Nebraska basketball put on a masterful offensive performance Tuesday night as they defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 82-72 on the road.
The Huskers picked up their second straight win and third in four games as they dissected the stout Rutgers defense.
Heading into tonight led the Big Ten in points allowed per game and opponent field goal percentage per game but could not stop Nebraska Tuesday night.
It was a fast-paced and hot shooting first half in New Jersey
Rutgers got out to a 10-5 lead to begin the game. Scarlett Knights forward, Aundre Hyatt scored eight quick points for his squad. Hyatt finished the game with 24.
CJ Wilcher turned it on for Nebraska hitting three straight three-pointers in two and a half minutes of play. After a Sam Griesel layup, the score was tied up at 16 with 12 minutes to go.
Nebraska hit six of their first eight shots and their hot shooting continued. Over the next six minutes of play, NU went 5-of-8 from the floor, and after a Keisei Tominaga layup Nebraska held a 27-25 lead with six minutes left in the half.
Rutgers continued to hang in with the fiery Nebraska offense through the good shooting of their own and creating extra shots through turnovers and offensive rebounds.
Hyatt’s five straight points for Rutgers gave the Scarlet Knights a 35-34 lead with 1:30 to go. Nebraska, led by Derrick Walker, put together a 6-0 run to end the half and headed into the locker rooms up 40-35.
Nebraska shot an incredible 65% from the floor in the first half. Walker led Nebraska with 10 points, shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor. Wilcher ended the half with nine but also picked up three assists.
Rutgers caused eight Nebraska turnovers due to their intense full-court press but only converted the turnovers into five points. Rutgers shot a solid 47% from the floor and had seven more shots than the Huskers.
Nebraska came back down to earth to start the first half. After a quick Grisel layup to raise the Husker lead to seven, NU went on a three-minute scoring drought. Rutgers took advantage, putting together a 6-0 run, making it a 42-41 Nebraska lead.
Then Keisei Tominaga came to life for the Huskers. Over the next seven minutes of play, Tominaga accounted for 11 of Nebraska’s ensuing 20 points. During Tominaga’s explosion, Wilcher hit two more threes as NU held a 61-52 lead with nine minutes to play.
Nebraska extended their lead to 12 after a Sam Hoiberg three but after two straight NU turnovers, Rutgers put up four quick points making it 66-58 with 7 minutes to play.
The lead stayed at 8 until the 5:38 mark when Tominaga drew a foul, hit two free throws to reach 20 points for the fourth straight game, and extended the Nebraska lead to 10. Rutgers responded with two free throws of their own, but another Tominaga layup followed up by a Derrick Walker layup made the score 74-62 with 3:30 to play.
Rutgers stuck around but never cut the deficit under the eight. Nebraska walked out of Jersey Mikes Arena with an 82-72 win. Rutgers dropped their third straight game, and now their road to the NCAA tournament may be murky.
Wilcher made his first start in eight games tonight and was incredible. The Plainfield, New Jersey native had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting on 5 made threes, along with four assists. Walker was also masterful, putting up 16 on 8-of-10 shooting. Tominaga totaled 22 points in his fourth straight game scoring 20 points. Griesel was the unsung hero tonight, scoring 12 points on near-perfect shooting and leading Nebraska with 11 rebounds.
Nebraska finished the contest shooting 58% from the floor and 43% from three. After having trouble taking care of the ball in the first half the Huskers committed just six turnovers in half two.
It was the first time NU beat Rutgers on the road since 2018.
Nebraska moves to 13-14 on the season and has a chance to move to .500 Sunday, Feb 19th, as they take on Maryland at Pinnacle Bank Arena