Rutgers men’s basketball is in the middle of a rough patch - there's no sugarcoating a seven-game losing streak. And things don’t get any easier this weekend.
On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights will host No. 9 Nebraska, a team that’s been one of the Big Ten’s best all season and is hungry to bounce back after two straight losses of their own.
Nebraska, after cruising through the first three months of the season undefeated, finally hit a bump in late January. They dropped back-to-back games, both tight ones, against No.
3 Michigan (75-72) and No. 9 Illinois (78-69).
But don’t let those losses fool you - this is still a team that’s taken down ranked opponents, including Michigan State and Illinois earlier in the year, and they’ve shown they can hang with anyone in the country.
Rutgers, meanwhile, finds itself in a tough spot on Nebraska’s schedule. The Scarlet Knights are sandwiched between three ranked matchups for the Cornhuskers - Michigan and Illinois before, and No.
12 Purdue just three days after. That could mean Nebraska’s focus slips... or it could mean Rutgers is walking into a buzzsaw of a team looking to regain momentum before another top-15 showdown.
What makes Nebraska so dangerous is their balance. This isn’t a one-man show - it’s a well-oiled machine.
The Cornhuskers are led by a core group of four players who all average double-digit scoring and play significant minutes: forwards Pryce Sandfort, Rienk Mast, and Braden Frager, along with guard Jamarques Lawrence. Sandfort is the go-to scorer, putting up 17.2 points per game, while Mast leads the team in rebounding at 5.9 boards a night.
Sam Hoiberg, another key piece in the backcourt, runs the show with a team-best 4.3 assists per game.
As a team, Nebraska’s numbers jump off the page. They’re averaging 80 points per game, shooting a crisp 47.3% from the field, and they move the ball with purpose - 18.4 assists per contest speaks to how well they share it.
They also take care of the little things: 35.4 rebounds per game, 76.2% from the free-throw line, and a solid 35.8% from deep. This is a team that doesn’t beat itself.
Rutgers, on the other hand, has struggled to find offensive rhythm. They’re putting up 70.2 points per game and shooting just 40.7% from the floor.
The assist numbers are telling - just 11 per game - which suggests the ball movement hasn’t been there. They’re close on the boards (34.4 rebounds per game), but in a matchup like this, “close” might not cut it.
So where does that leave the Scarlet Knights?
If Rutgers wants to snap this losing streak, they’ll need to make Nebraska uncomfortable - something few teams have done this season. That starts with pressure defense.
Force turnovers, contest every shot, and crash the boards like the game depends on it (because, frankly, it does). Nebraska doesn’t make many unforced errors, so Rutgers will need to create those mistakes with energy and intensity.
The good news? This one’s at home.
That matters. The crowd at Jersey Mike’s Arena has always been a factor, and if Rutgers can feed off that energy, they might just have a shot to hang around and make things interesting late.
This isn’t an easy matchup. But in the Big Ten, there are no easy nights.
For Rutgers, Saturday is less about the opponent and more about rediscovering their identity - gritty, defensive-minded, and relentless. If they can tap into that, they might just give the Cornhuskers more of a fight than anyone expects.