Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Rutgers

Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-14, 0-9) vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights (11-8, 5-4)

Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 – 5:30 p.m. CT

Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

1. Go out and fight

The last time Nebraska played Rutgers back Jan. 8 in Piscataway, the Scarlet Knights bullied, battered, and bruised the Huskers for 40 minutes.

The 93-65 drubbing got so bad that NU head coach Fred Hoiberg called out his team as much as he has all season after the game.

“We just folded,” Hoiberg said. “You’ve got to have some semblance of mental toughness if you’re going to compete at this level. We did not have that tonight.”

Not only were RU’s season-high 93 points 25 above its season average coming into the game, but Nebraska provided little resistance in the process.

Rutgers ended up scoring 44 of its 93 points in the paint, owned a 37-21 rebounding advantage, and scored 25 points off of 14 Husker turnovers.

If NU comes out with the same type of disinterested and uninspired effort tonight, it will likely end in another lopsided beat down.

2. Bring it on defense

Rutgers is an above-average offensive team, at best. But Nebraska made them look like the 1992 Chicago Bulls with how poorly it played defensively.

The Scarlet Knights shot 58.1 percent from the field in the win, including a blistering 65.5% in the second half. Five players finished in double figures, including a game-high 29 from Ron Harper Jr.

Paul Mulcahy nearly posted a triple-double with 10 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.

Along with its 44 paint points, Rutgers drained 10 3-pointers, going 8-for-10 from behind the arc in the second half alone.

So there wasn’t just one or two glaring problems areas for the Huskers’ defense in the first meeting. They were terrible in every sense in a matchup that had no business being that lopsided.

3. This is your chance

Now sitting at an embarrassing 0-9 in Big Ten play, Nebraska is looking at a very real scenario of losing all 20 of its conference games this season if something doesn’t change in a hurry.

The Huskers’ chances of avoiding a winless league slate probably won’t get any better than tonight.

Per KenPom, NU has a 43 percent chance of victory against Rutgers. That’s by far its best odds in any Big Ten game yet this year.

As badly as the first meeting went for Nebraska, the Scarlet Knights are actually a pretty favorable matchup. They don’t have the depth to keep up the Huskers in transition, and they’re one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league.

Plus, NU will have Trey McGowens back on the floor this time around. His presence alone should make the team more competent defensively.

If it doesn’t happen tonight, it’s going to be hard to see the Huskers beating anyone the rest of the way. For a team whose postseason hopes ended in early January, this one is about as much of a must-win situation as it gets.

Nebraska (+1.5) 69, Rutgers 68

Robin’s season record: 17-3

vs. the spread: 13-7