Nebraska @ Rutgers preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 21, 2019 ) Nebraska 69, Rutgers 76

The development of a handful of freshmen such as Ron Harper Jr. and Montez Mathis was enough to power Rutgers to its first non-last place finish since joining the Big Ten in 2014-15, while attrition has shown little mercy on a Nebraska team that had designs of making an NCAA Tournament run. Two rivals riding vastly different arcs square off in first-round action Wednesday at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago when the 12th-seeded Scarlet Knights face the 13th-seeded Cornhuskers.

Rutgers appeared to be on the verge of a fifth straight finish in the conference cellar following a 1-6 start in league play before going on a three-game winning streak that began with a 76-69 home victory over Nebraska behind a season-high 20 points from Mathis. Harper joined him as a consistent offensive contributor in early February, including a season-high 27-point performance in an upset win at then-No. 21 Iowa on March 2. A promising 13-4 start to the season by Nebraska quickly gave way to a stretch in which the Cornhuskers dropped 11 of 13, most of which came after second-leading scorer Isaac Copeland Jr. was lost for the season on Jan. 26 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Nebraska showed it was still willing to fight for embattled coach Tim Miles in Sunday's regular-season finale, however, scoring 16 points in the final 47 seconds of regulation to force overtime in an eventual 93-91 win over the Hawkeyes.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NEBRASKA (16-15): Freshman Amir Harris is not expected to play Wednesday after tearing his meniscus against Iowa; he is the third guard Nebraska has lost over the last two games after Thomas Allen (ankle) went down against Michigan - leading to Harris' second start of the season - and Nana Akenten was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules Thursday. James Palmer Jr. (19.1 points) posted his second straight 20-point performance Sunday - and 15th of the season - and needs only seven more points to become the sixth Cornhusker to score 600 in a season. Fellow senior Glynn Watson Jr. (13.0) has caught fire offensively over his last four outings, averaging 20.8 points while shooting 17-for-35 from 3-point range.

ABOUT RUTGERS (14-16): A third freshman, 6-6 guard Caleb McConnell (5.4 points), has reached double figures in each of his last three outings - matching the number he managed over the first 27 games - averaging 13.3 points in that span while shooting 12-for-20 from the floor. Eugene Omoruyi (team-high marks of 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds) was one of two Scarlet Knights (Geo Baker) to receive an honorable mention All-Big Ten nod Monday and appears to be rounding into form with 41 points in the last two contests after struggling with inconsistency over his previous 11. Baker (12.3 points, 4.1 assists) is in the middle of his worst offensive stretch of the season, however, totaling 14 points on 4-of-23 shooting in three March games.

TIP-INS

1. The winner will face No. 5 seed Maryland in the second round Thursday.

2. Palmer, Watson and F Isaiah Roby each topped 20 points Sunday, marking the first time the Cornhuskers had three 20-point scorers in the same game since March 5, 2007.

3. The Scarlet Knights' seven Big Ten wins this season are their most in conference play since posting a 7-9 mark in the Big East during the 2005-06 campaign.

PREDICTION: Rutgers 80, Nebraska 72