Nearly doubling an opponent's score in college basketball isn't unheard of, but doing it in conference play is as rare as it gets.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers demolished the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday night, securing a 90-55 victory and moving to 6-0 in conference play. Afterwards, Oregon head coach Dana Altman had nothing but (well-deserved) praise for the Huskers.
"Nebraska kicked our a**.," Altman said in the postgame press conference. "They out-hustled us. They outplayed us. They outshot us. Our fan base will be and should be disappointed with our performance."
Nebraska's 45-point win puts nation on notice
In the Big Ten matchup, the Cornhuskers earned 19 more points off turnovers, 10 more points off fast breaks (shutting Oregon out in that stat column), 31 more bench points, and 11 more made three-point shots.
Only three Ducks managed to break into triple digits on the scoreboard: Wei Lin with 14 points, Takai Simpkins with 12 points, and Nate Bittle with 10 points.
Meanwhile, Nebraska had two players score 20+ points: Pryce Sandfort with 28 points and Braden Frager, who scored 23 points while coming off the bench. Sam Hoiberg also scored in the double digits with 11 points, and Cale Jacobsen contributed nine points off the bench.
Altman's message and the Huskers' performance should put the rest of the country on notice. No, the Ducks aren't the same impressive team that they have been in recent years, but still, beating a conference opponent by 45 points is beyond noteworthy.
With the win, Nebraska improved to 17-0 overall and 6-0 against Big Ten opponents. Oregon fell to 8-9 overall and just 1-5 in conference play.
Next, the Cornhuskers will visit the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 17, with the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines looming over the horizon (Jan. 27).
As of now, Nebraska is in first place in the Big Ten, followed by the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers at 5-0, and then the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans at 5-1. Despite being the highest-ranked team in the conference, the Wolverines are in fourth in the Big Ten standings, with a 4-1 record, tied with the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini.