Bailey, Harper combine for 45 points as Rutgers leaves Lincoln with win

The biggest question of Thursday night’s game inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln between Nebraska and Rutgers was this: Could the Huskers defend their home court against two likely NBA lottery picks in freshmen guards Dylan Harper and Airious “Ace” Bailey?

As the final buzzer sounded, the answer became clear: Not tonight.

Behind a combined 45 points from Bailey (24) and Harper (21), Rutgers left PBA with an 85-82 win over the Huskers, who drop to 12-5 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play. Steve Pikiell’s Scarlet Knights, who started four freshmen, improve to 10-8, 3-4.

The loss was Nebraska’s first at home in more than a year — not since losing to Creighton on Dec. 3, 2023. It’s the first loss to a Big Ten team since Michigan State on Feb. 28, 2023.

“This hurts. We hadn’t lost in this building in a long time, and we got to respond,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said after the game. “We got to find a way to go out and reverse what’s going on on the road right now with our team and give ourselves a chance to win this weekend, hopefully by playing consistent. That’s the biggest thing. We got to be more consistent across the board.”

During this three-game losing streak, the Huskers’ once-stingy defense has given up 97, 104 and 85 points. And then the 3-pointers — there have been many. The Huskers allowed Iowa to make 17 and Purdue 19, which set a record for most treys made by an opponent. And Rutgers? The Knights made 12 on Thursday night. Bailey made four of them while Harper made three.

Hoiberg said he and his staff have charted every one of those 3s from Iowa and Purdue, and will do the same for tonight’s loss.

“A lot of them are happening in transition. Ten of them in conference have happened in transition,” Hoiberg said. “Miscues, soft close-outs, soft double-teams on the post. When we do it right, we’re pretty good. And again, it just goes down to consistency, that’s the biggest thing. We have to find a way to be a more consistent team and have better hands. Deflections, I think they had eight turnovers tonight. We’re better than that, we normally force more with hand activity. You got to find a way to force looping passes to buy your rotations time. But we’ll address it the film session tomorrow, and hopefully grow from it.”

Nebraska won the rebounding battle 42-40 and grabbed 19 offensive boards, which it turned into 25 second-chance points. But Rutgers also did damage in the offensive glass with 17 of them for 19 points.

“I thought our inability to finish possessions was the difference tonight,” Hoiberg said. “We got 19 of them, that’s a good sign. But we gave them 17. You find a way to get a couple of those defensive rebounds, I think we find a way to win that game. Just too many second chance opportunities. When they did miss, you got to find a way to get that thing.

“To me, it was toughness. Wasn’t an effort thing,” Hoiberg added. “We played hard. But just because you play hard doesn’t mean you’re tough. You got to find a way to finish off those possessions.”

A key stat that will stand out to many: free throws. Nebraska didn’t do well in that department, hitting just 17-of-27. And in a tight game in the second half where those freebies are crucial, the Huskers went just 6-of-12.

Under the microscope will be Braxton Meah, the 7-foot-1 senior who went 0-of-3 at the line in a stretch of a minute-and-a-half with his team up 76-72.

Another stat that tells a story: the shots near the rim. Like it did in the loss at Iowa, Nebraska struggled to make shots in the paint and ended the game going 9-of-18. Connect on a few more of those, and the win streak inside PBA could’ve been extended to 21 instead of ending at 20.

Nebraska heads to the East Coast to take on the Maryland Terrapins (13-5, 3-4) on Sunday at 11 a.m.

After consecutive road losses at Washington and Oregon, Maryland responded well by beating UCLA and Minnesota at home. The Terrapins were on the road at Northwestern on Thursday night and fell in overtime.

The Terrapins are 11-1 at home this season.

“We got a big game coming up on a short turnaround. And as I said to the guys in the locker room, I like the short turnaround to hopefully get this bad taste out of our mouths, to get back on the floor and compete again,” Hoiberg said. “Tomorrow is going to be a mental day, a lot of film, and put the game plan in. And then we’ll go a little bit harder on Saturday with the early game on Sunday.”