Huskers endure another gut-punch in 63-61 loss to Rutgers

Nebraska has endured plenty of gut-punches in what has been a disastrous 2021-22 season thus far. But Saturday’s 63-61 home loss to Rutgers might have been one of the hardest the Huskers have had to endure.

Despite leading for the game’s first 38:28 of play, NU was out-scored 6-1 over the final 2:29 and failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities to put the game away in a 63-61 defeat.

Nebraska, which shot just 29.3 percent from the field with 15 turnovers, made just one basket over the game's last 8:11. Still, Kobe Webster had a chance to tie it after being fouled on a 3-pointer with just 0.9 left.

Instead, he missed the first free throw, and then the Huskers were called for a lane violation on the third attempt to deliver the final blow.

Bryce McGowens tied his career-high with 29 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to keep NU from dropping to 6-15 overall and 0-10 in Big Ten play. Nebraska has now lost 13 of its last 14 games and remains winless against high-major competition.

The Huskers have lost their past 13 conference outings dating back to the end of last season.

Nebraska did many things well in the first half, playing aggressive defense and steadily building up a 31-20 lead with just over four minutes to go before the break.

But the Huskers’ offense would go ice cold down the stretch, as they managed just one made field goal over the final 7:39 and did not score for the last four minutes.

NU ended up missing 14 of its final 16 shots and allowed Rutgers to end the half on an 8-0 run to pull within 31-28.

Nebraska quickly pushed its lead back up to as many as nine to open the second half, and a pair of free throws by Bryce McGowens had the Huskers on top 51-43 with 6:07 left to play.

A 3-pointer by Trey McGowens snapped a nearly five-minute field goal drought and put NU up 58-54 with 3:38 remaining.

But that would be the last shot the Huskers would make the rest of the way, and an offensive rebound and put-back by Paul Mulcahy gave Rutgers its first lead of the night at 61-60 with 1:32 on the clock.

Nebraska followed that with a travelling violation, a missed layup, a missed 3-pointer, and then a loose ball foul that sent Cliff Omoruyi to the line with 28 seconds to go. Omoruyi missed both of his free throws, though, giving the Huskers the ball with a chance to win.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg opted not to call a timeout and let the play go on, and Bryce McGowens ended up hitting the side of the backboard on a wild layup through contact.

Ron Harper Jr., who scored 29 points vs. NU in the first meeting, was fouled with 7.1 left and hit both of his tries at the line to make it 63-60. Harper only finished with seven points, but five of those came in the final four minutes.

Webster got the foul call on a last-second 3-pointer to tie it, but his miss on the first free throw all but sealed the deal.

Trey McGowens had 11 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in 34 minutes, while Derrick Walker chipped in nine points. Baker led Rutgers with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

1. Nebraska just can’t finish

This one was right there for Nebraska’s taking as a chance to finally shed the weight of an ugly losing streak and get into the Big Ten win column for the first time.

But as they’ve done so many times, the Huskers found a new way to end up with another crushing defeat.

After getting bullied and embarrassed in a 28-point beatdown in Piscataway three weeks earlier, NU showed up ready to fight on Saturday. For 38 minutes, it fought hard enough to win and was in total control.

Then the same late-game issues plaguing Nebraska all season showed up again at the worst possible moments. The Huskers couldn’t make a shot, stopped boxing out, and let Rutgers take over as the aggressor on critical 50/50 balls.

The Huskers are in the worst kind of chicken-or-the-egg scenario right now. They desperately need to win one of these close games to build the confidence that they can actually finish the job.

But how can they learn how to win when they constantly come up with one way after another to find defeat?

2. Bryce McGowens has grown up

Bryce McGowens would be the first one to admit that a couple of months ago, he would’ve gotten knocked around like a pinball by Rutgers.

While he still has plenty of work to do in bulking up his 6-foot-7 frame, McGowens handled the physicality of the Big Ten as well as he has all season on Saturday night.

After scoring 13 points in the first half, the Scarlet Knights made the standout freshman their priority on defense. They started face guarding him on almost every possession, and when he took the ball into the lane, he was often knocked to the floor.

But that didn’t deter McGowens from staying aggressive, and he was rewarded by getting to the line for a whopping 18 free throws, making 14 of them.

Opponents have game-planned around taking McGowens out of his game with bullying defense. If he continues to respond the way he did against Rutgers, that plan might change quickly.

3. Alonzo Verge Jr.’s absence was notable

Some big news surfaced shortly before tip-off on Saturday, as starting point guard and second-leading scorer Alonzo Verge Jr. was not suited up and watched the game against Rutgers from the bench.

Hoiberg confirmed after the game that the senior Arizona State transfer did not play due to a “personal matter” and “a coach’s decision.”

“The decision in talking to him was made," Hoiberg said. "I'm just going to leave it at that, and we'll see how it goes. We've got two days to see where things go, but it was a personal matter, and it was a coach's decision."

Verge, who came into the game ranked second in the Big Ten with 5.3 assists per game, had started all 20 of Nebraska’s games this season and ranked second on the team with an average of 28.3 minutes played per game.

In his absence, senior Kobe Webster made his first start. But it was a night Webster would soon hope to forget, as he finished 0-of-10 shooting from the field with three points, four rebounds, two turnovers, and three fouls in 26 minutes.