Nebraska men’s basketball will look to win its first conference road game of the season Wednesday night when it travels to Rutgers for a 6 p.m. CT tip.
The game will be televised on Big Ten Network with Jason Horowitz and Jess Settles on the call.
Wednesday will be the Huskers’ third road game in their last four and likely their best opportunity to get a conference road win this season. Rutgers is just 1-4 in league play and 9-7 overall. Jersey Mike’s Arena, the home court of the Scarlet Knights formerly known as the RAC, is traditionally a tough environment for road teams to play in. This season Rutgers is 8-1 overall at home and 1-1 in conference play. That one win came Jan. 9 versus Indiana (66-57).
Nebraska has found success against Rutgers in the series history. The Huskers defeated Rutgers 82-72 in Piscataway last season and have won nine of the 15 meetings since Rutgers joined the Big Ten (2014-15).
Wednesday’s game begins a stretch where Rutgers has three of their next four games at home.
Trending
After letting one get away at Minnesota in December and losing at Wisconsin and Iowa, Nebraska needs all of the wins it can get, particularly on the road.
Through Tuesday, Rutgers has a NET ranking of 93, while Nebraska’s ranking is 53. A win won’t likely boost the Huskers’ ranking but a loss would certainly hurt. Nebraska wouldn’t just fall in one of the metrics the NCAA Selection Committee uses; it would be the Husker’s third loss in the last four games.
If Nebraska can protect home court and pick up a few wins on the road to finish out the season an NCAA Tournament berth would be in the cards for the Huskers. A loss to what is currently the league’s worst team wouldn’t be devastating but it would mean Nebraska is trending downward even after a home win over then-No. 1 Purdue.
Husker Firepower
Dating back to Feb. 1, 2023, Nebraska is 19-7 in its last 26 games. One of the reasons is the offensive firepower.
Nebraska has averaged 77 points per game and is shooting 47% from the field in those 26 games.
Nebraska enters Wednesday’s game averaging 78.3 points per game. It’s the team’s highest points-per-game average since the 1995-96 season when the Huskers averaged 80.2 points per game. Since Jan. 10 Nebraska has climbed from 149th to 28th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom, another metric the NCAA Selection Committee uses.
When the Huskers score 80 or more points they are 24-4 under Fred Hoiberg, including 19-1 over the last three seasons. The only loss was a 104-100 quadruple-overtime game at North Carolina State on Dec. 1, 2021. NU has won its last 17 games when scoring 80 or more points.
Homecoming
Wednesday’s game will be a homecoming of sorts for two Huskers. Jamarques Lawrence and C.J. Wilcher are from Plainfield, N.J., which is less than 10 miles away from Jersey Mike’s Arena. Nebraska strength coach Kurt Joseph is also from Morganville, less than 20 miles from the Rutgers campus.
