Nebraska at Indiana — Live discussion

Game Day Essentials:

Nebraska (18-8, 8-7) at Indiana (14-11, 6-8)

• Tip Time: 8:30 p.m. Eastern, Wednesday
• Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Ind.
• Television: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Shon Morris)
• Stream: Fox Sports
• IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
• Point Spread: Indiana is around a 1.5 point favorite.
• KenPom Projected Score: No. 97 Indiana 73 – No. 40 Nebraska 75
• Series History: Indiana leads, 19-8 .

Three keys from last meeting:

Nebraska beat Indiana 86-70 in Lincoln on Jan. 3. 

1. IU starting guards ineffective.  Indiana’s starting guards did not have a major impact on the game.  Trey Galloway and Xavier Johnson combined for seven turnovers against five assists, and until late only had a total of four points on 2-of-7 shooting.  Galloway did hit a couple late threes after the game had been decided to end up with 10 points, but the fellow captains were unable to get anything going.  Johnson was playing his first game in six weeks off a foot injury.

2. Huskers get cookin’ from three.  Nebraska emphasized the 3-point shot all night, and in the second half they started falling.  They made 8-of-15 from long range after the break.  Keisei Tominaga led the way overall, making 4-of-10 from deep on a 28 point night. The Huskers took 32 threes and just 27 twos, clearly keying on IU’s deficiencies when it comes to guarding the perimeter.  They made 12-of-32 from deep for the game.

3. Indiana sloppy with the basketball.  The Hoosiers were careless with the basketball throughout the game, committing 19 total turnovers, including nine in the first half and ten in the second.  Nebraska produced 27 points off those turnovers.  As mentioned Johnson (4) and Galloway (3) combined for seven, while Ware and Malik Reneau each had four turnovers as they struggled against double-teams.  IU also committed 19 fouls and sent Nebraska to the free throw line for 26 attempts, adding to easy looks.

Nebraska’s results and roster

Nebraska’s game notes (via Nebraska Athletics)

TOMINAGA RETURNS TO ALL-BIG TEN FORM

• Nebraska returns one of college basketball’s top shooters in fifth-year senior Keisei Tominaga, who leads Nebraska in scoring at 14.1 points per game. He tops the Huskers in 3-pointers (53) while shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc.
• Tominaga has four 20-point games this season and has been in double figures 16 times.
• Tominaga was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team, becoming just the third Husker to receive the honor since Nebraska joined the conference in the 2011-12 season. Last season, he averaged 13.1 points per game on 53 percent shooting, including 40 percent from 3-point range.

MAST ANCHORS HUSKER POST

• Rienk Mast has been one of the Big Ten’s top transfers this season and comes into the Indiana contest averaging 13.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
• Rienk Mast became only the second Husker in the last 25 years to post a 30-point, 10-rebound game with his performance against Ohio State on Jan. 24. He joined Aleks Maric, who accomplished the feat four times in his career from 2005 to 2008.
• According to sports-reference.com, Mast is one of 13 Division I players nationally to average at least 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game as of Feb. 19. Mast is the only player in the Big Ten and one of three power conference players reaching those plateaus.
• Mast’s 8.1 rebounds per game rank fifth in the Big Ten and is on track to be the most rebounds per game by a Husker since 2007-08 (Aleks Maric, 10.2).
• Mast has been in double figures 16 times and has six games with at least 10 rebounds this season. He also leads NU with five double-doubles, which ties for sixth in the Big Ten as of Feb. 19. He nearly posted his sixth double-double against Penn State with 12 points and nine rebounds in NU’s 68-49 win on Feb. 17.

STEADY WILLIAMS IS MR. DO-IT-ALL FOR BIG RED

• Junior Brice Williams has been a rock for the Huskers this season. The 6-foot-7 guard is third on the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game. He ranks third on the team in rebounding, assists and steals per game while typically guarding the opponent’s top guard.
• He comes into the Indiana game shooting 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range and 84 percent from the foul line. He tops NU in both free throws made (78) and attempted (93) and is sixth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (.839).

GARY RETURNS BETTER THAN EVER

• After his 2022-23 season was cut short with a left shoulder injury that required surgery, Juwan Gary is playing the best basketball of his career this season. During his rehab, Gary spent extensive time working on his shooting mechanics and the work has paid off.
• He is averaging 11.5 points per game on .527 shooting. Gary is second on the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and tops the Huskers in both steals (1.2 spg) and blocked shots (0.9 bpg).

WILCHER MAKES CASE FOR BIG TEN’S BEST SIXTH MAN

• One of the most experienced players in the program, C.J. Wilcher has become one of the Big Ten’s best scoring threats off the bench this season. He is averaging 8.7 points per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range.
• Wilcher is second on the team in 3-pointers (45) and tops NU in 3-point percentage (.433), while averaging less than 20 minutes per game.
• Wilcher has 11 of his 12 double-figure efforts off the bench, which is the most by any Big Ten player (10, John Blackwell of Wisconsin).
• Wilcher has led NU in scoring five times from the bench, including twice in Big Ten action.

Nebraska’s KenPom notable numbers:

(out of 362 teams)

Tempo – No. 150 (Offense No. 49 / Defense No. 354)

Offensive Efficiency – No. 41

• The Cornhuskers have an effective field goal percentage of 52.9 percent (No. 77) on the season while shooting 52.1 percent from two (No. 112) and 35.9 percent from three (No. 74) as a team.
• Nebraska continues to shoot threes at a very high rate this season. 43.9 percent of their shots (3FGA/FGA) are from three (No. 36) and they make up 36.1 percent of their total points (No. 41).
• Nebraska still continues to struggle against length, with blocks happening at a 11.4 percent rate on the season (No. 317).
• The Cornhuskers’ assist number are also on the rise, with a 58.1 percent assist rate on every field goal made (No. 41).

Defensive Efficiency – No. 51

• Opponents of Nebraska hold a 46.8 effective field goal percentage (No. 34) and with teams shooting 32.8 percent from three (No. 125) and 45.1 percent from two (No. 18).
• Offensive rebounding has been a slight issue for the Cornhuskers, as they give them up at a 30.4 percent rate (No. 242).
• Nebraska does not get into foul trouble very often. Teams are not attempting a lot of free throws (26.0 percent rate of FTA/FGA, No. 27) and not many points come from the line either (15.9 percent, No. 319). Teams are finding a lot of their success coming from three, however (37.3 percent of total points, No. 15).

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