RV/RV NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (13-5, 3-4) AT RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (8-9, 1-6)
MONDAY, JAN. 21, 2019 | 8 P.M.
THE RAC (8,000) | PISCATAWAY, N.J.
 
TV: BTN (Dave O'Brien, play-by-play & Stephen Bardo, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers IMG Sports Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/Sirius 134/XM 202) (Jerry Recco & Joe Boylan); WRSU 88.7 FM (Jake Ostrove & Stephen Nelson)
 
Series Record: Nebraska leads 7-3
Last Meeting: Nebraska 67, Rutgers 55 (Feb. 10, 2018 at Pinnacle Bank Arena)
 
PROMOTIONS: Winter Break at The RAC: students with a valid Rutgers ID can bring up to two guests in the student section free of charge; Halftime Special Olympics game.
 
OPENING TIP: Rutgers meets its fourth of seven Big Ten opponents either ranked or receiving votes over nine games when it welcomes Nebraska to the RAC on Monday. RU is coming off a hard-fought 65-57 home loss to Northwestern on Friday night. First-year Scarlet Knights Montez Mathis and Shaq Carter scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, respectively. Mathis reached double figures for the fourth time in the past five games and has a team-leading 14.0 points-per-game over the past five contests.
 
Rutgers averages 1.15 years of experience, which ranks 318th in the nation. The Scarlet Knights started three first-year players in its last three games, while six of the nine players to compete against the Wildcats were in their first season competing for the Scarlet Knights. In contrast, Nebraska averages 2.20 years of experience, the most in the Big Ten and 34th in the nation, with three senior starters.
 
THE SERIES: Monday marks the 11th meeting between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1999. Rutgers won the first two contests, an 81-62 meeting in the USBWA Hoop & Quill Classic, held in St Charles, Missouri on Nov. 28 1999. The Scarlet Knights also won a 75-73 decision in the Huskers first ever trip to the RAC on Dec. 2, 2006. As Big Ten foes, RU claimed its lone win in a 65-64 victory on Jan. 21, 2017, as Corey Sanders scored the game-winning basket on a put-back with one second remaining.
 
THE OPPONENT: Under seventh-year head coach Tim Miles, Nebraska is receiving votes in both polls and has been ranked seven of 11 weeks this season. James Palmer leads the way with 19.3 points-per-game, which is third in the Big Ten. He also gets to the charity stripe more than any player in the league, having attempted 136 this year, which is 9th in the nation. The Cornhuskers have four players scoring in double-figures, as Palmer is joined by Isaac Copeland (14.2), Glynn Watson (13.2) and Isaiah Roby (10.9). Nebraska leads the Big Ten in steals (8.3), three-point defense (28.0) and turnover margin (4.4). NU is ranked 11th in the NET rankings, and is currently 12th according to KenPom.
 
COACHING COMPARISON
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Overall Record (years): 230-202 (14th)
Rutgers Record (years): 38-46 (3rd)
Record vs. Nebraska (RU): 1-3
Record vs. Nebraska (overall): 1-3
 
Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles
Overall Record (years): 393-322 (24th)
Nebraska Record (years): 110-102 (7th)
Record vs. RU (Nebraska): 6-1
Record vs. RU (Overall): 6-1
 
SCARLET KNIGHT NOTABLES

• Per KenPom.com analysis, Rutgers' strength of schedule ranks 24th nationally. Through seven Big Ten games, RU has played four of the top five teams in the league standings.
• Rutgers ranks 24th nationally in offensive rebounds (13.18) and 50th in total rebounds (39.06). RU is among the top five in the Big Ten in four stat categories and leads the league in offensive boards.
• Per KenPom.com analysis, Rutgers is among the nation's youngest teams with 1.15 years of experience to rank 318th nationally out of 353 Division I programs. RU is also one of the nation's tallest teams with an average height of 79.0" to rank sixth in D-I.
• Seventeen of Rutgers' 30 regular season games (56%) are against opponents currently ranked or receiving votes in the polls. Five Big Ten programs that have won NCAA titles will compete in Piscataway.
• Rutgers is averaging 5,801 fans through its initial 11 home games with two sell-outs, a 67% increase over its average attendance through 11 games (3,844) last season.
• Eugene Omoruyi's 17 rebounds vs. BU marked the most for a Rutgers player since Adrian Hill grabbed 18 versus Notre Dame on March 3, 2007, a span of 12 seasons.
• Against Eastern Michigan, Rutgers allowed four points in the opening half to tie the NCAA D-I record for fewest points allowed in a half during the shot clock era (since 1985-86). The 36 points allowed also tied the school record, matching the defensive effort against Columbia (60-36) on Nov. 18, 2002.
• In the shot clock era, Rutgers has held an opponent under 40 points eight times. Steve Pikiell has been the head coach in four of those contests.

QUOTABLE

"Coach Pikiell has this strong identity of what they want to be. It's the old UConn — big, strong athletic wings, huge bigs, shot-blocking, rebounding domination type stuff, and that will be good for us to go to. It will challenge us in a different way and so you've got to game plan it a little bit the same as Michigan State, but not quite exactly, and that's always a challenge for us. Geo Baker is a good one-on-one player. You saw at the end of the Ohio State game he made a great play — they just went five-out or one-four low and he made a great one-on-one move. He's got a little more responsibility and maturity this year. He's a guy that can get away from you in transition and he can get hot."
- Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles  

Fans can secure single game tickets for the remaining home games, as well as flex ticket plans, online or by calling 866-445-GORU (4678). Additional information can obtained by visiting RutgersGameday.com. 
 
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