PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers men's basketball heads back on the rugged road of the Big Ten, as they will head to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers. Tipoff for the game, which is Nebraska's Senior Night, will be at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised by Big Ten Network, with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off of a great team effort in a 30-point win over Michigan on Thursday night. 10 players had an assist in the game, en route to 17 helpers total, third most in a game this season. Rutgers made 33 field goals overall, tied for most in a game this season.
Clifford Omoruyi had his ninth double-double of the season against the Wolverines with 19 points and 15 rebounds. The Scarlet Knights are now 9-0 this season when Cliff has a double-double. Omoruyi, a leading candidate for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, increased his block total to 87 rejections. He is 22 blocks ahead of the second-place blocker in the league. Omoruyi is six blocks away from recording the most blocks in the Big Ten since 2018. He is just the fourth Big Ten player to reach 85+ blocks in a season since 2009.
The Scarlet Knights took advantage of a 46-18 margin in points in the paint and 18-3 in fast break points. Rutgers shot its best field goal percentage in a Big Ten game this season, while holding Michigan to a season-low in points.
Jeremiah Williams posted 19 points in the game as well. His 12.9 points per game through eight contests lead the team.
Guard
Noah Fernandes has sparked the team with his outside shooting. He is 10-of-14 behind the three-point line over his last six games.
The Huskers enter the game at 20-9 overall and 10-8 in Big Ten play. NU is coming off a 78-69 loss to Ohio State on Thursday night as they allowed Jamison Battle to post 32 points.
Keisei Tominaga leads a bunched group of top scorers at 13.9 points per game. He is closely trailed by Reink Mast (13.0), Brice Williams (12.7) and Juwan Gary (11.9). Mast is fifth in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game.
Nebraska leads the Big Ten and is 13
th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (39.8%). They also lead the league in three-pointers per game (9.4).
Since losing at Jersey Mike's Arena in overtime on January 17, Nebraska is 7-4. The Huskers are 17-1 at home this season and just 3-8 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena. NU is 9-0 at home in conference games and 28-5 over the past two seasons at the venue.
This will be the 20th matchup between Rutgers and Nebraska. Nebraska holds a 10-9 advantage in the series. RU has won three of the past four meetings since 2022, with their latest win coming earlier this season on January 17. In that game, RU won an overtime thriller which saw all five starters score in double-figures. The team had a Big Ten record 56 total rebounds, as well as finishing the game shooting 8-for-8 from the free throw line in overtime to help secure the win.
- Fourth road win of the season
- Second home-and-home sweep of the season
- Four wins in the past five games against Nebraska
Cliff Omoruyi is two field goals away from 500 makes for his Scarlet Knight career. He will become the 18
th RU player all-time with 500 field goals. Omoruyi has 1,226 points, five away from tying Kevin Black for 23
rd all-time at RU and 19 away from 22
nd place (Bucky Hatchett). Omoruyi needs six blocks to tie for 6
th most in a single-season by a RU player.
Rutgers remains on the road, traveling to play Wisconsin on Thursday. The game at the Kohl Center on Thursday night is at 7 p.m. on FS1. Then, RU returns home on Sunday, March 10 to host Ohio State on Senior Day (2 p.m.)
