Huskers bounce back with a gutsy road win against Rutgers

Nebraska basketball’s dream season got back on track Saturday. After taking its only two losses of the season last week, the No. 9 Huskers bested Rutgers, 80-68.

NU’s offense started hot once again. Head coach Fred Hoiberg’s team made its first four shots to claim a 9-5 lead.

In the middle part of the first half, Rutgers turned up the defense for a moment. The Scarlet Knights hung around, with the game tied twice before the Huskers held a small lead for multiple minutes.

But Hoiberg’s offense couldn’t be held in check for long. Nebraska ran out to a 41-27 lead before the intermission. Senior Jamarques Lawrence made an impact while playing in his home state of New Jersey. Lawrence hit two three-pointers in the latter portion of the first half and had eight points total before the break.

Another bright spot for the visitors was Rienk Mast. Mast scored 13 points in the first half on 6 of 11 shooting, including a made three-pointer. He also grabbed five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

The senior forward from The Netherlands missed the team’s first loss of the season against No. 2 Michigan with a stomach virus. Hoiberg later said Mast had to go to the emergency room for extreme dehydration. The senior returned for the Huskers’ next game, another loss to Illinois last Sunday, but wasn’t 100%, Hoiberg said in the postgame press conference.

Mast and the Big Red offense didn’t let up in the second half.

Nebraska clicked on all cylinders with precise passing and shooting from outside to start the half. The Cornhuskers extended the margin to 19 in the first four-plus minutes of the second period, thanks to four makes from behind the three-point arc. Guard Sam Hoiberg and small forward Pryce Sandfort each made two for one of the Big Ten’s top three-point-shooting teams.

The passing was particularly crisp and on display. The Huskers had 19 assists on its first 23 made field goals.

At its peak, Nebraska’s lead hit 20 at 61-41.

But Rutgers, which entered the game at 2-10 in conference play, clawed back with a consistent offensive attack near the basket. Using a 6-0 run, the Scarlet Knights cut the score to 61-47 and later dropped the Husker lead to 13 points on multiple occasions.

Rutgers’ defense started to cue in on the long-distance shots. In response, the Huskers decided to look inside. Mast built off his big first half by scoring six straight points in the paint. He finished with 26 points, his first 20-point showing since December.

The plan to get the ball near the basket continued, pushing the lead back up to 17, 77-60, with less than three minutes to go. And the Big Red slow-played the clock to its 21st win of the season, improving to 10-2 in conference play. It stands alone at third place in the Big Ten, just one game behind first-place teams Illinois and Michigan.

In a postgame interview, Mast said having several seniors in the lineup is an advantage when playing on the road.

“I think we’re old. I think we’re experienced,” Mast said.

Up next is a big home matchup with No. 12 Purdue on Tuesday night. Mast added his team hasn’t scouted Purdue yet but knows it will be a big challenge.