Bulls before accepting the HC job at Nebraska in 2019. He led the Cornhuskers to one of the program's best regular seasons, giving him the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award for the 2025-26 campaign.
