Rutgers basketball has a history of struggles on the road.
Nebraska has been historically hot at home.
So it’s a clear sign of growth that the young Scarlet Knights went into Lincoln and emerged victorious Thursday, an 85-82 verdict that marked Rutgers’ first road win and first Quad 1 win of the season.
Coming off a hard-hat triumph over UCLA at home, this could mark a turning point for a talented squad that has to hustle to put together an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume.
Rutgers (10-8 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) snapped a 20-game home winning streak by Nebraska (12-5, 2-4). The Huskers came in 8-0 at home this season, highlighted by defeats of Indiana and UCLA. They hadn’t lost a Big Ten contest at home in two years, since February 2023.
The Scarlet Knights pulled off the upset by draining 12 3-pointers, the program’s most ever in a Big Ten game. And also by getting key contributions beyond superstar freshmen Ace Bailey (24 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks) and Dylan Harper (21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), both of whom took over in crunch time.
“It’s clicking; it’s clicking now,” Bailey said. “We’re running everything hard in practice, so everything is coming together now.”
Another Quad 1 opportunity looms Monday as the Scarlet Knights go for the sweep of Penn State in Happy Valley (6:30 p.m., Peacock). The Nittany Lions (12-6, 2-5) have dropped four straight.
3 THOUGHTS
1. Ace Bailey answered the critics
Always view articles based solely on anonymous quotes with skepticism, but last week’s CBS Sports’ story with sources criticizing Bailey’s game was widely circulated and discussed in the hardwood community. Bailey responded well with two straight double-doubles. He’s playing hard, passing much more willingly and has raised his focus and intensity levels.
The best example of this step forward took place on the game’s final sequence, when he broke Nebraska’s press with a pass over the top of the defense to Dylan Grant as the Scarlet Knights protected a one-point lead. Two months ago, he might have tried to dribble through the defense.
The last Big Ten freshman to post a comparable stat line to Bailey’s was Ohio State’s Greg Oden in 2007.
2. Zach Martini, Dylan Grant deliver
There had been some clamoring among the fan base for freshman Dylan Grant to replace postgrad Zach Martini in the rotation. But this game showed there is room for both in the mix as a potent one-two punch of face-up fours.
Martini (11 points on 4-of-5 shooting) put together a second straight strong effort, not just stroking triples but moving the ball extremely well (he had several hockey assists). Rutgers was spaced perfectly for much of the night and he had a hand in that.
Grant (15 points on 7-of-8 shooting), who started for a second straight game after collecting dust on the bench for much of the campaign, continues to show what he’s capable of. His game-clinching flush on the fast break, after a heady move getting behind the defense, was the exclamation point on his breakout week. He also converted two offensive boards into buckets.
The key for these guys to showcase their strengths is quality ball movement, and Rutgers achieved that in this game. Also worth noting: Martini and Grant played a combined 40 minutes without turning it over once.
It takes all hands on deck to win a road game at this level, and Rutgers got key contributions from several of its role players (Manny Ogbole: 11 rebounds and a team-high plus/minus of plus-17). Collectively, they’d been viewed as a weakness. Against Nebraska, they were a clear strength.
3. Well done, Steve Pikiell
The head coach understandably took darts for his team’s struggles, and now he deserves credit for pulling the plane out of a nosedive. It certainly helps having a healthy Harper, who was back to his usual dynamic self, but Pikiell did his part by keeping everyone’s head up amid lots of noise, finding the right rotation and player combinations, unlocking more team-oriented play from Bailey, and maintaining faith in Martini. There’s a lot of work to do still, but Pikiell had a very good week.
3 QUOTES
From the postgame radio interviews with Jerry Recco:
Steve Pikiell on overcoming the environment: “This place has been not nice to a lot of people. I knew what kind of effort it would take. We only turned the ball over eight times. We were able to get the ball moving – I love how we shared the game in the second half.”
Pikiell on the team’s trajectory: “We’re growing up. You have to go through some tough times to figure it out. If we can stay locked in like this and stay connected, good things will happen.”
Dylan Grant on the offense: “We’re just moving the ball more. When the ball sticks, the defense gets loaded up and bad passes are made. We were moving the ball a lot, especially in the second half. We’re dialed in now. We’re beginning to jell a lot more and we’re attacking each opportunity.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
