Off to one of its best starts since joining the Big Ten Conference, Nebraska will try to improve its NCAA Tournament hopes when it visits Indiana on Wednesday night in Bloomington, Ind.
The Cornhuskers (18-8, 8-7 Big Ten) have won two straight games, but those were at home, where they’ve been next to perfect. On the road has been a different story, as Nebraska is 0-7 in conference play.
“Can we carry this same effort on the road?” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said after Saturday’s 68-49 win over Penn State, doing so despite making four of 21 3-pointers as the Big Ten’s most prolific outside shooting team.
Indiana (14-11, 6-8) has lost two straight, including Saturday’s 76-72 home setback to Northwestern. The Hoosiers have lost six of eight and are shooting a conference-worst 66 percent from the free-throw line.
“A close game when you are scraping and scraping you got to make free throws,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after his team missed nine of 21 foul shots. “That’s just not good in close games.”
Kel’el Ware had 22 points and 16 rebounds in the Hoosiers’ last game, and he’s had three 20-point performances in the past five. The 7-foot Oregon transfer will go toe to toe with Nebraska big man Rienk Mast, who stands 6-foot-10 and has five double-doubles this season.
The Cornhuskers won the previous meeting this season, 86-70 at home on Jan. 3. Leading scorer Keisei Tominaga (14.1 points per game) went for 28 points while Indiana turned it over a season-high 19 times.
Nebraska entered the week a game out of third place, with the top four teams in the Big Ten earning double byes in next month’s conference tournament in Minneapolis. The Cornhuskers have never been seeded higher than fourth since joining the league in 2011-12.
Indiana is closer to the bottom four spots, which would mean having to play five games to win the tournament. The Hoosiers are trying to make the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive year for the first time since 2006-08.
–Field Level Media