Huskers Host Rutgers in Home Finale

The Nebraska men’s basketball team makes its final home appearance on Monday night, as the Huskers host Rutgers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Tipoff between the Huskers and Scarlet Knights is set for shortly after 6 p.m. 
Monday’s game will be televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call. The game can also be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the Fox Sports app.

Fans can follow all of the action across the state of Nebraska on the Learfield IMG College Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call. The game will also be available on Huskers.com, the Huskers app and TuneIn radio. The pregame show begins one hour prior to tipoff.

 

The Huskers (6-17, 2-14) are coming off a 78-74 win over Minnesota on Saturday night. The Huskers shot 55 percent from the floor and put five players in double figures, led by Dalano Banton’s 14 points. Nebraska built a 13-point second-half lead and withstood a frantic comeback from Minnesota, as Marcus Carr finished with 41 points. Minnesota cut the lead to one, but seniors Kobe Webster and Thorir Thorbjarnarson sealed the win by going 4-of-4 from the foul line in the last 14 seconds. Thorbjarnarson and Webster had 10 points apiece, while Derrick Walker had 12 points and nine rebounds, setting career bests in both categories. NU held Minnesota to 34.3 percent shooting, including 8-of-30 from 3-point range.

Monday’s game caps a string of four games in seven days for the Big Red, and Nebraska enters the Rutgers game playing some of its best offense of the season. Over the last three games, NU is averaging 77 points per game while shooting over 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range. NU has scored 70 or more points in each of the last three games, the first time that has happed in 2020-21.

Rutgers (13-9, 9-9 Big Ten) comes off a 74-63 win over Indiana last Wednesday. Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. had 20 points apiece, while Baker also chipped in 10 assists for a double-double. Baker was one of two Rutgers players with double-doubles against the Hoosiers, as Myles Johnson chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds. Rutgers trailed by as many as 15 in the first half before taking control. The Scarlet Knights held Indiana to 36 percent shooting, including just 30.3 percent in the second half. 

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Junior guard Trey McGowens went over 1,000 career points in Saturday’s win over Minnesota and is averaging 14.7 points per game on 46 percent shooting and 2.0 steals per game over NU’s last three contests.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

.376 – The Huskers have made steady shooting improvement from 3-point range since returning from their pause. NU shot .234 in the first three games after returning from its pause, but is shooting .376 over the last eight games. NU shot a season-best .529 against Minnesota on Saturday.

4 – According to KenPom, the Huskers’ strength of schedule ranks fourth nationally as of Feb. 28. In fact, nine of the top-10 toughest schedules on the site are from the Big Ten. 

5 – Nebraska has five games with at least 10 steals this season after having just two in 2019-20. NU is third in the Big Ten with 7.2 steals per game.

10 – NU has ten 20-point performances on the season (Teddy Allen-8; Trey McGowens-1; Kobe Webster-1).  The Huskers have had 10 players reach double figures at least once this year as Thorir Thorbjarnarson had 10 points in Saturday’s win over Minnesota. 

19 – Assists against Minnesota, which ties for the second-highest total by the Huskers in a Big Ten game under Fred Hoiberg.

35 – Nebraska is 35th nationally in tempo according to KenPom as of Feb. 28. The Huskers and Illinois (72nd) are the only two Big Ten teams in the top-100 nationally in adjusted tempo.

SCOUTING RUTGERS

Rutgers is closing in on its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991, as the Scarlet Knights enter the final week of the season with a 13-9 record. Last season under Steve Pikiell, Rutgers went 20-11 and tied for fifth in the Big Ten with an 11-9 mark.  A former player at UConn, Pikiell spent the previous 11 seasons at Stony Brook, leading the program to six postseason appearances in seven years, including an NCAA bid in 2016. 

Rutgers went 4-0 against a limited non-conference schedule, highlighted by a win over Syracuse, and was 7-1 at the start of January with the only loss coming to Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights then dropped five straight before righting the ship with four straight victories, including road wins at Indiana and Northwestern. Rutgers needs one win in its next two contests to finish .500 in the Big Ten. 

The Scarlet Knights are led by Ron Harper Jr., who averages a team-best 15.7 points per game to pace three Scarlet Knights in double figures. Harper, who also averages 6.0 rebounds per game, leads Rutgers with 38 3-points, including four in the win over Indiana. Seniors Jacob Young (14.2 ppg, 3.4 apg) and Geo Baker (10.5 ppg, 3.2 apg) provide scoring punch, while Myles Johnson is one of the Big Ten’s interior defenders, averaging 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. 

Rutgers is holding opponents to 42 percent shooting, including 33 percent from 3-point range, and lead the Big Ten in blocked shots at 5.3 per game. The Scarlet Knights force 13.1 turnovers per game, while committing just 11.1 per contest. 

Series History: Monday’s matchup will be the 15th all-time meeting with the Scarlet Knights. Nebraska leads the all-time series 8-6 and has won seven of the 11 meetings since Rutgers joined the Big Ten. The Huskers look to snap a two-game losing streak, as Rutgers won both meetings in 2019-20.  Prior to the Scarlet Knights joining the Big Ten, the two teams split a home-and-home series in 2006 and 2007. The only other meeting was a 19-point Rutgers win at the 1999 Hoop and Quill Classic in St. Charles, Mo.

Last Meeting: The Nebraska men’s basketball team erased a 14-point second-half deficit at No. 24 Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights scored the final nine points to rally for a 75-72 victory on Jan. 24, 2020

Nebraska led 72-66 with less than three minutes to play, but Geo Baker hit a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch, including the game-winner with 1.1 seconds remaining. Baker, who was 1-of-13 from 3-point range since returning to action after an injury, hit his only two baskets of the game after Nebraska rallied back from a 14-point second-half deficit into a six-point lead. 

Nebraska nearly pulled out the come-from-behind win thanks to a big second half from Cam Mack, who was limited in the first half due to foul trouble. Mack scored 16 of his 19 points in the final period, including four 3-pointers. Thorir Thorbjarnarson tied his career highs with five 3-pointers and 17 points, falling just short of a double-double after grabbing eight rebounds. Jervay Green added 11 points off the bench, while Haanif Cheatham chipped in 10 points, as the Huskers had four players in double figures.

LAST TIME OUT

Nebraska’s veterans made the plays down the stretch, as Nebraska snapped a five-game losing streak with a 78-74 victory over Minnesota Saturday night.  

Kobe Webster, Thorir Thorbjarnarson and Derrick Walker combined for the Huskers final nine points after Minnesota whittled a 13-point deficit to 69-66 with 2:39 left.  Thorbjarnarson found Walker for a pair of baskets, the second making it 73-68 with 1:38 left. Walker finished with career highs of 12 points and nine rebounds.

Minnesota, behind a 41-point effort from Marcus Carr, pulled to with 74-73 with 13.6 seconds left, but Webster sank a pair of free throws to push the lead to four with 8.5 seconds left. After Minnesota pulled to within 76-74, Thorbjarnarson iced the game by sinking a pair of free throws with 4.0 seconds remaining. 

Thorbjarnarson and Webster finished with 10 points apiece, as five Huskers finished in double figures in the win. Dalano Banton paced the Huskers with 14 points and seven rebounds, as he had seven points in an 11-2 Husker run that turned a 53-49 lead into a 13-point cushion with 8:17 remaining.  Trey McGowens had 11 points and five of the Huskers’ 19 assists, as Nebraska shot 55 percent, including 9-of-17 from 3-point range. 

Carr led Minnesota with 41 points, matching the most in a Big Ten game this season. NU made him work for his points, as he went 11-of-27 from the field and 13-of-16 from the line. Jamal Mashburn Jr. added 12 points, but the Gophers were held to 34 percent shooting, including 8-of-30 from long range. 

STORYLINES

• Nebraska will play three games this week and will face a trio of opponents for the first time this season. Following Monday’s game with Rutgers, the Huskers will travel to Iowa (Thursday) and Northwestern (Sunday). Entering next week’s Big Ten Tournament, the Huskers will have played 14 games in 30 days since returning to action on Feb. 6 following its COVID-19 pause. Nebraska played 11 games in 22 days in February, marking the first time since the 1919-20 season that the program has played double-figure games in February. 

• Nebraska will look to record consecutive Big Ten home wins since downing Iowa on March 10, 2019 and beating Purdue on Dec. 15, 2019. 

• Nebraska’s two seniors have stepped up in recent weeks. Kobe Webster is averaging 8.3 points per game and shooting 42 percent from 3-point range over the last seven contests. He has reached double figures in Big Ten play in each of the last two games.  Thorir Thorbjarnarson is is averaging 6.8 points on 53 percent shooting along with 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game in NU’s last four contests.

• Nebraska has gotten improved production from its posts in recent games. Derrick Walker is averaging 9.3 ppg on 68 percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds per game over the past three contests, while freshman Eduardo Andre is chipping in 5.3 points and 70 percent shooting and 3.3 rebounds per game in that same span. Both Walker (nine) and Andre (six) posted career-high rebound totals in Saturday’s win over Minnesota.

• Nebraska’s strength of schedule is now fourth nationally by KenPom entering Sunday’s action. The 2020-21 season marks the second straight season NU has had a strength of schedule in the top 10 in KenPom. NU’s schedule was eighth in 2019-20. The Huskers are one of only two teams nationally (also Minnesota) to have top-10 strength of schedules by KenPom in each of the last two years.

• The Big Ten had eight teams in the top 40 of the NET rankings on Feb. 28, including four of the top eight spots. This season, 12 of the Huskers’ 17 losses have been Quad 1 losses. 

• Nebraska has been much better defensively since returning from its pause last month. Over the last 11 games, NU has held six of its 11 opponents to 40 percent shooting, while only Illinois has shot over 48 percent in that span. NU has allowed 7.5 fewer points per game over the past 11 games, while holding teams to 41 percent shooting, including 30 percent from 3-point range.

• Nebraska is on track for one of its most prolific 3-point shooting seasons in school history. NU enters the Rutgers game with 8.0 3-pointers per game which is on pace to rank second in school history.  It is not surprising that Nebraska has relied on its 3-point shooting in Hoiberg’s tenure, as his Iowa State teams led the Big 12 in 3-pointers in four of his five seasons at the school.

Most 3-Pointers/Game in School History

• The biggest beneficiary of Derrick Walker’s insertion into the Husker attack has been Lat Mayen, who moved to his natural stretch four spot after playing in the post for the first half of the season.  In the 12 games since Walker returned, Mayen is averaging 8.9 points per game on 42 percent shooting and 3.9 rebounds per game. In NU’s first four conference games, he averaged just 5.5 ppg on 31 percent shooting.

• Teddy Allen and his younger brother Timmy are one of the highest scoring duos in college basketball. The pair combines for more than 32 points a game, a total which ranks second nationally among brother duos. 

2020-21 Highest Scoring Brother Duos (as of Feb. 28)

• Teddy Allen is one of just eight newcomers at power conference schools averaging at least 16.0 points per game. Allen is currently sixth in the Big Ten in scoring and the only newcomer in the top 10 of the Big Ten in scoring as of Feb. 27.  His scoring average is on pace to be one of the highest scoring averages by a first-year Husker.

Highest Scoring NU Newcomers

• Seven members of the Nebraska basketball team were honored on Feb. 19 with spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. The Huskers on the list include Teddy Allen, Lat Mayen, Chris McGraw, Jace Piatkowski, Bret Porter, Thorir Thorbjarnarson, Derrick Walker and Kobe Webster. All Husker student-athletes combined for a school-record fall GPA of 3.325.