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Jan 3, 2026 2:28 am

Top 25 roundup: No. 13 Nebraska nips No. 9 Michigan St., stays perfect

Nebraska cornhuskers
Photo by: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Rienk Mast made six 3-pointers, including the tiebreaking trey with 1:54 remaining, and No. 13 Nebraska remained unbeaten with a 58-56 victory over No. 9 Michigan State on Friday night in Lincoln, Neb.

Mast compiled 19 points and seven rebounds as the Cornhuskers (14-0, 3-0 Big Ten) extended their school-record start as well as increased their program-long winning streak to 18 dating to last season. Pryce Sandfort added 13 points and Jamarques Lawrence scored 12.

Michigan State had a chance to force overtime when Carson Cooper was fouled with 0.7 seconds remaining. Cooper missed the first shot and then was called for a lane violation while missing the second on purpose as Nebraska held on.

Jaxon Kohler logged 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Spartans (12-2, 2-1), who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Jeremy Fears Jr. tallied 14 points and seven assists.

No. 2 Michigan 96, No. 24 Southern California 66

Morez Johnson Jr. scored a career-high 29 points and the Wolverines pounced on the Trojans early and rolled to a win in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Leading wire-to-wire, the Wolverines (13-0, 3-0 Big Ten) faced little consternation after an initial 11-0 flurry, the only exception being when Yaxel Lendeborg left for the locker room late in the first half. The standout forward returned to start the second half.

Jaden Brownell came off the bench to lead USC (12-2, 1-2) with 16 points before fouling out. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points.

No. 3 Iowa State 80, West Virginia 59

Joshua Jefferson notched a triple-double and Milan Momcilovic scored a game-high 26 points as the Cyclones rolled past the Mountaineers in the teams’ Big 12 Conference opener in Ames, Iowa.

Jefferson finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while Momcilovic made 8 of 10 3-point attempts as the Cyclones (14-0, 1-0) matched the best start in school history. Blake Buchanan added 14 points as Iowa State shot 52.7% (29 of 55) from the field and 52% (13 of 25) from 3-point range.

Chance Moore led West Virginia (9-5, 0-1) with 17 points. DJ Thomas added 10 off the bench for the Mountaineers, who have lost two of their last three games. The Mountaineers shot just 29% (7 of 24) from beyond the arc.

No. 7 Gonzaga 80, Seattle 72

Braden Huff scored 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting as the Bulldogs survived an upset bid, rallying to defeat the Redhawks in overtime at Spokane, Wash.

Graham Ike added 24 points and 10 rebounds and fellow reserve Tyon Grant-Foster scored 19 as Gonzaga (15-1, 3-0 West Coast Conference) recovered from a 13-point deficit in the second half to win their eighth consecutive game.

Brayden Maldonado scored 17 for Seattle (12-4, 1-2), which was seeking its first victory against a ranked team since beating No. 16 UNLV on Jan. 12, 1974. Will Heimbrodt added 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Stanford 80, No. 16 Louisville 76

Ebuka Okorie scored 28 points for the host Cardinal, who beat the Cardinals to register their first win over a ranked opponent in more than two years.

Okorie shot 9 of 18 from the floor while bouncing back from a seven-point effort against Notre Dame. Chisom Okpara added 17 points and eight rebounds for Stanford (12-3, 1-1 ACC).

Ryan Conwell put up a team-high 18 for Louisville (11-3, 1-1 ACC), which remained without Mikel Brown Jr. (back). Isaac McKneely scored 17 points.

–Field Level Media

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