Fred Hoiberg was hired to fix Nebraska basketball following his stint in the NBA. Is this the start of a new era of Husker hoops?

Nebraska led by as much as 20 points in a 66-50 win over Iowa on Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Hawkeyes are known for their ability to win big in the B1G on the regular. Nebraska hasn’t had a winning season on the hardcourt since 2018.

Hoiberg said postgame that he was pleased with the effort of his players in the win.

“Just really proud of our guys for the effort they came out of the gates with. I thought the energy is exactly what we needed. This Iowa team gets off to very fast starts and we came out and I thought we had great energy from the opening tip and that’s what you have to do to give yourself a chance against this team and in this league. I thought we had sustained energy for pretty much 40 minutes.”

Five Huskers finished with double-digit points, including Sam Griesel, who notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Juwan Gary scored 14 points and totaled 9 rebounds. Emmanuel Bandoumel tacked on 10 points and added another 4 rebounds to the stat line.

The Huskers are currently sitting at 8-6 entering 2023. They’ll face Michigan State on the road in East Lansing to begin the new calendar year on Jan. 3.

(H/T 247Sports)