Chad Baker Mazara Exits Early as No. 12 Nebraska Pulls Away for 82-67 Win at USC
No. 12 Nebraska beat Southern California 82-67 on Feb. 28, 2026, and Chad Baker Mazara left the game early after a hard baseline fall. The result sealed Nebraska’s school-record 14th Big Ten victory and deepened USC’s slide at a critical point in the regular season.
Chad Baker Mazara exits early after baseline collision
Chad Baker Mazara went down hard on the baseline early in the second half and did not return to the game, removing one of USC’s primary scoring options from the floor. He finished with 14 points before the injury; Alijah Arenas also scored 14 for the Trojans. The loss of Baker Mazara coincided with Nebraska’s ability to seize control in the second half, and USC’s depth struggled to replace his production during the decisive stretch.
Pryce Sandfort fuels Nebraska’s 15-0 run and 32-point night
Pryce Sandfort poured in 32 points, one shy of his career high, and hit five 3-pointers as Nebraska pulled away late. The Cornhuskers put together a 15-0 run midway through the second half — a run in which Sandfort contributed seven points and teammate Braden Frager added seven — turning a tightly contested game into a 66-46 lead. Frager finished with 17 points and tied a career high with eight rebounds. Nebraska’s scoring burst at the Galen Center was decisive: after trailing or trading leads in the first half, the Huskers sustained the momentum and closed the game ahead by 15.
Nebraska’s Big Ten standing and what the win means
The victory improved Nebraska to 25-4 overall and 14-4 in Big Ten play, marking the program’s school-record 14th conference win. The Cornhuskers also improved to 7-2 on the road in league contests, with one away game remaining on this trip. Nebraska began the season 20-0 and has gone 5-4 since that start, a stretch that makes road results like this one particularly valuable for seeding and momentum down the stretch. The Huskers will visit UCLA to close their trip to California.
USC slide deepens and tournament hopes dim
The Trojans fell to 18-11 overall and 7-11 in conference play, suffering a fifth straight loss and their 10th defeat in the last 16 games. That sequence has significantly damaged USC’s NCAA Tournament hopes. USC had rallied late in the first half, closing with an 18-11 spurt to lead 36-31 at intermission — a run jump-started by Jaden Brownell and by back-to-back 3-pointers — but the second-half collapse erased that momentum. Kam Woods finished with 12 points and Brownell with 10, but the team could not withstand Nebraska’s late run or the absence of Baker Mazara after his early exit. USC will travel to Washington for its final regular-season road game.
What makes this notable is how a single stretch altered both teams’ trajectories: Nebraska’s second-half surge reinforced its conference position and road resiliency, while Baker Mazara’s injury and the Trojans’ continued losses intensified pressure on USC as the regular season closes.
