Nebraska Cornhuskers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Palmer Jr. scores 34, Nebraska beats Rutgers 68-61

He tripped and rolled over. He gave the safe sign as he got up and continued on his way.

The Cornhuskers were safe, too, for at least another day.

James Palmer Jr. tied a career high with 34 points, and Nebraska beat Rutgers 68-61 in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.

Palmer matched a personal best set against Ohio State last season and scored 27 in the second half to carry Nebraska. But the most memorable moment involved Miles. And the coach had some fun at his own expense.

"I'm fine," he said. "The wires, they jumped up and got me. I thought I was a better athlete than that. I'm old. I'm old. ... A lot of exhilaration but just enough clumsiness to keep things interesting."

Miles also tweeted : "A lesser athlete would've got hurt! (hash)mustbeWednesday."

The Cornhuskers (17-15) went on a 15-0 run to grab a 10-point lead in the closing minutes on the way to their second straight win after dropping 11 of 13. They are banking on a few victories in the conference tournament to vault them into the NCAA picture and maybe save Miles' job.

Eugene Omoruyi led Rutgers (14-17) with 16 points. Myles Johnson added 11 points and 11 rebounds, but the Scarlet Knights were one and done this time after winning at least one game in the previous two conference tournaments.

"A lot of good things were accomplished (this season)," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "I'm proud of our guys and our young guys grew up a lot."

BIG RUN

Nebraska used the decisive surge to turn a five-point deficit into a 61-51 lead with 1:30 remaining.

Isaiah Roby started it with a layup with 6:21 remaining and hit two free throws with four minutes left to put Nebraska back on top for the first time since the opening minutes of the half at 52-51.

Palmer then nailed a 3 and Roby drove for a neat scoop layup after a steal by Johnny Trueblood. Palmer then threw down a hard fast-break dunk , getting intentionally fouled from behind by Omoruyi, and Glynn Watson Jr. made two free throws to finish the run.

QUOTABLE

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: Hit hard by injuries all season, the Cornhuskers had to get by without Amir Harris (knee) as well as the suspended Nana Akenten. They used just seven players in this game. No one other than Palmer scored more than 11 points. And Nebraska shot just 40.4 percent overall while making 3 of 15 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Rutgers: Season is likely over.

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• TV Channel: Nebraska at Rutgers 2021 College Basketball, week 19, is broadcasted on BTN.
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