Rutgers @ Nebraska preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2019 ) Nebraska 68, Rutgers 61

Rutgers looks to continue its winning ways when it resumes Big Ten Conference play on the road Friday night against Nebraska. The Scarlet Knights have won four consecutive games after a 94-49 victory against Division II Caldwell on Monday - their highest offensive output of the season - to improve to 10-0 at home, and hope to continue an upward trajectory by posting their first road win of the season.

"We have to go on the road and win on the road, that's the next step," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell told reporters. "Nebraska is going to be a tough game and it's always a tough place." Nebraska bounced back from a disappointing 75-74 home loss to North Dakota with a 73-52 rout of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday. The Cornhuskers dropped four of their six games in the month of December, and hope to kick off the new year on a positive note by taking down the Scarlet Knights for the fourth time in their last five meetings while climbing back to .500 in the process. "We have to continue on an upward trend if we're going to have a chance to compete with the teams we are about to face," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters. "We can't have lulls where we drop our heads and have poor body language because teams will take advantage of us."

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT RUTGERS (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten): Jacob Young scored a game-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists to lead five players in double figures in the win against Caldwell. Paul Mulcahy added a career-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, five rebounds and five assists while Akwasi Yeboah finished with 11 points, as the Scarlet Knights shot 52.2 percent from the field. Montez Mathis also tallied 11 points and Ron Harper Jr. had 10 to help Rutgers improve to 33-4 in non-conference home games under Pikiell.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (6-7, 1-1): Haanif Cheatham went 8-of-9 from the free-throw line en route to a team-high 17 points in the win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which took him over 1,000 points for his college career. Yvan Ouedraogo added 11 points and a career-best 14 rebounds to become the ninth player in program history to record a double-double as a freshman. Cam Mack registered 10 points, five assists and three steals while Matej Kavas produced 10 points and five boards, as the Cornhuskers finished with 15 steals - their most in a game since Nov. 26, 2017.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Rutgers F Myles Johnson has registered 10 or more rebounds in six games this season.

2. Cheatham has finished in double figures in eight of his last nine outings.

3. The Scarlet Knights have won the battle of the boards in 12 of their 13 games.

PREDICTION: Rutgers 71, Nebraska 68