Photo: Nebraska forward Braden Frager (5) goes to the basket for the winning shot against Vanderbilt forward Devin McGlockton (99) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyler Tanner nearly sent Nebraska's boisterous fans home in stunned silence.

Braden Frager made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left to put Nebraska in front, and Tanner's heave from beyond half court rimmed out at the buzzer as the Cornhuskers outlasted Vanderbilt 74-72 Saturday night in a scintillating second-round NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time.

March Madness, indeed.

“I just froze for two seconds,” Frager said. “I thought it went in. I didn’t know how to react. I was, just — everybody started celebrating. I was like, he actually missed it.”

The relieved Cornhuskers celebrated in style, climbing into the stands to join a sea of scarlet-and-cream-clad fans. Some were still chanting “Go Big Red!” inside Paycom Center 30 minutes Nebraska's victory.

“That’s one of the best environments or toughest environments that I’ve ever coached in,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said. “The fans were incredible for them. Supportive and loud.”

Frager scored off a pass from Pryce Sandfort, the team’s scoring leader. Each finished with 15 points for the fourth-seeded Cornhuskers (28-6), who had never won in March Madness until beating Troy two days ago. Nebraska advances to the South Region semifinals in Houston, where it will face either top-seeded Florida or ninth-seeded Iowa on Thursday.

“I think they’re all driving down to Houston in the morning,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said of the Husker faithful. “We expect another big turnout again next weekend.”

Tanner scored 27 points and Tyler Nickel added 16 for No. 5 seed Vanderbilt (25-9), which was trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.

“The hardest thing when you’re in a tournament like this is there’s a side of it with hurt and dejection, and you put everything into it,” Byington said. “We were a play away, an inch away, from being in the Sweet 16.”

Rienk Mast added 13 points for the Huskers. Sam Hoiberg, the coach's son, finished with eight points, none bigger than his putback with 1:20 to go that tied the game at 70-all. The teams traded the lead four times over the final 2:08.

Cornhuskers fans took over the arena, just like they did in the first round. “Husker Power!” chants broke out during the second half of Houston's win over Texas A&M, about an hour before the Nebraska game tipped off.

Duke Miles, the Commodores’ No. 2 scorer, had his left thumb taped and was held to nine points. His quiet night put the scoring burden on Tanner, whose layup with 58 seconds left gave Vanderbilt its final lead at 72-70.

The Cornhuskers broke out to an 8-0 lead. Mast, Nebraska’s 6-foot-10, 250-pound center, made two 3-pointers in the first five minutes.

Sandfort did not score until just over five minutes remained in the first half, but his turnaround jumper put the Cornhuskers up 27-19. Nebraska led 39-32 at halftime, despite Tanner’s 15 points.

Vanderbilt chipped away in the second half. Tanner made a layup and was fouled with 9:05 remaining. He missed the free throw, preventing the Commodores from taking their first lead. Moments later, AK Okereke’s 3-pointer finally put Vanderbilt ahead, 58-55.

Vandy pulled in front 67-62, its largest lead of the game, on a 3 by Nickel with 5:34 left. Sandfort responded with a jumper and the margin was no bigger than three points the rest of the way.

“We withstood their run,” Fred Hoiberg said. “They went on a big run. We knew they would at some point in the game. As we talked going in this tournament, if you want to advance, it’s all about how you handle adversity, and our guys did a masterful job of hanging in there.”

Huskers on the rise

Hoiberg, the Big Ten coach of the year, has overseen steady improvement over his seven years at Nebraska. He took the Huskers to the NCAA Tournament two years ago, and this season Nebraska got national attention for a 20-0 start that vaulted it to No. 5 in the AP poll.

Alberts watches his alma mater

Former Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts, who now holds that title at Texas A&M, stuck around to watch his alma mater after the Aggies lost to Houston. Alberts won the Butkus Award in 1993 as a linebacker for the Huskers.

Nearly the greatest buzzer-beater ever? Half-court heave from Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner rims out

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyler Tanner was inches away from March Madness immortality.

After Nebraska's Braden Frager made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left to give the Cornhuskers a two-point lead over Vanderbilt in a second-round NCAA Tournament thriller on Saturday night, Tanner had no choice but to chuck one toward the basket.

His heave from beyond half court was on target. The ball crashed off the center of the backboard and dropped halfway below the rim — and then, somehow, it rattled out, and Nebraska escaped with a 74-72 victory.

“My heart sank as that ball went in the hoop and went out,” Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg said. “I think it took me a half a second to register it didn’t go in, and then I just screamed in elation. I thought it was in.”

Nebraska's Pryce Sandfort summed it up: “I just about died.”

Instead, Nebraska advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

Tanner, a 6-foot sophomore, scored 27 points in front of a hostile crowd of scarlet-and-cream-clad Nebraska supporters who made the roughly 6 1/2-hour drive from Lincoln.

And for a split second, he thought he would send them home in stunned silence.

“It hurts pretty bad being that close, especially (in a) hard-fought game,” he said.

Tanner made 9 of 21 field goals and had four steals and four assists.

“That last shot, man, it just took my breath away,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “That kid is an unbelievable player. When that thing was up in the air, I was, like, ‘Oh, man, that’s going in.’ Then hit every part of the rim. Thankfully bounced out, and we’re looking forward to next week.”

All because of a ball that went part of the way, but somehow not all the way, through the hoop.

“The hardest thing when you’re in a tournament like this is there’s a side of it with hurt and dejection, and you put everything into it,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said. “We were a play away, an inch away, from being in the Sweet 16.”