Nebraska basketball with a sneaky-good transfer portal pickup

Even though Nebraska basketball is in the midst of trying to win its first postseason tournament since 1996, the Huskers are staying active in the transfer portal, adding their second commitment on Saturday.

On Friday, Nebraska basketball landed former Iowa forward Pryce Sandfort. It felt like another commitment would be coming soon, maybe from Jamarques Lawrence. 

Instead, after no reported communication, or at least very little, the Huskers landed the commitment of Ugnius Jarusevicius, a first-team All-MAC selection this past season. The 6-foot-10 forward/center from Lithuania averaged 16.2 points and 7.3 rebounds last season for Central Michigan.

Jarusevicius played two seasons prior at Cal-State Bakersfield. He averaged 5.1 points per game and wasn’t a starter but emerged as one for CMU in 2024-25 and dominated the MAC last season, leading the league in field-goal percentage (53.7 percent) and effective field-goal percentage (57.9).

This wasn’t a commitment that was expected, although Nebraska needed another big. Rienk Mast has confirmed his return for next season, and if Berke Buyuktuncel returns, which I assume he would be at this point, or he probably wouldn’t be playing in the Crown, the frontcourt will be deep and talented.

Here are some thoughts on an interesting pickup for Nebraska basketball.

An intriguing addition for Nebraska basketball

Fred Hoiberg has a penchant for finding skilled big guys in the portal. Andrew Morgan was a solid addition, although Braxton Meah was a miss.

You aren’t going to hit on every player in the portal. Jarusevicius is interesting because it’s hard to see a First-Team All-Mac player coming off the bench, but that’s a possibility if Berke is back.

Berke will need to take a step forward in his game, but it’s certainly possible. Jarusevicius offers some nice assurance, and who knows, maybe this was a proactive move, as in, there will be roster movement, although Nebraska basketball hasn’t lost any players to the portal just yet.

You never know in the portal. Anything is possible. Jarusevicius isn’t a great 3-point shooter. However, he’s got a great knack for scoring, excels in ball-screen situations, and is the proven low-post scorer Nebraska needed from the portal.

He can also provide some insurance if it takes Mast a minute to return to form to start the season, which should be expected. All around, this is a sneaky-good pickup — the kind we have come to expect from Fred Hoiberg.

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