Rutgers basketball fell to No.9 Nebraska 80-68 in a game where the Scarlet Knights were riddled with turnover issues that sparked large scoring runs for the Cornhuskers. Despite their best efforts, Nebraska’s ball-hawk defense was too much for the Knights to handle as they let up 15 points directly off their turnovers.
Kaden Powers would open the scoring for Rutgers by hitting a triple on the Knights first possession. Nebraska’s offense would get hot early, hitting their first four shot attempts and holding a 14-10 lead after the first five minutes of play. Rutgers would battle back to tie it up at 16, largely thanks to Darren Buchanan Jr. driving inside and getting to the rim, as he would have 6 points for Rutgers within the first 10 minutes of play. However, Rutgers would commit three turnovers in a row, allowing Nebraska to retake the lead, 20-16.
After a back and fourth that kept Nebraska’s lead at four, Jamarques Lawrence would nail a three pointer to push the Cornhuskers lead to 7, the largest lead of the half for either team. It should be noted that Nebraska had several wide open opportunities to extend their lead from beyond the arc, but they could not get their shots to fall. However, they would find success driving to the basket late in the first half, which they would use to extend their lead to 14 as both teams headed to the locker room with the scoreboard saying 41-27.
After going down on the court earlier in the game, Buchanan would come back on the court late in the first half. He would pickup his second foul at the onset of the second half right before both teams exchanged two three pointers. From then on Nebraska would get hot offensively and go on a small run, putting Rutgers in a 19 points hole and forcing Knights head coach Steve Pikiell to call a timeout with around 16 minutes left to go in the game. Rutgers would not seriously threaten Nebraska’s lead for the rest of the game.
The Knights were a disaster in terms of turnovers throughout the game, as they gave up the ball 9 more times than their opponent. Several times, they would have a few turnovers in rapid succession, allowing the Cornhuskers to go on a run.
Other areas where Rutgers struggled included their free throw shooting, where they shot 7/12 for 58 percent and points in the paint, where Nebraska out scored them 36-24.
Rienk Mast looked stellar for the Cornhuskers after getting over a sickness that affected his play the last few games. He scored 26 points and grabbed 8 rebounds en route to the Nebraska win. Lawrence, Pryce Sandfort, and Sam Hoiberg also had great games for Nebraska, as they all totaled 12 points or more.
Some positive takeaways for the Knights include the fact that they had a higher shooting percentage than Nebraska from the floor, 48 percent to 47 percent, and that they were able to grab one more rebound than their opponents.
Tariq Francis, who was put in the starting lineup for today’s game, was once again the leading scorer for the nights, netting 16 points and five assists on the day. Buchanan Jr. had a solid game as well, scoring 10 points and grabbing 5 rebounds, while Powers is looking better with each passing game, as he had 14 points and two rebounds in this game.
Denis Badalau made some noise during his eight minutes on the court, scoring 6 points and grabbing three rebounds, although he was mostly used when the game was already out of reach.
Rutgers men’s basketball will have an eight day long break until they resume action at home against Maryland on Sunday, February 15th, at noon.
