Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-9, 9-9) at Nebraska Huskers (6-17, 2-14)
Monday, March 1, 2021 | 7 p.m.
Pinnacle Bank Arena | Lincoln, Neb.
TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler, play-by-play; Shon Morris, analyst)
Radio: Rutgers Sports Properties Radio Network (WCTC 1450 AM/WOR 710 AM/ XM 382; Jerry Recco and Joe Boylan), WRSU 88.7 FM
Rutgers men's basketball has two more games to conclude the regular season, with both contests coming on the road. Next up is a trip to Nebraska for a Monday night tip-off. That game is a 7 p.m. start with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call.
Last time out, Rutgers sent off its seniors in style in the home finale, with a 74-63 victory over Indiana. Down 15 points in the early going, Rutgers had a ferocious rally, using a 62-27 run to turn a 15-point deficit into a 20-point advantage. Rutgers had 11 three-pointers and 22 assists, both records for the Scarlet Knights in a Big Ten game.
Geo Baker had a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists, both season-highs, making six three-pointers and adding five rebounds, two steals and one block. He is the first player since 2017 to have that statline and the only player in college basketball this season to have six three-pointers and 10 assists in the same game.
Ron Harper Jr., a candidate for the Wooden Award and finalist for the Julius Erving Award, had 20 points and eight rebounds. It was his sixth game this year with 20+ points.
Myles Johnson had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while blocking a career-best seven shots. Johnson, a leading candidate for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, is the only player in the conference to have at least 55 blocks and 20 steals. He ranks 14th in the nation in blocks and has seven games this season with at least four blocks. His seven blocks against Indiana were the most blocks by a Big Ten player in any game this season and the most blocks by a Big Ten player in a conference game since 2019. Johnson has dominated Nebraska in his career, with three double-doubles in four lifetime matchups, averaging 12.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
The Scarlet Knights' success over the past two seasons has come with the competition in the Big Ten at an all-time peak. For the second straight season, RU has won nine conference games after doing that only once previously in the prior 17 seasons. The Scarlet Knights are in the top half of the Big Ten standings in a league that rates as easily the top conference in the nation.
Rutgers stands at 31 in the NET rankings. The Scarlet Knights have four Quad 1 wins on the year, with victories over Illinois (5), Purdue (21), at Maryland (32) and at Indiana (53). Four Big Ten teams are in the top-seven of the NET, representing five of RU's nine losses. The Scarlet Knights' strength of schedule is ranked fifth overall in the nation per Ken Pomeroy, and there NET SOS is seven. RU is 9-9 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games, and has zero losses below Quad 2.
Nebraska enters the contest at 6-17 overall and 2-14 in the conference. Since returning from a COVID-19 pause on February 6, the Huskers have played in 11 games over the past four weeks. The Rutgers game will mark their fifth game in nine days. On Saturday, the Huskers defeated Minnesota 78-74, with five players scoring in double-figures. Teddy Allen leads the team at 16.5 points per game, but played just 10 minutes in the win over the Gophers. Nebraska is second in the conference in turnovers forced at 13.64 per game.
Series Record: Nebraska leads 8-6
Last Meeting: Rutgers 75, Nebraska 72 (Jan. 25, 2020)
Monday will mark the 15th meeting between these two programs. Nebraska holds an 8-6 advantage in the series. The Scarlet Knights have won four games against Nebraska since joining the Big Ten, including a season sweep last year. In the first meeting last year, RU earned a 17-point win at Pinnacle Bank Arena behind double-doubles from
Myles Johnson (18 points, 14 rebounds) and
Ron Harper Jr. (11 points, 10 rebounds). In the second meeting, it was a
Geo Baker step-back three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining that lifted Rutgers to a 75-72 win over the Huskers at The RAC.
A victory for Rutgers over Nebraska would represent:
- Rutgers' 10th conference win of the season. That would mark double-digit conference wins for the second straight season. That would be the first time for RU with consecutive seasons with double-digit conference wins since 1989-90 and 1990-91. That would guarantees a winning conference season for the second straight season
- A fourth road win of the season. The Scarlet Knights previously won at Maryland, Indiana and Northwestern.
- The Scarlet Knights' most ever Big Ten road wins. The last time that RU won four road league games in a season was in 1990-91 when the team went 6-3 on the road in Atlantic 10 play.It would mark just the third time in the past 15 seasons that RU won four road games overall
- Rutgers fourth win in the past five matchups against Nebraska.
- A fifth Big Ten over the Huskers would tie for the most over any Big Ten team.
