MBB Meets Nebraska in B1G Tournament
Mar 07 | Men's Basketball
| No. 14 Rutgers vs. No. 11 Nebraska | |
| Date | Wednesday, March 9 |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| Location | Indianapolis, Ind. | Bankers Life Fieldhouse |
| Television | Big Ten Network |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin and Joe Boylan WRSU (88.7 FM) |
| Notes | Rutgers | Nebraska |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Nebraska | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
Rutgers Tournament Guide
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 14 seed Rutgers (7-24, 1-17) takes flight for the Circle City to meet No. 11 seed Nebraska (14-17, 6-12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in the opening round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament. The winner will advance to meet No. 6 seed Wisconsin (20-11, 12-6) in the late evening session game on Thursday. RU is seeking its second consecutive victory, while the Cornhuskers are looking to bounce back after five straight defeats. A win over Nebraska will provide the Scarlet Knights their 1200th win in program history.
Wednesday evening's game will be televised live on BTN with Kevin Kugler calling the action and Shon Morris and Mike Hall providing the analysis. Thursday evening's match-up between No. 6 seed Ohio State and the winner of Rutgers/Nebraska will be televised live on ESPN2 with Mike Tirico handling play-by-play and Dan Dakich and Quint Kessenich offering commentary. On the radio, all Rutgers Tournament contests will be broadcast live on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, WOR 710 AM in New York and WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. On a mobile device, follow Rutgers IMG Sports Network on the TuneIn Radio app. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Joe Boylan will provide commentary. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also broadcast the games.
The game will mark the seventh meeting on the collegiate hardwood between Rutgers and Nebraska with the Huskers leading 4-2. The Cornhuskers won the last four meetings, including both this season. Despite 28 points from Corey Sanders, Rutgers fell at Nebraska, 87-63, on Feb. 6 and 90-56 at the RAC on Jan. 9. Last season, Nebraska captured a 65-49 victory at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Scarlet Knights last defeated Nebraska, 75-73, at the RAC on Dec. 2, 2006, with Rutgers shooting an impressive 63.6 percent (28-of-44). The first meeting occurred on Nov. 28, 1999 at the USBWA Hoops 6 Quill Classic in St. Charles, Mo., and resulted in an 81-62 RU victory.
Sophomore Mike Williams scored a career-high 29 points on 7-of-12 shooting, helped by a career-best six three pointers, to spark Rutgers in a 75-52 home win over Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights led by as many as 33 points and limited the Gophers to 30.1 percent (22-of-73) shooting to earn the convincing senior day victory. Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree Greg Lewis grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and Bishop Daniels had a career-high tying seven assists and 12 points. Sanders added 12 points, six steals and six assists to join Williams and Bishop Daniels in double figures.
Monday evening on BTN, Sanders was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the league's media. He ranks ninth overall and first among freshmen in the Big Ten in scoring (16.2), while also pacing all conference players in steals (1.8). He is also seventh overall and first among freshmen in assists (4.3). In Big Ten only games, Sanders is fourth overall in scoring (18.0), fifth in assists (4.9) and second in steals (2.0). He was twice named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week this season.
Sanders is one of just two freshmen in the nation to average 16.2+ points, 4.3+ assists and 1.8+ steals per game, along with LSU's Ben Simmons.
