Game Thread: Huskers v. Rutgers

Calling on the dawgs to help protect the house.

Tonight when the Huskers host Rutgers at Pinnacle Bank Arena, the Scarlet Knights will have on the floor two freshmen who are likely to be NBA lottery picks. But Nebraska has two seniors who are capable of being the best in the game on any given night.

Brice Williams and Juwan Gary hope to help lead the Huskers back on the winning path on Thursday, setting a school record with 21 straight wins at PBA if they do so. 

For Gary, his work ethic is clear. But the veteran hopes to get back on track with his shot after going 0-for-8 from beyond the arc the last two games.

“You look at his numbers, I think he’s shooting 56 percent from three at home,” said Husker head coach Fred Hoiberg. “Obviously he struggled on the road. But here’s how it always work: Juwan had one that rolled around the rim about five times, fell out. Then he hits one and they called a moving screen on Berke. That’s how it always worked for me when I was going through a struggle.”

Gary scored 10 in Sunday’s loss to Purdue but was 0-for-5 from deep. He had 13 points and 13 rebounds against Iowa but was 5-of-21 from the field. Despite a couple tough outings shooting it, the senior is averaging 12.5 point per games and is shoot better than 35 percent from 3-point range over the last eight games. 

Just 26 points from 1,000 in his career, Gary finding a few more big shots PBA is one of the keys. The Huskers (12-4, 2-3) still have all their goals in front of them after a tough week on the road.

“Obviously he’s key whether he’s putting the ball in the basket or not,” the coach said. “He’s done little things since the minute he stepped on this campus. That’s what we love out of him. And when he makes shots obviously you’re in a really good position with Juwan and he’s done that at home. Absolutely love the kid. He’s going to go down as one of my all-time favorites that I’ve had the opportunity to coach.”

How to watch/listen

Tip time: 8 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV/Online: Thursday’s game will be on FS1 with Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe on the call. It will also be available online on the Fox Sports app.

Radio: On the Huskers Radio Network with Kent Pavelka and Jake Muhleisen on the call, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. The pregame show begins an hour before tipoff and will also be available on Huskers.com and the Huskers app.  

5 on the floor

Projected Husker starters:

G Rollie Worster, senior: 6-5, 210

G Brice Williams, junior: 6-7, 214

F Berke Buyuktuncel, so., 6-10, 244

F Juwan Gary, senior: 6-6, 226

C Braxton Meah, senior: 7-1, 264

4 on the foe

Scouting Rutgers:

– The Scarlet Knights are 9-8 and 2-4 in the league, but coming off a 75-68 win over UCLA. Don’t be too fooled by the record. Rutgers has had some injury issues, which contributed to losing four of five before that game against UCLA. The Scarlet Knights are pretty healthy coming into this one.

– Rutgers has two freshmen in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey that NBA scouts are closely monitoring. Fred Hoiberg has said he thinks they could be two of the top five draft picks. Harper is averaging 20.0 points per game on 50 percent shooting, with 4.4 assists per game. The 6-10 Bailey is averaging 19.0 points per game and 7.7 rebounds. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win over UCLA. He also scored 39 at Indiana.

– Three of Rutgers’ top four scorers are freshmen. Lathan Sommerville is averaging 7.2 points per game while senior Jeremiah Williams is at 7.3. 

– Rutgers is a dangerous team and, even so, it’s one of those games that can hurt more than help for Nebraska. The Scarlet Knights currently have a NET of 86. But it’s worth noting six of the team’s eight losses count as Quad 1 games.

3 keys, please

– Simple plays without the waste.

The Huskers still need to cut down on the turnovers, which helped assure from the bat it was going to be a bad day at Purdue. “We just have to make simple plays. When we play in a crowd very rarely do good things happen. When we try to hit the home run this team is not really built for that. When we hit singles, when we make the simple play, we generally get good, quality possessions.”

There’s no panic after a couple losses, and hopefully no panic in style of play.

–  Essential Essegian.

Nebraska’s 104-68 loss at Purdue on Sunday was a depressing game. The bright spots would be Sam Hoiberg’s energy off the bench and Connor Essegian making some second-half shots. “We need him. We need Connor out there to space the floor and to knock down shots.” He was 6-of-13 overall and 3-of-10 from deep while scoring 17.

It’s been a bit sporadic for Essegian after he had five of six games from the Creighton game on where he scored at least 13. He’s 5-of-18 from beyond the arc this month with two points against UCLA and six against Iowa before Sunday’s game. 

For a Husker offense that isn’t as pretty as last year, it’s going to need Essegian to be a consistent threat to be where it wants to be in March.

– Experience needs to show.

There’s no denying Rutgers has a couple freshmen who don’t play like it. Hoiberg marvels at how they don’t get sped up and play in such control. But PBA has become one of the tougher places for any opposing team. And Nebraska’s defensive edge has sharpened considerably in front of the home crowd. Can that edge, and the experience on this Husker team, win out? Hoiberg has done a good job building teams with a lot of college hoops minutes in their pockets. You hope this is where you see that benefit with smart, controlled play.

2 stats

– 12. That’s how many Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 50 of the NET rankings. Nebraska is at 45th. The Big Ten currently has seven teams in the top 25 while 17 of the 18 conference teams are in the top 100 of the NET as of Jan. 14.

– 3. That’s how many of the top four scorers in the Big Ten are in this game. Harper and Bailey for Rutgers. Williams for Nebraska. The Husker senior is averaging 19.0 points per game on .485 shooting and has ten 20-point efforts in that span. He has been in double figures in 18 of 20 games in that stretch. He averaged just 12.5 points per game during his first 30 games as a Husker.

1 prediction

Nebraska is favored by 8 1/2.

Rutgers is healthy and if even one of their NBA lottery picks goes off, it’s a dangerous game. But Nebraska has responded to these tests at PBA for a year and counting, so there’s no reason to think the Huskers won’t do it again. 

Nebraska 72, Rutgers 66