The Nebraska basketball team, the men’s team at least, hit rock bottom after an 85-82 defeat to Rutgers on Thursday, ending a 20-game home winning streak.
Beyond that, the Huskers were already trending toward the bubble after two straight losses. They have lost three in a row with another road trip looming on Sunday.
The biggest issue for the third straight game was defense or the lack of it by Nebraska basketball. Rutgers buried 12 3-pointers and over the last three games, Nebraska basketball has allowed an average of 16 3-point makes.
That’s just not good enough. Rutgers shot 55 percent on 2-point attempts and got a combined 45 points from Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, two projected first-round picks. Those two dominated the game and as Fred Hoiberg said afterward, Nebraska basketball wasn’t tough enough.
“We played hard. But you can play hard and still not be tough,” Hoiberg said.
Brice Williams and Juwan Gary combined for 41 points. Connor Essegian added 12, Andrew Morgan had 12, and Rollie Worster finished with 10, but the Huskers are now 2-4 in the Big Ten.
Nebraska women’s basketball takes down Iowa
While the men’s team struggled, the Nebraska baskeball women got a huge win on the road, knocking off arch-rival Iowa by a score of 87-84 in overtime.
Freshman Britt Prince led the Cornhuskers with 22 points. She knocked down five 3-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five assists. She also had six steals and a block. The first-year player also made two free throws with three seconds left to force overtime.
There wasn’t a single field goal scored in overtime but the Huskers grinded out a win. They are now 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten.
Alexis Markowski continues to be a force for Nebraska basketball with 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Logan Nissley also added 13 points, as did Jessica Petrie. Amiah Hargrove, another freshman, scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench.
Nebraska wrestling to host No. 1 Penn State
From Huskers.com: The No. 6 Nebraska wrestling team is set to host No. 1 Penn State in Lincoln for the first time in five years for a top-10 Big Ten matchup on Friday night. The Huskers (6-1, 1-0 Big Ten) are coming off a 21-13 upset dual win over Minnesota, and seek to tally another conference victory at the “Coach’s Challenge,” set for 8 p.m. (CT) on BTN.
The Nittany Lions have not lost a dual since Jan. 31, 2020, and bring nine wrestlers ranked top-5 nationally to Lincoln. The last time the Huskers hosted PSU, Big Red fans set the attendance record for wrestling at the Bob Devaney Sports Center with 5,960 in attendance. NU lost the dual, 20-18, but the two-point defeat was the smallest margin for a Husker loss between the programs. The last time the Big Red took down Penn State was in 2009.
On the slate, there is only one potential rematch. At 141, #3 Beau Bartlett and #6 Brock Hardy have met on the mat twice and are 1-1. Since last season, four Nittany Lions have gone up weight classes in the offseason, while four Huskers have moved down. The dual will likely feature tight top-5 ranked matchups as close as #4 Ridge Lovett and #2 Shayne Van Ness at 149 and #5 Antrell Taylor and #3 Tyler Kasak at 157.
Tickets for the Friday night dual can be purchased at huskers.com/tickets. The matchup will also be televised on the Big Ten Network, with live stats will be available on TrackWrestling.
No. 6 Nebraska Projected Lineup:
125: #6 Caleb Smith (12-3, 3-1) or Kael Lauridsen (3-1, 1-0)
133: #16 Jacob Van Dee (7-5, 4-2)
141: #6 Brock Hardy (13-2, 4-1) or Blake Cushing (3-2, 2-0)
149: #4 Ridge Lovett (10-1, 6-0)
157: #5 Antrell Taylor (14-1, 5-1)
165: #7 Bubba Wilson (9-4, 2-2) or Christopher Minto (13-1, 1-1)
174: #15 Lenny Pinto (13-3, 5-0)
184: #7 Silas Allred (11-2, 3-2) or Ethan DeLeon (10-2, 0-1)
197: #22 Camden McDanel (12-6, 3-2)
HWT: #24 Harley Andrews (8-7, 3-3)
No. 1 Penn State Projected Lineup:
125: #12 Luke Lilledahl (9-0, 7-0)
133: #5 Braeden Davis (6-1, 6-1)
141: #3 Beau Bartlett (10-0, 6-0)
149: #2 Shayne Van Ness (10-0, 6-0)
157: #3 Tyler Kasak (9-0, 6-0) or Alex Facundo (5-0, 1-0)
165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (11-0, 7-0)
174: #2 Levi Haines (9-1, 6-1)
184: #1 Carter Starocci (10-0, 7-0)
197: #4 Josh Barr (8-0, 6-0) or Lucas Cochran (4-0, 1-0)
HWT: #2 Greg Kerkvliet (10-0, 7-0)
One special teams coach off the board for Nebraska football
Rounding out our Nebraska Cornhuskers news, there is a little news regarding Nebraska football and its search for a special teams coach. According to Sean Callahan of Husker Online, Mike Ekeler, the top wishlist target for most Husker fans, will stay in Tennessee.
I keep pounding the table for Mark Scott of Baylor. However, Steve Sipple dropped a hint on the local radio that it could be someone still coaching — which would mean someone in college or the NFL.
There hasn’t been much chatter about the Nebraska football special teams coach, but Matt Rhule knows that he needs to get it right and my guess is that we have a hire before the end of the month.
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