3 takeaways from Nebraska’s win over Rutgers: Rienk Mast finds his mojo

Nebraska basketball got a much-needed week off after back-to-back losses, and they rebounded with a convincing road win at Rutgers (80-68).

The Huskers led by 14 at the half. Rutgers cut it down to single digits a couple of times, but never got closer than eight points. Nebraska forced 15 turnovers. They allowed Rutgers to hit more shots than expected, but outside of a late flurry, the defense was solid.

Rienk Mast was better than solid. After a few poor games, Mast set the tone early with a little fade and a 3-pointer. He finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. He also made 11 of 20 shots. Pryce Sandfort tacked on 15, and Sam Hoiberg had 13, including a 3-for-4 effort from beyond the arc.

Here are three takeaways from the 12-point win over Rutgers.

Rienk Mast got right

The Huskers needed Rienk Mast to get back to himself, and he did that on Saturday. He scored five points early, making a 2-pointer, before splashing a triple. That got his confidence back.

Mast clearly wasn’t right against Illinois. He would have made a difference had he been healthy. The 2-point offense has been good all season because of Mast and Braden Frager.

The Huskers shot 56 percent from two. That’s not as good as their season average, but much better than the 42 percent they shot against Illinois.

Mast was a big reason for that.

Sam Hoiberg was stellar

Sam Hoiberg is one of the best guards in the Big Ten. Casuals will say he can’t play, but Hoiberg scored 13 points (5-of-7 shooting). He made three triples, scored two layups in the first few minutes, and was stellar on defense as usual.

Hoiberg had 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. He had two turnovers, which is a lot for him since he’s leading the nation in turnover ratio.

At least some people are waking up to how good he is.

A tough beat

Nebraska was cruising in the second half, and if you bet the spread, you felt good, until the last minute or so. Rutgers was down 16 with 1:19 left and found a way to cover.

Maybe that’s a sign that the Nebraska basketball team could have been sharper. The Huskers didn’t shoot as well as they usually did, but the RAC isn’t an easy place to win.

This was the sixth conference road win, the most in program history, and it sets up a massive game on Tuesday against Purdue.

Nebraska might need to win that game to keep its Big Ten title hopes alive.

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