No. 24 Rutgers tops Nebraska 75-72 on Baker’s 3-pointer

Geo Baker hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to lift No. 24 Rutgers to a 75-72 victory over Nebraska

PISCATAWAY, NJ —
Geo Baker hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to send No. 24 Rutgers past Nebraska 75-72 Saturday to raise the Scarlet Knights’ home record to 14-0.

Rutgers had four double-digit scorers, with Akwaski Yeboah leading the way with 20 points. Caleb McConnell and Jacob Young each had 12 and Montez Mathis 10.

Rutgers (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten) was up by 14 early in the second half before Nebraska (7-13, 2-7 Big Ten) went on a 22-7 run over seven minutes to lead 63-62 on two foul shots by Charlie Easely with 7:49 to go. Nebraska went ahead by six with just more than three minutes left before Baker and Yeboah hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to tie it at 72 with 1:59 to go.

Nebraska, down 38-33 at the half, was led by Cam Mack with 19 points while Thorir Thorbjarnarson had 17 points and eight rebounds. Myles Johnson had nine points on four-of-five shooting and 11 rebounds for Rutgers.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

After receiving a Top 25 ranking for the first time since 1979, Rutgers went 1-1 with a close loss at No. 19 Iowa. That should be good enough to keep Rutgers right about where it is.

BIG PICTURE

Rutgers: Now comes the hard part. Ten of the Scarlet Knights’ final 12 games are against teams ranked or receiving votes in the Top 25.

Nebraska: A tough season continues. Falling well below .500 overall and in league play, the Cornhuskers are trying to stay out of the Big Ten basement.

UP NEXT

Rutgers: Hosts Purdue on Tuesday.

Nebraska: Hosts Michigan on Tuesday.

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