Huskers Host Rutgers on Senior Night this Sunday

Huskers Host Rutgers on Senior Night this Sunday

The Nebraska men's basketball team looks to set a school record for home wins in a season this Sunday, as the Huskers host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Tipoff at a sold out Pinnacle Bank Arena is slated for 5:30 p.m. (central) with coverage on BTN and the Huskers Radio Network.

Sunday's game is Senior Night, as Nebraska will honor seniors Jarron Coleman, Josiah Allick and Keisei Tominaga, as well as C.J. Wilcher, who received his degree from Nebraska in December. Fans should be in their seats by 5 p.m. for Senior Night ceremonies. The senior class have helped Nebraska to its first 20-win season under Fred Hoiberg at Nebraska and the school's best Big Ten mark since 2017-18.

With a win on Sunday, the Huskers can cap a perfect home conference slate at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time since 2017-18. The 17 home wins matches a program record and NU can break the match with a win on Sunday.  
Nebraska (20-9, 10-8 Big Ten) looks to bounce back from a 78-69 loss at Ohio State on Thursday night. Rienk Mast had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Jamarques Lawrence matched Mast with team-high honors with 14 points off the bench. Nebraska held Ohio State to 43 percent shooting, but a strong performance from Ohio State's Jamison Battle, who had a game-high 32 points snapped NU's four-game win streak. OSU also went 24-of-28 from the foul line.

The Huskers enter the weekend in fifth place in the conference standings with a 10-8 mark, a half game behind both Wisconsin, as the top four teams get double-byes at the Big Ten Tournament later this month.
Rutgers (15-13, 7-10) comes off its most complete effort of the season, an 82-52 win over Michigan on Thursday evening. Jeremiah Williams and Clifford Omoruyi had 19 points each as Rutgers shot 52 percent from the field in the win and held the Wolverines to 31.6 percent shooting. Rutgers is now tied for 10th place with Indiana heading into the the last few games of Big Ten action. 

Worth Noting 
• Nebraska has already exceeded its win total from last season (16) and the 20 wins this season are the most by the Huskers since the 2018-19 season. Under Fred Hoiberg, NU has increased its win total in each of the past three years, the first time that has happened in the program since the mid-1960s (1963-64 to 1965-66).

• Nebraska picked up its 20th win of the season with the win over Minnesota on Feb. 25. It is the 14th 20-win season in program history. It also marked just the seventh time in school history that NU has won at least 20 games during the regular season (also 1919-20, 1965-66, 1977-78, 1990-91, 1992-93, 2017-18). 

• Nebraska enters Sunday's game with a 20-9 record, which matches the Huskers' best 29-game mark since joining the Big Ten in the 2011-12 season (also 20-9 in 2017-18).  The last time NU had a better record after 29 games was a 23-6 mark in 1990-91. 

• Nebraska is one of 23 teams nationally that ranks in the top 50 both in offensive and defensive efficiency in KenPom as of March 1. NU is one of three Big Ten teams in the top 50 of both, joining Purdue and Michigan State. 

• The Huskers are 17-1 inside Pinnacle Bank Arena this season, which matches the single-season record for home wins in a season (also 1982-83, 2007-08 and 2010-11). A win on Sunday against Rutgers would give NU its best home winning percentage since 1965-66 and a perfect conference home record for just the 10th time in school history and third time since World War II (also 1965-66 and 2017-18).  All of the other seasons with a perfect conference record were between 1908 and 1921.

• NU goes for its 11th Big Ten win of the season on Sunday, as NU has 13 seasons with at least 10 conference wins, including 2023-24. It is the first time Nebraska has finished .500 or better in Big Ten play for the first time since the 2017-18 season and third time since joining the conference in 2011-12. 

•  The 2023-24 season marks just the fourth time in school history that both the Husker men and women have won 10-or-more conference games, as the Husker women are 11-6 heading into Sunday's regular-season finale at Illinois. The others took place in 2017-18 (Big Ten), 2013-14 (Big Ten) and 1997-98 (Big 12). 

• Nebraska enters the Rutgers game averaging 76.8 points per game to rank fourth in the Big Ten in scoring offense as of March 1. It is an increase of more than eight points per game from last year and NU's highest scoring average since 1995-96 (80.2 ppg). NU has climbed from 149th to 48th nationally in offensive efficiency in KenPom as of March 1. NU's highest average since joining the Big Ten is 73.3 points per game in 2021-22.

•  Nebraska leads the Big Ten and ranks 24th nationally with 9.4 3-pointers per game as of March 1. The Huskers broke the single-season record for 3-pointers in a season at Ohio State, and now have 274 3-pointers. The previous mark was 270, which was set in 36 games in 2018-19. 

• Nebraska has already broken several long losing streaks to teams this season. The Feb. 10 win over Michigan snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Wolverines. It marked the fifth streak of at least seven games snapped this season: Michigan State (11 games); Michigan (eight games); Kansas State (seven games); Indiana (seven games) and Northwestern (seven games).

• A few Huskers are approaching milestones heading into Sunday's game against Rutgers. Keisei Tominaga:  Has 964 career points and can make a big jump on NU's scoring chart this week...Needs 36 points to become the 31st player in school history to reach 1,000 points at Nebraska. C.J. Wilcher: Is 12 points away from cracking the top-60 scorers on NU's career list.  Josiah Allick: Is six points away from 1,200 career points and 13 rebounds away from 750 of his career...Brice Williams: Is eight rebounds away from 500 for his career...is 32 points away from 1,200 for his career.

•  The Huskers have been one of the most consistent teams in the Big Ten for the last year. NU is 26-12 over the last 38 games dating back to Feb. 1, 2023, which ranks second only to Purdue in the Big Ten in winning percentage in that span. 

• With the win over No. 6 Wisconsin on Feb. 1, Nebraska has two top-10 wins for the first time since 2013-14 and the sixth time in school history (2023-24, 2013-14, 1993-94, 1991-92, 1990-91 and 1957-58).  The 1957-58 team was coached by Jerry Bush, the grandfather of current Husker Head Coach Fred Hoiberg. 

• Nebraska enters Sunday's game ranked fourth in the Big Ten in free throw shooting at 76.1 percent.  It is on pace to be one of NU's highest season percentages in school history and the highest since the 2011-12 team set a school record with a .766 free throw percentage.  In Big Ten play, Nebraska is shooting 78.6 percent from the line as a team. 

• While NU's offense garners much of the headlines, the Huskers' defense has made significant strides this season. The Huskers are sixth in scoring defense (69.8 ppg) and is holding opponents to 39.8 percent shooting to lead the Big Ten. NU has held nine straight foes to under 43 percent dating back to Jan. 27 and has jumped to 31st nationally in defensive efficiency from 69th last season.  According to BartTorvik.com, Nebraska is third in the nation in defensive effiiciency over the past month. 

• The Huskers are 25-6 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring at least 80 points, including 20-3 over the last three seasons. All three losses have come in overtime (104-100 in 4OT at NC State on Dec. 1, 2021; 87-82 in OT at Rutgers on Jan. 17, 2024; 87-84 at Illinois on Feb. 4, 2024). NU had won its last 17 games when reaching the 80-point plateau before the OT loss at Rutgers.

• Nebraska's bench has provided a spark, averaging a conference-best 22.8 points per game as of March 1. The Huskers' leading scorer has come from the bench eight times (Hoiberg-Lindenwood; Wilcher-five times; Gary-Stony Brook; Allick-Iowa), and NU has had 25 double-figure efforts from its bench in 2023-24.

Numbers to Know
2008 - Rienk Mast now has a team-high six double-doubles this season following his 14-point, 12-rebound effort at Ohio State. It is the most double-doubles by a Husker in the Big Ten era and the most since Aleks Maric had 15 in 2007-08. 

9.4 - NU leads the Big Ten with 9.4 3-pointers per game as of March 1, an average which is on pace to challenge the single-season school record for 3-pointers per game (9.5/gm, 2001-02). The Huskers are 10-4 this season when hitting at least 10 3-pointers.

19 - Nebraska has won its 19 games dating back to last season when holding an opponent to 70 points or less. This season, NU is 15-0 following the win over Minnesota on Feb. 25.

11.5 - Jamarques Lawrence is averaging 11.5 points per game on 55 percent shooting and 2.8 assists per game since moving to the bench on Feb. 7. He has reached double figures in each of the past three contests, including a team-high 14 points at Ohio State.

.950 - Keisei Tominaga's free throw percentage in Big Ten play, as he is 38-of-40 from the foul line in conference play.  C.J. Wilcher leads NU in conference play, hitting all 23 of his foul shots and has hit 28 straight free throws dating back to Nov. 9.

2 - Rienk Mast became only the second Husker in the last 25 years to post a 30-point, 10-rebound game with his performance against Ohio State on Jan. 24. He joined Aleks Maric, who accomplished the feat four times in his career from 2005 to 2008.

9 - Nine members of the Husker men's basketball team were named to the NU Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll for the fall semester announced on Feb. 22. The group includes Josiah Allick, Henry Burt, Jeffrey Grace III, Sam Hoiberg, Rienk Mast, Eli Rice, Keisei Tominaga,  C.J. Wilcher and Brice Williams. 

About Rutgers
Rutgers comes into Sunday's game with a 15-13 record following the win over Michigan. The Scarlet Knights are tied with Indiana for 10th in the Big Ten race before this two-game road swing (at NEB, at WIS). The Scarlet Knights close Big Ten play against Ohio State.  The Scarlet Knights are coached by Steve Pikiell, who is in his eighth season at the school. He guided Rutgers to postseason appearances in each of the past three seasons, including NCAA Tournament berths in 2021 and 2022.  Prior to 2021, Rutgers had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1991. 

The Scarlet Knights returned a pair of starters and nine letterwinners from a team that won 19 games last season. Jeremiah Williams, who was cleared to play in late January, leads Rutgers with 12.9 points per game and 3.4 assists in eight games. He is one of three double-figure scorers for the Scarlet Knights. 
All-Big Ten performer Clifford Omoruyi is one of the conference's top big men as he averages 11.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.1 blocked shots per game.  Aundre Hyatt chips in 10.9 points per game and has hit a team-high 45 3-pointers, while Mawot Mag is at 9.1 points per game. 
Rutgers is one of the Big Ten's best defensive clubs, ranking in the top two in points per game allowed (65.9, second), field goal percentage defense (.403, second), blocked shots (5.4, first) and steals (7.5, second).

Series History: Sunday's matchup will be the 20th all-time meeting with the Scarlet Knights. Nebraska leads the all-time series 10-9 and has won nine of the 16 meetings since Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014-15. Prior to the Scarlet Knights joining the Big Ten, the two teams split a home-and-home series in 2006 and 2007. The only other meeting was a 19-point Rutgers win at the 1999 Hoop and Quill Classic in St. Charles, Mo.

Last Meeting: Brice Williams had a game-high 22 points to lead three Huskers in double figures, but Nebraska suffered an 87-82 overtime setback at Rutgers on Jan. 17.  The Huskers led 63-51 with 9:39 remaining in regulation after consecutive 3-pointers from Wilcher only to see the Scarlet Knights rally down the stretch. The Huskers had two chances in the final 10 seconds of regulation to win, but could not get a shot off, sending the game to OT.  Williams finished with 22 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Keisei Tominaga and Wilcher added 16 and 12 points, respectively. 

In the extra session, Nebraska tied it at 74 after a Tominaga 3-pointer but Cliff Omoruyi’s basket with 2:58 left in overtime gave the Scarlet Knights the lead for good. Rutgers led 79-74, but the Huskers would continue to battle. NU got to within 83-82 after a pair of 3-pointers by Sam Hoiberg, the last with 20.9 seconds left, but Rutgers Noah Fernandes hit a pair of free throws to make it a 3-point game before Tominaga’s 3-pointer with 10 seconds left was off the mark, allowing Rutgers to escape with the win.

Aundre Hyatt led five Rutgers players in double digits with 17 points while Mawot Mag added 16. Omoruyi finished with 14 points and 15 boards, as Rutgers out-rebounded NU, 56-42, including 25 offensive rebounds which led to 20 second-chance points.

Last Time Out
Rienk Mast and Jamarques Lawrence had 14 points apiece, but a hot shooting night by Ohio State’s Jamison Battle lifted Ohio State to a 78-69 win over Nebraska on Feb. 29.

Mast posted his sixth double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Lawrence finished with 14 points and five assists, as the Huskers saw their four-game win streak snapped.

Battle had a game-high 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line to lead a trio of Buckeyes in double figures. Roddy Gayle Jr. added 16 points and 10 boards while Devin Royal had 13 points off the bench. The 32-point effort was the most against the Huskers this season. 

Ohio State got to the foul line, converting 24 of 28 from the charity stripe, while Nebraska got to the line just eight times. Nebaska was within 69-67 after Juwan Gary’s two free throws with 3:58 left, but would get no closer, as the Buckeyes used a 9-0 run to earn its third win in the last four contests.