Story by NU Athletic Communications
- Nebraska lost for the first time at home since Dec. 3, 2023, and lost at home for the first time in a Big Ten home game since Feb. 28, 2023. The Huskers entered the game with a school-record-tying 20-game home winning streak.
- The Huskers scored 82 points, the sixth time in nine home games this season they have scored more than 80 points.
- Bryce Williams had 21 points and Juwan Gary had 20 points. It marked the third time this season that Nebraska had two players score 20 points in the same game and the second time this year that Williams and Gary each had 20 points in the same game.
- Williams posted a 20-point game for the eighth time this season and for the 24th time in his career. Gary had his second 20-point game of the year and fifth of his career.
- Overall, Nebraska had five players score in double figures. That marked the third game this season the Huskers had five players in double figure.
- Connor Essegian (12) and Andrew Morgan (11) each scored in double figures off the bench.
- Essegian shot 4-of-7 from beyond the arc to record at least four treys for the fifth time this season.
- With 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, Morgan is five points shy of reaching the 1,000-point mark for his career.
- Rollie Worster had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists. It marked his first game as a Husker with at least 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.
- Braxton Meah had six points and six rebounds. His six rebounds tied his season high while his six points marked his third-highest output of the season.
Head Coach Fred Hoiberg
On the unforced errors and missed free throws“Ten missed free throws,17 assists and seven turnovers, you should win the game when that happens, and 19 offensive rebounds. You outscore them on second-chance points. I think it was 25-19, so you’ve got to find a way to win the game when you have those kinds of numbers. I give Rutgers credit, don’t look at their record, that’s a much better team than what their record is because of the four or five games (Dylan) Harper missed or played limited minutes. When he’s healthy, you see what type of team that is, and the type of problems that he poses on the offensive end with his size and his shiftiness and his ability to shoot the ball. When they’ve got guys out there who can make shots, that’s a hard team to shut-off. I always sound like a broken record with this but we’ve got to find a way to learn from it and move on. Got a lot of season left, still believe in our guys, and got to bounce back with a great effort this weekend.”
On changes he would have made in the final 5 seconds“Obviously we wanted to get a steal and if not, we were going to wrap it up and foul them right away and they got behind us.”
On effect of this loss at home“It can affect them mentally and we have a big game coming up on a short turnaround. And as you know, I said to the guys in the locker room, I like the short turnaround, to get the bad taste out of our mouths and to get back on the floor and compete again. Tomorrow is going to be a mental day with a lot of film and put the game plan in. We’re going to go a little harder on Saturday with the early game on Sunday. We need to find a way to get this out of our system and bounce back. To me, it was toughness. We played hard, but just because you played hard, doesn’t mean you are tough. You have to find a way to finish off those possessions.”
Rutgers Head Coach Steve Pikiell
Opening Statement“Great environment, Nebraska is really good. You guys are really lucky, Fred (Hoiberg) is one of the great coaches and great people. Heck of a college basketball game. I’m thankful we were able to hold on at the end, but it was a terrific environment, and they’re really good. Thankful to come into a place like this, a hard place to play, and get a win.”