Nebraska vs. Rutgers Prediction: Can We Trust Brice Williams, Cornhuskers To Cover on the Road?
The Nebraska Cornhuskers travel to New Jersey, tonight to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Can we trust Brice Williams and the Cornhuskers to cover on the road? Ben Rajavuori is here to explain why you can.
Ben Rajavuori - January 17, 2024, 4:28 PM EST
7 minNebraska vs. Rutgers Prediction: Can We Trust Brice Williams, Cornhuskers To Cover on the Road?
The Nebraska Cornhuskers travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, tonight to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Rutgers is struggling to open their season, entering this game with a 9–7 record overall, including a 1–4 start in conference play. On the other side, Nebraska is off to a much better start this year, entering this game with a 13–4 record and a 3–3 record in conference play. Nebraska is a slight underdog in this game, catching three points on the road against Rutgers. Can Rutgers continue their dominance at Jersey Mike’s Arena or will Nebraska play them tough on the road?
Nebraska vs. Rutgers Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: January 17, 2024
- Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: BTN
Nebraska vs. Rutgers Prediction
It has been a tough go for the Scarlet Knights trying to replace production from last season. Cam Spencer, Caleb McConnell, and Paul Mulcahy are all gone this season. They made up three of the top five scores on the team and accounted for most of their three-point shooting. Clifford Omoruyi and Aundre Hyatt are still there leading the team this season in scoring, along with Mawot Mag. Rutgers is a favorite today because they have been very good at home the last few seasons in Jersey Mike’s Arena. However, this season, a lot of their games at home have been against very weak opposition. Of their eight games played in Jersey Mike’s arena this season, only two have been against conference opponents, and they are 1-1 in those games, losing to Illinois in a blowout and then beating Indiana two games ago by nine points. Even then, Indiana is projected to finish at the bottom of the Big Ten and are not the same team from the last few seasons.
Nebraska enters this season much improved and I think they will have their best season under Fred Hoiberg since joining the team in the 2019–2020 season. Nebraska was busy in the off-season, adding transfers Brice Williams from Charlotte and Rienk Mast from Bradley. Josiah Allick also transferred in from New Mexico, but Williams and Mast have been two key additions to this team this season. Mast is averaging 13.3 points per game and Williams is averaging 12.8 points per game, which is second and third on the team, respectively. Mast also leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game. Adding these two players was a much-needed addition in size down low for Nebraska and both are well-balanced players who can score but also defend the paint very well. Nebraska has started this season 13-4 and has won the games they are supposed to win, but has also played tough opponents very close and even has a few key wins early on in the season. They have a seven-point win over Michigan State, a 16-point win on the road against Kansas State, and a 16-point home win against Purdue that happened two games ago back on January 9. With this newly formed team under Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska is looking like they could have their best season in a while and even make the big dance in March. These two organizations feel like they are headed in opposite directions right now. Even after losing two of their last three games, Nebraska has more key wins on their résumé already and has a new-look team that can compete with even the best teams in the nation as they have already proved this season. Rutgers lost three players this off-season, have still fumbled through the beginning half of the season, and have failed to make their impact in conference place so far starting 1-4. While a normal Rutgers team is very strong at home, this Rutgers offense has not impressed me at all and I think Nebraska will be able to score more consistently than Rutgers tonight. Take the small road underdog to come out of Jersey Mike’s Arena with another conference win and improve to 4–3 in Big Ten play.
Nebraska vs. Rutgers Pick
Pick: Nebraska +3 -105 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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