Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, 1/16/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE

TV: FS1

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-4) will go up against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-8) at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Thursday.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights stepped onto the hardwood against UCLA and notched a win by a score of 75-68 in their last contest. When discussing personal fouls, the Scarlet Knights ended up walking away with 17 while UCLA recorded 23 personal fouls. They buried 6 out of their 19 shots from beyond the perimeter. UCLA finished shooting 80.0% at the charity stripe by converting 12 of their 15 tries. In addition, UCLA grabbed 24 rebounds (7 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't have a block. UCLA earned 11 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. When it comes to defense, Rutgers let their opponent shoot 42.4% from the floor on 25 out of 59 shooting. They also recorded 9 assists in the game as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 5 steals. When talking about grabbing boards, they compiled 35 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Scarlet Knights made 21 of their 31 attempts for a percentage of 67.7%. Rutgers ended the game having earned a 46.2% FG percentage (24 of 52) and converted 6 out of their 20 3-point attempts.

Airious Bailey is someone who came through in this contest. He notched 20 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He played for 38 mins played and also totaled 10 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 53.8% from the field and totaled 2 dimes.

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Rutgers comes into this matchup with a record of 9-8 for the season. They are losing possession via turnover 10.8 times per game and as a team they are committing 16.5 fouls every game. As a unit, Rutgers is snagging 36.9 rebounds per game and has totaled 224 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 226th in the country in terms of passing. The Scarlet Knights are hitting 32.4% on three-point attempts (117 of 361) and 69.9% from the free throw line. They have an average of 76.4 points per outing (151st in college hoops) while hitting 44.6% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Scarlet Knights are able to force 12.0 turnovers per game and they draw 20.5 fouls. They give up 33.5% from 3-point land while they are 262nd in college in opponents points per game (74.2). The Scarlet Knights defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.5% (469 of 1,053) and they concede 36.5 rebounds per game as a team. They currently rank 237th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 233 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took a loss by a score of 104-68 when they faced Purdue. The Cornhuskers recorded 14 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds for a total of 18 in this contest. They also coughed it up 17 times, while recording 9 steals for this game. Purdue had 10 personal fouls for this contest which took the Cornhuskers to the charity stripe for 11 attempts. They were able to bury 10 of those for a percentage of 90.9%. In terms of 3-point attempts, Nebraska knocked down 6 of 27 attempts (22.2%). When this game wrapped up, the Cornhuskers went 26 out of 54 from the field which had them shooting 48.1%. The Cornhuskers allowed Purdue to bury 41 of their 65 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 63.1% in this game. They finished 57.6% from 3-point land by going 19 out of 33 and ended up going 3 of 6 at the charity stripe (50.0%). When discussing team rebounding, Nebraska allowed Purdue to collect 30 overall (7 offensive).

Connor Essegian ended up being a factor for the Cornhuskers in this contest. He earned 17 points in his 22 mins of playing time and totaled 3 assists for the matchup. He converted 6 of 13 in this game giving him a rate of 46.2%, and added 5 rebounds.

Nebraska has a mark of 12-4 on the season. The Cornhuskers commit 15.8 fouls every game and they hit 76.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.7 times per game (201st in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.6 times per game. Nebraska has totaled 1,231 pts so far this year (76.9 per contest) and they pull in 36.2 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Cornhuskers are shooting 46.4% from the floor, which is 110th in the nation.

The Cornhuskers defensively are ranked 111th in college in PPG surrendered with 69.1. They have forced 13.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.4% from the field (50th in college hoops). The Nebraska defense concedes 32.6% on 3-point shots (155 of 475) and opponents are converting on 70.7% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 13.4 assists and 33.9 rebounds per game, which is ranked 209th and 151st in the country.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Nebraska

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