Nebrasketball Gets Right with a Road Win at Rutgers

After back-to-back losses against top-10 opponents, No. 9 Nebrasketball took advantage of a get-right game on Saturday.

Nebraska made the trip to New Jersey for an early tip at Jersey Mike's Arena, topping Rutgers, 80-68. The Huskers improved to 21-2 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten Conference, while the Scarlet Knights fell to 9-15 on the year and 2-11 in the league.

With the win, Nebraska now has six road wins in conference play. That sets a new program record.

6, 2025-26 Big Ten
5, 1965-66 Big Eight
5, 1924-25 Missouri Valley
5, 1914-15 Missouri Valley
5, 1912-13 Missouri Valley

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Rienk Mast scored 26 points in the win at Rutgers. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Both teams started hot, with the struggling Rutgers squad making a number of tough shots. The Scarlet Knights began 4-for-7 from the field, with the Huskers going 5-for-6.

Although that clip slowed down, the distance between the teams stayed within two possessions midway through the half.

With 9:04 to go, Cale Jacobsen's shot in the lane was called for goaltending. That was followed by a Jamarques Lawrence three-pointer, sparking a 19-7 run into halftime.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Cale Jacobsen drives to the basket against Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Kaden Powers. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Pryce Sandfort made his second triple of the game 12 seconds into the second half. The Huskers would extend the difference to 20 points, and the Scarlet Knights were never able to get the game back to single digits, although Rutgers made the contest interesting with a 6-0 run in the closing minutes.

Rutgers has now lost seven straight games.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort is guarded by Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Harun Zrno. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Nebraska shot 46.9% for the game, including 9-of-27 three-pointers. Rutgers made 48.2% of its shots, tallying 7-of-22 from deep.

Both teams shot 12 free throws, with the Huskers making 11 and Rutgers notching seven.

NU shared the ball well, assisting on 19 made baskets. That's just ahead of the season average of 18.3.

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg scored in double figures for the seventh straight game. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The get-right game was for more than just the team, as Rienk Mast dropped a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds. This was his first game over 20 points since Creighton on Dec. 7.

Sam Hoiberg stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Sandfort (15 points) and Lawrence (13 points) joined them in double figures, with Lawrence leading the team with seven assists.

Nebraska is back home for another high-level game on Tuesday. The Huskers host the No. 12 Purdue Boilermakers. Tip from Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 6 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on FS1.

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Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes

Nebraska improves to 21-2 on the season, the program’s best 23-game record since going 21-2 in 1919-20.
The 21 wins match last season’s win total and tie for seventh on Nebraska’s single-season victories list.
Nebraska picked up its sixth road win of the season and improved to 9-1 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena this season. Nebraska is now 9-3 in its last 12 Big Ten road games dating back to last season.
Nebraska’s six road wins in Big Ten play break the single-season record for most conference road wins in a season. The previous mark was five, set four previous times before this season (1965-66, 1924-25, 1914-15, and 1912-13)
With the win, Nebraska improves to 10-2 in Big Ten action, its best 12-game conference mark since 1965-66 (11-1).
Nebraska finished with 80 points today and is now 50-10 under Fred Hoiberg when scoring 80 or more points, including 41-7 over the last four seasons.
Rienk Mast collected his fifth 20-point game of the season and 17th of his career with a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds. It was his highest point total in Big Ten play this season. Mast also led NU with eight rebounds.
Nebraska finished with 19 assists and just six turnovers, as the six turnovers were one off its season low.
Jamarques Lawrence tied a career high with seven assists and added 12 points in the win. Lawrence, who hails from Plainfield, N.J., also had seven assists two other times, most recently against Wisconsin on Dec. 10.
With nine 3-pointers today, Nebraska has 252 3-pointers to rank 10th on NU’s single-season chart.
With four steals today, Sam Hoiberg has 139 career steals to move into the top-10 list for career steals, passing Benny Parker (2013-16) and Larry Florence (1997-2000), who both had 137.
Hoiberg with six straight games in double figures while his 3 3-pointers tied a career high set at Maryland on Jan. 28, 2023.
Pryce Sandfort hit a trio of 3-pointers on Saturday and now has 80 on the season to move into a tie for fifth place on NU’s single-season list with Joe McCray (2004-05). Sandfort’s 80 3-pointers are the most by a Husker since Glynn Watson Jr. had 82 in 2018-19.

Nebraska Men's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

Oct. 18 Nebraska 90, BYU 89
Oct. 27 Nebraska 91, Midland 50
Nov. 3 Nebraska 86, West Georgia 53
Nov. 8 Nebraska 96, Florida International 66
Nov. 11 Nebarska 69, Maryland-Eastern Shore 50
Nov. 15 Nebraska 105, Oklahoma 99 (Sanford Pentagon)
Nov. 20 Nebraska 84, New Mexico 72 (Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 21 Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85 (Hall of Fame Classic)
Nov. 25 Nebraska 80, Winthrop 73
Nov. 29 Nebraska 72, South Carolina Upstate 63
Dec. 7 Nebraska 71, Creighton 50
Dec. 10 Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60
Dec. 13 Nebraska 83, Illinois 80
Dec. 21 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
Dec. 30 Nebraska 86, New Hampshire 55
Jan. 2 Nebraska 58, Michigan State 56
Jan. 5 Nebraska 72, Ohio State 69
Jan. 10 Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
Jan. 13 Nebraska 90, Oregon 55
Jan. 17 Nebraska 77, Northwestern 58
Jan. 21 Nebraska 76, Washington 66
Jan. 24 Nebraska 76, Minnesota 57
Jan. 27 Michigan 75, Nebraska 72
Feb. 1 Illinois 78, Nebraska 69
Feb. 7 Nebraska 80, Rutgers 68
Feb. 10 Purdue 6 p.m. FS1
Feb. 14 Northwestern Noon BTN
Feb. 17 Iowa 8 p.m. BTN
Feb. 21 Penn State 1 p.m. BTN
Feb. 25 Maryland 6 p.m. BTN
Feb. 28 USC 3 p.m. BTN
March 3 UCLA 10 p.m. FS1
March 8 Iowa 4 p.m. FOX
March 10-15 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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