Nebrasketball: Huskers Dominate #25 Indiana 66-51 in Gritty Road Win

An opportunity on the road to pick up what would be a huge NCAA tournament booster and confidence booster, the Huskers traveled to #25 Indiana tonight.

Miles Jacket Tracker: 19:38 (right after a quick Roby dunk)

Past couple games Nebraska hasn’t shot too well...but what a start! Going on a quick 9-0 run was great to see, but what made it even better? Bill Rafferty. Hearing “puppies in order” and “the big fella” is all I’ve wanted in the past couple seasons. Hopefully Nebraska can get Gus Johnson soon.

Of course as soon as I think “maybe their offensive woes went away after Penn State”, they go on a three minute scoring drought to let Indiana cut the lead to four. These droughts have been common at points in the season, and it has gotten the team down most of the time. Seems like something switched tonight.

James Palmer Jr. and Isaiah Roby led the resilient response, highlighting a 18-5 Nebraska run to extended the lead to 25-9 at the U8 Media Timeout. However, an inevitable scoring drought spelled the Huskers once again, with the team scoring one point between the U8 and U4 Media Timeout.

Indiana caught all of the momentum during that time span, cutting the lead all the way down to six with around three minutes left. If not for what James Palmer Jr. did here, that momentum would’ve stayed with the Hoosiers:

After the break both teams caught fire, with Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan inserting their presence right out the gates. With the lead down to three, Indiana’s home crowd got into the game, until Glynn Watson Jr. began to shoot from behind the arc.

Back to back three pointers and then a floater at the foul line, Watson scored eight points between the U16 and U12 Media Timeout, showing off his senior prowess on the road as Nebraska extended their lead to 52-38 with 11 minutes to go. Watson even did well when he messed up:

Credit to Thomas Allen Jr. as well, making two threes during that span. While Watson and Allen scored the majority of the points on their huge run, everyone contributed, something that hasn’t happened recently. With Roby in “foul” (some questionable calls) trouble, having everyone on top of their game was crucial.

The rest of the way Nebraska controlled with ease, specifically on the defensive side. Indiana averages the best field goal percentage in the Big Ten, but the defense had no problem with that, holding the Hoosiers to 51 points.

Even with Roby and Copeland in foul trouble, Nebraska picked up a huge road win, one that I “starred” on my own schedule I have written out on my whiteboard at home. Now they have #6 Michigan State at home, a game that will mean so much more now that Nebraska stunned Indiana on the road.

Final Score: Nebraska 66 Indiana 51