Rutgers vs. Nebraska: 2019 Big Ten Tournament game preview

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 04: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman #12 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-66 during the championship game of the Big 10 Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

1 of 3

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN – MARCH 05: Head coach Tim Miles of the Nebraska Cornhuskers talks to Glynn Watson Jr. #5 while playing the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on March 05, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State won the game 91-76. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

The Big Ten Tournament is here, where all teams have a shot at the automatic bid. How will Rutgers and Nebraska fare when they face each other?

#12 Rutgers vs #13 Nebraska – March 13th, 2019 @ 5:30 P.M. Big Ten Network

Rutgers and Nebraska have the privilege of competing in the first game of the 2019 Big Ten Tournament. Let’s take a look at these two teams coaches, their recent history of competing against each other and how they finished the regular season. Let’s begin with Rutgers.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Head coach Steve Pikiell is in his third year at the helm of the Rutgers’ ship. His record at Rutgers is 44-53. In his short tenure as the leading man in Piscataway, the coach sports a 3-2 Big Ten Tournament record. He won twice in the tournament last year, with wins over Minnesota and Indiana. His freshman Big Ten Tournament appearance saw his team defeat Ohio State before falling to Northwestern. Coach Pikiell and his staff have worked hard to establish an identity for their brand of basketball.

Rutgers prides itself on being physical, dominating the boards, and out-hustling their opponent. However, the Scarlet Knights are a very young team, with an average “years of experience” statistic of 0.9. Ron Harper Jr, Montez Mathis, Caleb McConnell and Shaq Carter average 21, 23, 15, and 17 minutes per game, and they are all freshmen. Sometimes, young teams have difficulty executing their coaches vision. Ups and downs throughout the season occur.

Wins Over Ranked Teams

The Scarlet Knights notched two regular season wins over ranked Big Ten opponents. The first win came at the expense of the Ohio State Buckeyes on Jan. 9. At that time, Chris Holtmann’s squad was ranked 16th in the country. Rutgers topped OSU by a score of 64-61, at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

Their most recent victory over a ranked opponent occurred on Mar. 2 against # 22 Iowa. This game was notable for the fact that they defeated Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This game was also notable as one of the games that Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery was suspended from the Iowa bench. There are no days off in the Big Ten. Teams still have to perform, even when their leader isn’t on the sidelines to guide them. A Big Ten road win is very tough to come by, especially this season.

Home/Big Ten