hhcmatt

Box Score

Nebraska Postgame Notes *-Nebraska’s 21-point win was its largest in Big Ten play since a 87-63 win over Rutgers on Feb. 6, 2016. Prior to tonight, NU’s last 20-point win in Big Ten play was a 72-52 win over No. 23 Michigan on Jan. 18, 2018. NU led by as much as 30 in the second half, while its 18-point halftime lead was its largest in conference play since the 2015-16 season. *-Lat Mayen finished with a career-high 25 points, including 20 in the first half. His previous high was 16 against Illinois on Feb. 12. Mayen hit his first seven shots from the floor, including four 3-pointers. *-Mayen’s 25-point game is the Huskers’ 11th 20-point game of the season. He was the fourth Husker to have a 20-point game this season *-Nebraska shot 51.9 percent from the field, becoming only the third Rutgers opponent to shoot over 50 percent this season (also Ohio State and Illinois). *-Nebraska has now shot 50 percent or better in each of its last three home games, the first time its happened since the 2013-14 season. *-Thorir Thorbjarnarson tied or set season bests in rebounds (seven, tied), assists (five, tied) and steals (four). *-Nebraska out-rebounded Rutgers 38-28, as the +10 was its best effort in Big Ten play and matched its best performance against a Division I opponent in 2020-21 (also McNeese State). It is the first time NU has out-rebounded a conference opponent by 10 or more board since the 2018-19 season. *-Nebraska had 19 assists for the second straight game, matching its highest total in Big Ten play this season. *-Nebraska finished with 11 steals, the sixth time NU has reached double-figures in steals *-Nebraska held Rutgers to 51 points, its second-lowest total of the season, and just 38.6 percent shooting. *-Nebraska has held seven of its 12 opponents to under 40 percent shooting since returning from its pause on Feb. 6. *-Nebraska held Rutgers to just 3-of-23 from 3-point range, the lowest by a Husker opponent this year. *-Derrick Walker finished with a career-high 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting. It marks his second straight double-figure effort. *-Trey McGowens reached double figures for the 15th time with 12 points and dished out five assists. Over the last two games, McGowens is 9-of-12 shooting and with 10 assists and three turnovers. Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg On Tonight’s Performance “That was a lot of fun. It was great to see all of the work that our guys have been putting in pay off in a game like that. It’s the exact effort and consistency you need to compete in this league and win in this league. You have to have 40 minutes of consistent basketball, and I just thought we came out of the gate with such a great mentality of sharing the ball. We had 14 assists on 16 baskets in the first half. That thing was flying around. It started off with Thor, we kind of ran a special play to get Lat (Mayen) shaken out of the single side. He made a perfect, on target pass for Lat to get going and I think the next possession from the baseline, drifted Lat to the corner with great spacing and hit a second one. Then, he was off and rolling from there. I thought Lat cutting and movement when they started to overplay him and pressure him was phenomenal and Derrick (Walker) just made huge plays for us all night. Trey (McGowens), another really efficient, overall game. Kobe (Webster) was rock solid out there and really everybody contributed from top to bottom. Shamiel (Stevenson) banged up his knee a little bit, hopefully he will be okay. It’s great to see guys make opportunities. Trevor (Lakes) hit that big three in the first half and Elijah (Wood) getting a dunk there in the end. And then Eduardo (Andre), it shows what he certainly can become with his potential. I just thought from start to finish that was our most complete game that we’ve played.” On what sparked the team’s performance “We’ve showed flashes and that’s the one thing obviously we’ve been stressing all year - the overall consistency. Just the ball movement in the first half kind of set the tone. And then defensively, I really thought the activity that we had with our hands, you know forcing turnovers and getting deflections, led to several transition opportunities for our team. This Rutgers team is one of the best defensive groups in the country and when they really got out and pressured, we started playing through Derrick and had some really good cutting to loosen it up a little bit. Defensively, rebounding that’s what Rutgers does. Held them to six offensive rebounds and I think three until about five minutes left. If you do that, it gives you a chance. The way we shared the ball shows what we’re capable of and what this system is capable. I am just really proud of how we came out and played through, and you know again this is 12 games in 24 days for us and we continue to come out and compete like we are says a lot about these guys.” On the team’s confidence “The biggest thing is to win two in a row and string together back-to-back games with the big emotional game against Minnesota behind us and find a way to get the energy levels back up where they needed to be tonight. We’ll have a huge challenge with Iowa with the way they are playing right now and finish up against Northwestern, who is playing very good at this time. We just want to continue to take positive steps. That is what this is all about. Continue to get guys opportunities. I love Eduardo’s development; what he’s doing out there. It’s good to see Trevor get an opportunity. Biggest thing is to continue to find a way to teach and for our guys to learn through this incredibly difficult stretch we are on and at the same time save their legs so they can go out and play with the effort they did tonight.” Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell Opening statement “I really thought going into this game that our guys were locked in, and we certainly didn’t play that way. One of their strengths is defending the three, and I think we took our season high from three-point land. We got to be a lot better, obviously. Tip of the hat to Nebraska. Nebraska has been playing really well. I was really worried about this game. They have been in a good rhythm and (Lat) Mayen starts out the game and makes every three. Really got them off to a good start. Fred (Hoiberg) does a really good job at moving people around. They got threes. They got layups. They outrebounded us. It was every area tip of the hat to Nebraska. They outplayed us in every area.” On being behind the whole game “They got every 50/50 ball. We just didn’t have the energy that we needed. When you aren’t playing well and you aren’t making any shots, you better do all the other things. They got the loose balls before we did. They got more long rebounds than we did. They out rebounded us. They took us out of what we wanted to do. We have to play better. And you can’t go on the road in this league and play like that. Our guys know that.” On his emotions “We had our two best practices of the season leading into this. I knew they were playing really well. They had been in a lot of games and they are in a good rhythm. I think when you play as much as they have, they are in a good rhythm. We tried to mix up some of our defenses, but we couldn’t get stops. We couldn’t get to the free throw line. Another huge key for us. Getting to the free throw line especially when we aren’t making shots, but we didn’t do those things. In this league if you play like that that’s going to be the final score.” On the execution and effort: “Yeah, we weren’t good in any area. Again, we had our two best practices of the season. And it probably wasn’t even close. So, I thought they were in a good place. The ball went up today and they hit a barrage of threes and we really just couldn’t tough through it. Tried some different combinations and then Paul (Mulcahy) got hurt and couldn’t go back into the game. Tried to play a couple of different guys. A couple of guys got into foul trouble. Clifford (Omoruyi) was good off the bench. He gave us some really good energy but obviously I didn’t do the job that I needed to do to have them ready to play a league road game.”

I believe that some Rutgers fan would be interested in Rick, not Richard, Pitino

Nice to see Wood make something happen

If we hadn't scored yet in the second half we'd still be winning

Rutgers fouling with 1 second on the shot clock night

Great 'strongest man gets the ball no call' there by Higgins

I think McGowens officially is running the offense

I'm afraid to stare directly at Lat Mayen's stat line

Trey needed a hit a wide open Kobe there instead of trying for a tough layup

wowie Derrick Walker running up the sideline when they're trying to deny the inbound. That's a Doc Sadler play from 10 year ago!

We'd be up by 15 if Johnson wasn't eating our lunch in the paint

We're not over the scholarship limit anymore. If nothing else this makes the job of landing a PG for next year easier.

On April 2nd, 2021 it only costs $300k to buy out Dennis Gates at Cleveland St. Is there a Div 1 team that is going to do that and if so is that a high enough level job where Armon Gates jumps there?

Besides them both being good at making 3s they're quite different. We're trying to make Lakes into a Mayen-esque stretch 4 fill-in. Tominaga is more like Kobe Webster where he can handle the ball/get his own shot and we hope that it's enough to overcome his lack of size.

Prediction: Rutgers 65 - Nebraska 60

Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-17) vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-9) Date: Monday March 1st, 2021 Time: 6:00 p.m. Arena: PBA Broadcast: BTN Rutgers Info Head Coach: Steve Pikiell Location: Piscataway, NJ Conference: B1G Nickname: Scarlet Knights KenPom rank: 27 Point Spread: Rutgers by 7.5 Depth: 8+ 3PA/FGA: 283rd Player to watch: Myles Johnson The defense is set up this year to run guys off the 3pt line in the general direction of one of the best interior defenders in the conference. 6'11" Johnson leads Rutgers in blocks, offensive rebounds, and total rebounds; off the court the brainy Johnson is an intern at IBM. Roster points PG SG SF PF C Pct 1 0 Geo Baker 6-4 195 Sr 4 Paul Mulcahy 6-6 210 So 22 Caleb McConnell 6-7 195 Jr 24 Ron Harper 6-6 245 Jr 15 Myles Johnson 6-11 255 Jr 17.9 2 42 Jacob Young 6-2 185 Sr 0 Geo Baker 6-4 195 Sr 4 Paul Mulcahy 6-6 210 So 24 Ron Harper 6-6 245 Jr 15 Myles Johnson 6-11 255 Jr 12.1 Rutgers rolls out beef size; the downside to their bulk is their inconsistent shooting Texas PG transfer slasher Jacob Young has developed a consistent 3pt shot in his 2nd year at Rutgers; leads this opportunistic Rutgers defense in steals Junior Ron Harper Jr. with his bulk and length has developed into a problem to stop in the B1G. About the only thing holding him back is an inconsistent 3pt shot which he has no problem taking Senior Geo Baker is having his most efficient scoring season without having to carry the load Paul Mulcahy and his headband is the Scarlet Knight's glue guy Caleb McConnell is a defensive player with an inconsistent shot Rutgers landed their future starting center in 6'11" 240# Clifford Omoruyi who backs up Johnson Montez Mathis was a starter during the first half of the season but his inconsistent shooting has him coming off the bench; I think he looks like Sek Henry's stunt double Texas transfer SG Jacob Young is the only player under 6'4" on the roster (6'2"). He takes a lot of shots and has been markedly worse than Mathis Fr Paul Mulcahy is the PG of the future. He's very tall (6'6"). He also will rarely shoot at this point in his career Centers Shaq Carter and Mamadou Doucoure are depth for Myles Johnson The Skinny: Rutgers finally found the right coach as Steve Pikiell has built the Scarlet Knights into a tournament contender behind hard nosed defense and a WIP offense. Built upon length, size, and quickness, Pikiell has them defending the 3pt line more this year while funnelling offensive players towards shot blocking center Myles Johnson. With this sort of frontcourt protection Rutgers' guards have been able to push for steals. The surprising thing about this Rutgers offense that tries to work everything into the paint is how relatively little they make it to the FT line. I guess this is a silver lining for the fans of the B1G's other terrible shooting FT team. The Teddy Allen era at Nebraska ended earlier than expected though Nebraska seemed to prove it could function offensively without their most talented bucket getter vs the Gophers. The length and tenacity of Rutgers will prove to be a stouter test than a banged up Minnesota team that can't play away from home. There is hay to be made against a Rutgers team that will put you on the line; can Nebraska take advantage or will they spend yet another night getting their pockets picked? Prediction: Rutgers 65 - Nebraska 60 View full article

Is Lakes going to get in the rotation for the last 4+ games? Do we need to see something from him or is he going to decide he wants to play somewhere where he'll get more PT?

Hey man, it's ok to bump out Kentucky and put us back in.