At the Buzzer: Nebraska 86, Indiana 70
Quick thoughts on an 86-70 loss at Nebraska:
How it happened
Indiana had its season-opening starting lineup on Wednesday night in Lincoln, but the Hoosiers were far from sharp against Nebraska. Turnovers were a major issue as Indiana turned it over nine times in the opening 20 minutes, leading to 14 points for the Huskers. Nebraska also grabbed five offensive rebounds which led to seven points. Fouls were also a major issue for Indiana as three of the starters – Xavier Johnson, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako – each picked up two before halftime. All of those numbers, plus a six-point advantage from the free throw line, were the reason Indiana went into the locker room at Pinnacle Bank Arena trailing 41-33 despite 12 points from Kel’el Ware.
Nebraska scored the first five points of the second half to stretch the lead to 13, forcing Mike Woodson to call a timeout with 18:18 to play. Indiana got within eight on a Reneau 3-pointer at 55-47, but Nebraska responded with a 3-pointer from Brice Williams to stretch the lead back to double figures at the under-12 media timeout. By the under-eight media timeout, Nebraska’s lead was 14 at 67-53 as Indiana had little going offensively. The Huskers extended the lead to 17 points after three free throws by Keisei Tominaga with 7:36 remaining. Another 3-pointer from Williams stretched the lead to 20 with 6:59 to go. Indiana never got closer than 16 the rest of the way as it dropped to 10-4 and 2-1 in Big Ten play.
Standout performer
Ware finished with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes.
Statistics that stand out
Indiana committed a season-high 19 turnovers, leading to 27 points for Nebraska. The Hoosiers also allowed 86 points as Nebraska scored 1.23 points per possession.
Final IU individual statistics
Final tempo-free statistics
Assembly Call postgame show
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
Filed to: Nebraska Cornhuskers