Rutgers will be trying to build momentum, and host Northwestern will be trying to reverse course when the two teams begin the back half of the Big Ten Conference regular season Tuesday at Evanston, Ill.
The Scarlet Knights (12-8, 6-4 Big Ten) will try for a second consecutive road victory over a team bringing up the rear in the conference standings after a comeback victory against Nebraska on Saturday.
Rutgers rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit and harassed the woeful Cornhuskers into missing nine of their last 10 shots, while avoiding what would have been a damaging defeat. Nebraska hasn’t won a game in conference play this season.
“The ball eventually went in, but it has always been about our defense,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “I think our guys have confidence in it and we have not shown it every night and that is that part that I need to take responsibility for, but we were locked in and had a good game plan defensively.”
Bryce McGowens scored 29 points for Nebraska, but just two of those came in the final five minutes as the Scarlet Knights defense clamped down to help the team overcome a 55-49 deficit with 5:09 remaining.
Offensively, Rutgers could use more consistency from Ron Harper Jr., who scored a season-high 31 points at Maryland on Jan. 15 but hasn’t scored more than 16 in a game since and had only seven points at Nebraska.
Northwestern’s 59-56 loss to rival Illinois on Saturday summed up its season thus far. The Wildcats (9-10, 2-8) came close, but weren’t good enough when it counted. They have lost five Big Ten games by six points or fewer, while another defeat came in double overtime by seven points.
“We have to continue with the fight,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said. “We do not like where we are. We feel we have played better than what our record is.
“We are not going to tap out, I promise you that.”
Collins said the team’s defense against Illinois was exactly to plan but the problem was a lack of clutch shooting. The Wildcats are shooting 35.5 percent from 3-point range this season and were even worse than that in two defeats to Rutgers last season when they were 25.6 percent (10-for-39) from deep.
Pete Nance is shooting 44.6 percent (25 of 56) from 3-point range for the Wildcats, while Ty Berry is at 41 percent (34-for-83). Boo Buie has a team-leading 114 attempts from distance and is at 36.0 percent on the season.
–Field Level Media
