Sam Hoiberg was a coach's son who never expected to see much of the court at Nebraska. Hoibeg walked-on for the Huskers, and it wasn't until one practice where he was on the reserve squad that he was suddenly playing better than the starters.
Since then, Hoiberg, who certainly isn't the biggest guy on the court, has been a key member for the Huskers, and certainly was a key player in Nebraska's win over Vanderbilt.
Braden Frager is a hometown kid who grew up in Lincoln as a Husker fan and is living out his childhood dream playing for Nebraska. Frager was named the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, and he proved what makes him so special in his final play against Vanderbilt.
Sam Hoiberg and Braden Frager felt like fitting heros for Nebraska
With Nebraska down by two points and under a minute to go against Vanderbilt in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, Rienk Mast put up a three-pointer to try to take the lead back for the Huskers. The rebounded long off the rim, and the smallest guy on the court, Hoiberg, came flying in for the put-back two to tie things up at 70 with 1:20 left on the clock.
One more basket by both teams knotted the game at 72 a piece, and Nebraska had the ball with eight seconds left, and Pryce Sandfort was driving down the court. Sandfort ended up being double-teamed and found Lincoln-native Frager cutting to the basket.
Frager took the contested layup and made it, giving Nebraska the lead with just two seconds left. The crowd roared as Vandy took a timeout to settle themselves before taking the final half-court heave shot that was inches away from winning the game for the Commodores.
Instead, Nebraska walked away victorious, and the two biggest heroes were guys who have strong ties to the Huskers, dating all the way back to childhood. Hoiberg and Frager make two very fitting heroes for Nebraska's historic win in the Round of 32 to send their team to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.