No. 9 Nebraska basketball handles Rutgers thanks to Mast's monster outing
Following two straight top-10 losses, Nebraska basketball (21-2, 10-2) bounced back with a victory over Rutgers on Saturday. The Huskers pulled away late in the first half on their way to an 80-68 win.
Six days after an illness-hampered outing against Illinois, Rienk Mast put forth a masterful performance. He led the way with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.
Sam Hoiberg was excellent on both ends of the floor. He shot at a 5-of-7 clip from the field for 13 points and added four steals. New Jersey native Jamarques Lawrence had a strong homecoming performance with 12 points and seven assists.
The Huskers shot 47% from the field and 33% from deep in the victory. 15 Rutgers turnovers and 10 steals made a huge difference. Nebraska controlled the paint, outscoring the Scarlet Knights 36-24 down low.
Here is an instant recap of the victory:
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Huskers pull away
The Huskers led throughout the first half but put their foot on the gas over the final five minutes. Mast was the headline, finding his groove after a poor outing last weekend. He led all players in the first half with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with five rebounds.
Nebraska hit its first four shots and started 5-of-7 from the field. Mast regained his confidence after a six-day break, scoring seven points in the first seven minutes.
Both offenses were rolling early as Rutgers got some tough shots to fall. Nebraska led 14-10 at the under-16 timeout before the Scarlet Knights quickly tied it up out of the break. They played with swagger early, starting 7-of-13 from the field.
Rutgers’ offense cooled quickly, however. They coughed it up four times over a two-minute stretch and didn’t score for 3:04. Nebraska took advantage, cashing the turnovers in for a slim 20-16 lead. Only three Scarlet Knights scored over the first 10 minutes, but a fiery 53% clip from the field helped them stick around. Everything seemed to fall for Rutgers.
Darren Buchanan Jr — who was leading his team with eight points — went into the locker room with an injury. He returned to the floor, but only scored two more points on the afternoon. It was all Nebraska from there on out.
Lawrence capped off a 5-0 run with his first 3-pointer, giving Nebraska its largest lead of the day, 27-20, with 7:50 left in the first half. He had a strong half with eight points, four assists and two rebounds.
The Huskers struggled to find a rhythm from deep, as Mast and Braden Frager combined for a 1-of-8 3-point clip in the first half. The Scarlet Knights weren’t any better. They missed seven straight triples to finish the half 3-of-12 from three.
Mast hit back-to-back shots before Lawrence punctuated a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer, giving Nebraska a 37-24 advantage. Guard Tariq Francis answered at the other end, but the damage had been done. Mast scored again with three seconds on the clock and the Huskers took a 41-27 lead into the locker room.
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Lawrence and Hoiberg combined for eight assists and seven rebounds in the first half. Rutgers turned it over eight times, six of which came on steals. The Huskers controlled the paint with five more rebounds and an 18-10 advantage down low.
Frager had a rough first half, missing all five of his shots, while Pryce Sandfort was relatively quiet. It didn’t seem to matter. Seven different Huskers scored in the first half.
Mast has every answer
Sandfort kept things rolling, drilling a 3-pointer on Nebraska’s first possession of the second half. Both teams hit back-to-back triples to begin the period, but Hoiberg refused to allow Rutgers to claw back in.
He buried two from long range and added a steal before the under-16 timeout. His third triple of the day put Nebraska up 54-35 with full control.
Nebraska started 4-of-6 from deep in the second half. Berke Buyuktuncel snapped a two-minute scoring drought off a nice feed from Sandfort. Frager finally scored his first FG, putting Nebraska up 20.
Rutgers answered, rattling off a 6-0 run as Nebraska went two minutes without a basket. Mast knocked down a beautiful floater to end the drought and then took over the game. He scored six consecutive points to stave off a run. The Scarlet Knights got as close as 13 but the Huskers were relentless offensively. They had every answer. Frager put Nebraska up 69-54 at the under-eight timeout.
Both sides traded buckets down the stretch, but Rutgers’ hole was too much to climb out of. The Scarlet Knights got within 10 after Mast checked out, but Nebraska held on for an 80-68 win.
