Dave Riggert – Page 510 – St. Joseph Post Archive

No. 22 Mizzou falls at 2nd-ranked South Carolina 83-58

Posted on January 10, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Tiffany Mitchell handled second-ranked South Carolina’s offense as the Gamecocks routed No. 20 Missouri.

Mitchell scored 19 points and keyed a run in the third quarter when Missouri tried to rally in the Gamecocks 83-58 win on Sunday.

The two-time SEC Player of the Year scored seven straight points in the third period after Missouri cut the Gamecocks’ lead to 10. The Tigers (14-2, 1-2 SEC) barely got a clean look at the basket in the first half as USC (15-0, 3-0) played its best defense of the season, but USC began to crack in the third as Missouri’s offense slipped into rhythm.

Mitchell, as she did against Vanderbilt in south Carolina’s last game, took over. Two fast-break layups around the Gamecocks’ first 3-pointer of the game restored the lead and she finished with a game-high 19 points.

“Coach (Dawn) Staley gives me a look to kind of take over sometimes,” Mitchell said. “I just try to read and get in the flow of the game.”

Missouri star freshman Sophie Cunningham entered the game ninth in the SEC in scoring but South Carolina’s aggressive defense and two early fouls held her to nine points on 4-of-13 shooting.

“We felt like after playing Tennessee and seeing that kind of pressure, we felt like we could really learn and grown from it,” Missouri coach Robin Pingeton said. “We dug ourselves a pretty big hole in that first half.”

The Gamecocks placed sophomore A’ja Wilson in the paint and told her to concentrate on defense rather than scoring, and Wilson responded with six blocks, tying a career-high. She and Alaina Coates had double-doubles, Wilson scoring 11 with 11 rebounds while Coates had 13 and 12.

Wilson joked in the preseason about wanting to win SEC Defensive Player of the Year, but her performance is suggesting it’s much more than a good quote. “I hope the evolution of A’ja’s defense is much like Alaina (Coates)’ offense,” Staley said. “It’s a goal of hers. The goal will be dangled out there and it could be hers for the taking.”

USC shot 42 percent but missed several point-blank looks at the basket. Once Mitchell began scoring in the third, the Gamecocks got back on track.

Each team did well denying the other team second-chance points. The Gamecocks and Tigers each had over 25 defensive rebounds while allowing limited offensive rebounds.

TIP-INS

South Carolina: The Gamecocks lost their second guard in a week before the game when sophomore Kaydra Duckett left the team for the spring semester to focus on academics. Freshman Shay Colley left last week due to homesickness. The Gamecocks are down to 11 players.

Missouri: The Tigers notched their best start in program history by going 13-0 in the non-conference season, but the SEC schedule has brought them back to Earth. Missouri lost to Tennessee to start, won at Georgia and then lost at USC. The Tigers’ next three games are hosting No. 7 Mississippi State, at Arkansas and at No. 13 Texas A&M.

PIVOTAL MOMENT

Tina Roy passed to Mitchell in the corner and Mitchell converted the 3. The pointed finger from Mitchell to Roy to thank her for the assist also seemed to tell the Tigers that they were down to stay.

ELITE COMPANY

The win made USC’s men’s and women’s teams a combined 30-0 to start the season. It’s the fifth time in Division I history that a school’s two teams won at least 30 games between them to start the year.

STAT LINE

The Gamecocks recorded 14 steals and seven blocked shots while forcing 20 turnovers. While the production slowed in the second half (four steals and one block), the Tigers were hit so hard by the physical play that once their offense began flowing, players began fouling out.

UP NEXT

South Carolina is at Kentucky on Thursday.

Missouri hosts Mississippi State on Thursday.

Kansas State women drop fourth straight as they lose at No. 17 Oklahoma

Posted on January 10, 2016

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Vionise Pierre-Louis scored a career-high 16 points, pulled down seven rebounds and No. 17 Oklahoma held off Kansas State 68-58 on Sunday.

Pierre-Louis made all eight of her free throws, Kaylon Williams was 8 of 10 from the line and scored 14 points for the Sooners (12-3, 3-1 Big 12), who sank 28 of 34 compared to 13 of 22 for Kansas State. Derica Wyatt added 11 points and Gabbi Ortiz 10. Williams has scored in double figures in every game this season.

Breanna Lewis had 20 points and Megan Deines 10 for the Wildcats (10-5, 0-4).

Oklahoma led 22-8 after one quarter but the Wildcats were within six, 41-35, after three. A 3-pointer by Kaylee Page with 46 seconds left cut their deficit to four but that would be the Wildcats’ final points as Oklahoma hit six straight free throws.

Oklahoma has won 16 of the last 17 meetings with Kansas State.

— Associated Press —

No. 13 Griffons rally past Northwest Missouri State to stay undefeated

Posted on January 9, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – Rivalry Saturday lived up to its billing as the 13th-ranked Missouri Western women’s basketball team used a dominant second half to stay undefeated and keep Northwest Missouri State winless in MIAA play with an 82-73 victory.

Missouri Western trailed 45-38 at the break after falling behind by as many as 10 in the first half. The Griffons would regain the lead early in the third quarter thanks to a 9-0 run to open the second half. Missouri Western limited Northwest Missouri to nine points in the third quarter, scoring 22 itself. Overall in the second half, Missouri Western outscored Northwest 44-28 to pick up the 82-73 win.

LaQuinta Jefferson finished with a game-high 25 points on 40 percent field goal shooting. Mhykeah Baez added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Sarafina Handy shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point range, finishing with 15 points. Julia Torres finished with 11 points.

The Griffons begin a challenging six-game stretch on Wednesday at Washburn, followed by a trip to No. 8 Emporia State on Jan. 16.

— MWSU Athletics —

Chiefs force 5 Texans turnovers on way to first playoff win since 1994

Posted on January 9, 2016

HOUSTON (AP) — After 22 years without a playoff victory, the Kansas City Chiefs were determined not to give up the lead this time.

The Chiefs had enough points to win after jumping ahead 7-0 in the first 11 seconds, and they used relentless pressure, five turnovers and a ball-control offense to dominate the Houston Texans 30-0 in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

They were especially cognizant of not letting up after blowing a 28-point lead in a loss to the Colts in their last playoff appearance in 2013.

“What happened to us a couple years ago, everybody remembers that even the coaches included, so our entire mentality is about finishing,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “The mentality doesn’t change.”

They finished off the Texans early, and they had the hometown fans booing by the second quarter. Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer had the worst game of his career with four interceptions and a fumble. Houston’s defense kept the Texans close in the first half, but J.J. Watt left with an injury in the third quarter, Jadeveon Clowney never even put on his jersey and the Chiefs were able to close the game out in the second half.

The Chiefs extended their NFL-best winning streak to 11 games and will face Denver or New England next week.

“We wanted to come in and dominate,” Chiefs safety Eric Berry said. “Right now we are locked in and ready for next week.

On the opening kickoff, Knile Davis got three good blocks around the 10-yard line and then simply outran the rest of the defenders for the 106-yard kickoff return score, the second-longest kickoff return TD in postseason history.

“It was a huge deal, man. It set the tempo,” Davis said. “It quieted everybody, kind of made everybody relax.”

The defense took over after that, forcing Hoyer into a fumble and a three of his career-high four interceptions before halftime to help the Chiefs (12-5) take a 13-0 lead.

“I made some bad decisions that really hurt the team,” Hoyer said.

Houston coach Bill O’Brien said he never considered benching Hoyer, but backup Brandon Weeden told a different story, saying he was warming up late in the game.

“We had talked about me going in there with Brian,” Weeden said. “Brian wanted to finish the thing out. I don’t blame him.”

Smith threw a touchdown pass late in the third and Spencer Ware added a 5-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 27-0.

Travis Kelce, who also had more than 100 yards receiving in the first meeting with the Texans this year, had another big day, finishing with eight receptions for 128 yards.

The victory breaks a streak of eight straight playoff losses by the Chiefs and is their first postseason win since beating the Oilers in Houston on Jan. 16, 1994. That team was led by Joe Montana and Marcus Allen.

“Was it 1994? I didn’t feel it, but I know how important it is, too,” coach Andy Reid said. “You get to the playoffs, and first round, if things don’t go well, that rips your heart out.”

Hoyer was 15 of 34 for 136 yards as Houston (9-8) lost a home playoff game for the first time. Hoyer’s performance cast more doubt on his future as the starter.

Watt missed most of the second half after injuring his groin in the third quarter. Last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and the NFL sack leader didn’t have a sack as Houston’s defense played well but couldn’t hold off an offense that got so many extra chances because of turnovers.

Watt returned a few plays after he was initially hurt, but soon left the game again when he was pushed to the ground by the head by tackle Eric Fisher.

“That’s just a dirty play,” Watt said. “But the injury was before that moment.”

Fisher said he didn’t know the play was over. Kansas City receiver Jeremy Maclin strained his right knee on the same play and didn’t return.

The Chiefs capped that drive when Smith found rookie Chris Conley in the back of the end zone for 9-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 20-0.

Houston defensive end Jared Crick got a personal foul late in the third quarter when he hit Fisher after a play, in an apparent retaliation for the Watt hit.

Down 7-0, the Texans were driving when Hoyer was sacked by Allen Bailey and fumbled. Dontari Poe recovered it at the Kansas City 42 and the Chiefs extended their lead to 10-0 on a 49-yard field goal.

Trailing 13-0, a 49-yard run by Alfred Blue got Houston to the Kansas City 13. The Texans got a first down at the 2 and Watt and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork came in on offense, with Watt lined up as the wildcat quarterback and Wilfork blocking. Watt took the direct snap but had nowhere to go and lost a yard on his first career carry. Hoyer was intercepted on the next play by Josh Mauga.

Hoyer had also struggled against the Chiefs in the season opener, being benched in the fourth quarter of a 27-20 loss.

Game notes
Clowney, the top overall pick in the 2014 draft, was inactive with a foot injury. … Maclin will have an MRI on Sunday. … Kansas City right tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif suffered a concussion in the first half.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western men come up short against Bearcats 66-60

Posted on January 9, 2016January 9, 2016

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western Men’s Basketball team came up short of upsetting Northwest Missouri State as they lost 66-60 on Saturday in front of 2,205 fans inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.

The Griffons trailed by two at halftime but opened the second half by scoring the first four points to take a 30-28 lead. Missouri Western regained the lead with 6:05 remaining on free throws from Trey Sampson. Missouri Western scored 22 of its 34 second half points at the line, shooting 78.6 percent in the half and 81.6 percent for the game. It was field goals that the Griffons struggled with, shooting 32.6 percent and just seven percent from behind the arc (1-14).

Sampson led Missouri Western with 14 points. Currie Byrd added 12 points and seven rebounds and Miles Wentzien added 10.

The loss dropped Missouri Western to 5-10 overall and 3-6 in the MIAA. The team hits the road next week with games at Washburn and Emporia State.

— MWSU Athletics —

Puryear’s double-double helps Missouri take down Auburn 76-71

Posted on January 9, 2016January 9, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Kevin Puryear’s first career double-double helped Missouri earn its first Southeastern Conference victory of the season, 76-61 over Auburn Saturday night.

Puryear had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Missouri (8-7, 1-1).

Auburn’s Tyler Harris had a game-high 21 points with five rebounds and two blocks. He scored 13 in the second half and made 6 of 12 shots.

Tempers flared during a physical first half in which both teams combined for 22 personal fouls. Auburn’s Kareem Canty and Missouri’s Wes Clark were both issued technical fouls at the 13:22 mark. Moments after both benches received warnings, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was also assessed a technical.

Canty entered the game as Auburn’s leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, but finished with four fouls and only nine points.

Missouri took advantage of frequent trips to the foul line, converting on 25 of 33 free-throws. Auburn finished 16 of 24 from the line.

Auburn (7-7, 1-2) committed 14 turnovers — including 11 in the first half — leading to 13 Missouri points.

As both teams dealt with foul trouble, bench play became a factor. Missouri got 40 points from its bench while Auburn got only five. Tramaine Isabell had 12 points to go with four rebounds, and Namon Wright had 10 points and four rebounds.

Missouri enjoyed a 39-24 lead at halftime following a 26-9 run to close the first half. D’Angelo Allen provided the spark with five points, three rebounds and a block in an eight-minute stretch. Allen also made his first 3-point attempt of the night, only his second attempt all year. He finished with seven points and four rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting.

The only other Auburn player in double figures was Bryce Brown, who had 11 points on 4 of 13 from the field.

—

TIP-INS

Auburn: Kareem Canty is on pace to become the fifth player in SEC history with 100 made 3-pointers and 100 assists in the same season. … This was a homecoming for St. Louis native Jordan Granger, who helped McCuler North High School win the 2011 and 2012 state championships in Mizzou Arena. Granger finished with seven points and five rebounds. … Freshman Danjel Purifoy remains ineligible by the NCAA clearinghouse stemming from issues with his ACT scores.

Missouri: Following a 77-59 loss to Georgia Wednesday, Terrence Phillips became the first Missouri player since Jordan Clarkson to record five or more assists in three consecutive games. … Kevin Puryear has reached double-figure scoring in 11 of 15 games this year. … Missouri now holds a 4-1 series lead against Auburn.

UP NEXT

Auburn visits Vanderbilt Tuesday.

Missouri hosts Arkansas Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

No. 1 Jayhawks hold off Texas Tech for 13th consecutive win

Posted on January 9, 2016January 9, 2016

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Top-ranked Kansas often struggles when it plays at Texas Tech.

Three times in the past 11 years, the Red Raiders — all before Tubby Smith came to coach Texas Tech — have beaten Kansas in Lubbock when the Jayhawks were ranked in the Top 10.

On Saturday night, the top-ranked Jawhawks held off the Red Raiders 69-59.

“It’s never a pretty game from my vantage point when we play here,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “But fortunately, we’ve been able to eke out some wins. I think the way Tubby coaches and the way that his team tries, the way they’ve improved, I think that they make it hard to beat them here.”

Frank Mason scored 17 points, and Perry Ellis had 15 in the Jayhawks’ 13th straight victory.

Mason and Ellis each had 10 rebounds.

The Jayhawks (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) built a 10-point lead early in the second half, but let the Red Raiders (11-3, 2-1) back in it with about 10 minutes remaining.

Two 3-pointers by Mason and another by Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk gave the Jayhawks a 57-50 lead with about 5 minutes remaining.

Norense Odiase scored two straight baskets to pull the Red Raiders to 58-54, but a 3-pointer by Wayne Selden Jr., a dunk by Ellis, and a basket and two free throws by Devonte’ Graham sealed the win for the Jayhawks. The Jayhawks outrebounded Texas Tech 42-26.

Ellis said his team didn’t have a great shooting night. The Jayhawks made about 42 percent of their shots.

“When that happens, the key is defense,” he said. “And we started getting a lot of stops. And that’s what got us over the hump.”

Odiase scored all his 14 points in the second half for the Red Raiders.

Wayne Selden’s 3-pointer late in the game came right as the shot clock expired and seemed to take the wind out of the Red Raiders.

Kansas got the ball inside more to start the second half, getting 10 points in the paint in the first 5 minutes to take a 39-29 lead.

But Texas Tech kept close off back-to-back field goals — a 3 and a 2-point basket — by Toddrick Gotcher. His field goal started a 9-0 run, during a more than 4-minute drought by the Jayhawks, that tied it at 44 with 10:21 remaining.

Smith said several things were the Red Raiders’ undoing.

“A lot of things did us in tonight,” he said. “We didn’t rebound the ball. We didn’t defend in the second half like we should. And you put that together with free throw shooting, that’s a remedy for a loss.”

Both teams got the ball inside, each getting 26 points in the paint but the Red Raiders, despite being outrebounded, had 11 second-chance points to seven for Kansas.

The Red Raiders got only 11 points off of the Jayhawks’ 15 turnovers.

Ellis was 7 of 16 from the field, one of those a 3-pointer.

The Jayhawks’ 69 points were a season low and about 20 points shy of their season average.

Kansas led 29-27 at halftime. Both teams shot poorly from the field. The Red Raiders were cold from the free throw line, going 7 of 14. The Jayhawks made seven of their eight attempts.

FAMILIAR JAYHAWKS

Smith faced Kansas five times when he coached Kentucky, winning twice. Two of those meetings came in the NCAA Tournament: the second round in both 1999 and 2007.

DOMINANT BLUE

Kansas leads the series with Texas Tech 30-4 and has won 13 straight.

TIP-INS:

Kansas: The Jayhawks’ only loss came to Michigan State.

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders won 10 games in a row, including winning all eight games of a recent homestand. … Texas Tech beat Kansas in Lubbock in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

UP NEXT:

Kansas: at West Virginia on Tuesday night.

Texas Tech: at Kansas State on Tuesday night.

— Associated Press —

K-State suffers third straight loss as they fall at No. 2 Oklahoma

Posted on January 9, 2016January 9, 2016

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Buddy Hield and No. 2 Oklahoma bounced back from their difficult loss to Kansas with an impressive shooting performance against Kansas State.

Hield scored 31 points to lead the second-ranked Sooners to an 86-76 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday.

Hield followed his 46-point effort in Monday’s triple-overtime loss to the top-ranked Jayhawks by making 11 of 14 shots, including 6 of 8 3-pointers.

“Everything I shoot now, I just feel like, is going in,” Hield said.

The senior guard has reason to feel that way. He has scored 30 or more points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field in five of the past eight games.

“It’s hard to imagine anyone playing more efficiently than Buddy is, in terms of making shots, attacking, making good plays for his teammates,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said.

Jordan Woodard scored 19 points for the Sooners (13-1, 2-1 Big 12), and Khadeem Lattin added 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

The schedule gave Oklahoma enough time to recover from the Kansas loss.

“Interesting week,” Kruger said. “I thought if we would have had to play a game on Wednesday, it would have been awfully difficult two days after Monday, which you sometimes have to do.”

Kansas State upset Oklahoma in Norman last year, but Oklahoma avoided a repeat by shooting 57 percent from the field.

Barry Brown scored 19 points and Dean Wade added 12 for Kansas State (10-5, 0-3), which shot just 38 percent.

“We struggle with scoring,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “We have to get better at that. … We just have to play with more energy from the get-go, with a little determination. I told them to exert their will. Obviously, Oklahoma’s will was a lot stronger than ours.”

The Wildcats lost their first two conference games, to West Virginia and Texas, by a combined seven points.

Isaiah Cousins’ lob to Hield for a two-handed dunk gave Oklahoma a 22-6 lead with 13:19 to play in the first half. Kansas State made a bit of a run, but Woodard stole the ball and threw long for Hield, who found Ryan Spangler for a layup, and then Hield got a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup to put the Sooners up 42-21.

Kansas State scored the final 12 points of the first half, and a 3-pointer by Justin Edwards in the final minute cut Oklahoma’s lead to 44-35 at the break. Hield scored 17 points in the first half.

A 3-pointer by Hield and a layup by Spangler put Oklahoma up 53-39 with just under 16 minutes to play. Back-to-back 3s by Hield put the Sooners ahead 63-45 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Kansas State made one more surge, but a late 7-0 run by Oklahoma, including a 3-pointer and a jumper by Woodard, put the game out of reach.

The early deficit was too much to overcome for a team that struggles offensively.

“After that, we competed with them and played with them, but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” Weber said. “We had a few chances. … But it didn’t happen.”

STAT LINES

Lattin posted his second straight double-double, and just the second of his career. The sophomore has 18 blocks in his past four games, and 12 in his past two.

“What Khadeem has done the past two weeks has been really, really good,” Kruger said.

ON THE RISE

Woodard went 3 for 5 from 3-point range. The junior guard has made 15 of 24 from beyond the arc in his past four games.

TURNOVERS

Oklahoma committed 20 turnovers, including 13 in the second half. Hield committed five turnovers, and was critical of himself after the game.

“Stupid mistakes that I made all game trying to be fancy,” he said.

TIP-INS

Kansas State: Stephen Hurt, who had a career-high 15 points in last year’s game in Norman, scored 11 this time. … G Kamau Stokes missed all five of his shots in the first half and made 2 of 8 overall. … The Kansas State bench was called for a technical with 18:55 remaining. … The Wildcats allowed 80 or more points for just the third time this season.

Oklahoma: Backup C Akolda Manyang was sick and did not play. … The Sooners made 5 of 8 3-pointers in the first half and 11 of 19 overall. … Lattin blocked four shots in the first half. .. Hield also had eight rebounds and five assists.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts Texas Tech on Tuesday.

Oklahoma plays at Oklahoma State on Wednesday.

— Associated Press —

Miller hits winner as Missouri State defeats Loyola 56-54

Posted on January 9, 2016January 9, 2016

CHICAGO (AP) — Daquon Miller shut the door on Loyola of Chicago, hitting a runner with 3.4 seconds left and Missouri State beat the Ramblers 56-54 on Saturday.

Miller, who led Missouri State (6-10, 2-2 Missouri Valley) with 16 points, scored the final four in the last 1:19 to foil a late comeback by the Ramblers (7-9, 0-4).

Loyola closed the first half on a 10-5 run to grab a 29-23 lead, hitting five shots without a miss. They extended the lead to 33-23 before Missouri State came to life.

Obediah Church slammed two dunks as the Bears went on a 19-8 run to lead 42-41. Loyola climbed back as the Bears went through an extended dry spell. Milton Doyle stole an inbounds pass and drove for a 54-54 tie with seven seconds left, but Loyola was unable to get a final shot off in time.

Eric Peterson led the Ramblers with 18 points, Doyle 13.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska blows out Rutgers for first Big Ten win

Posted on January 9, 2016January 9, 2016

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — In a collision of Big Ten losing streaks, Nebraska ended its slide thanks to another big effort by Andrew White.

As an added bonus, the Huskers got their largest road win in 95 years and gave Rutgers its worst home loss in 54 years.

White had 28 points and nine rebounds to pace the Huskers past Rutgers, 90-56, Saturday night.

The margin of victory was the highest in a road game for Nebraska since defeating Morningside, 50-13, on Feb. 25, 1920. It also snapped a three-game losing skid and 11-game conference losing streak for the Huskers (9-8, 1/3 Big Ten).

“It’s kind of good to get that weight off of our shoulders, hopefully that will give us a little momentum going into the next one,” said White, who shot 11 of 14 and 5 of 7 on 3-pointers. “We executed well at both ends so I think this should give everybody some confidence going forward. If we win this one and go on another losing streak it doesn’t serve its purpose well.”

Glynn Watson scored 12 for the Huskers, while Shavon Shields added 11 and Ed Morrow had 10.

Rutgers (6-11, 0-4) has lost four straight and 19 straight conference games dating back to last season. The Knights suffered their largest home loss since falling to St. Joe’s, 102-66, on Dec. 6, 1961.

Mike Williams scored 22 for the Knights, who were never in it. Rutgers fell behind 14-2 and 24-7 and got no closer than nine.

“Obviously this was a very tough loss,” said coach Eddie Jordan, who’s missing four frontcourt players to injury. “There were moments in the game where I was disappointed in their effort and that hasn’t happened this season. When you’re fighting and you’re small, there comes a time where it’s hard to overcome and it screws with your psyche.”

Nebraska made its first six shots and 7 of its first 8 en route to a 21-7 edge, and remained in control throughout. Leading 31-22, Nebraska went on a 15-4 run over the final 5:57 to open a 46-26 lead at the break. The Huskers largest advantage was 83-47.

White, who red-shirted last year after two seasons at Kansas, had 19 points at halftime to spark the blowout.

“I’d say this is his best game of the season,” coach Tim Miles said. “He’s had other very strong nights, but when you get nine rebounds and 28 points … and every time we needed a lift, he provided it.”

In shooting 57 percent (37 of 65), Nebraska hit its highest point total since joining the Big Ten, and its highest total in any conference game since 2006.

—-

TIP-INS

Nebraska: The Huskers last Big Ten win was Feb. 3, 2015 against Northwestern. Nebraska hit at least 70 points for the 10th time this season, one better than all of last year. The Huskers lead the series 3-2.

Rutgers: The Knights have not won a Big Ten game since beating No. 4 Wisconsin on Jan. 11, 2015. This equaled Rutgers worst loss of the season as it fell by 34 to George Washington. The Knights, Minnesota and Illinois are the lone teams without a Big Ten win.

Honoring the past: Prior to the game, Rutgers held a moment of silence for former coach Bill Foster, who died Thursday at 86 following a lengthy illness. Foster guided Rutgers to the 1967 NIT semifinals, the Knights first post-season appearance. At halftime, Rutgers celebrated the 40th Anniversary of its 1975-76 Final Four team, with head coach Tom Young and every player, manager and assistant coach from that team in attendance.

UP NEXT

Nebraska hosts Minnesota Tuesday.

Rutgers is at Ohio State Wednesday.

— Associated Press —