Written by: TJ Inman
The Nebraska Cornhuskers improved to 16-0 and 5-0 in the Big Ten, overcoming a nine-point halftime deficit with an assist from a pair of foul calls on Tucker DeVries that flipped the game. Nebraska went from down ten to ahead by two with Indiana’s senior leader sidelined with four fouls and the Hoosiers never recovered, falling 83-77 as Nebraska won their 20th game in a row.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers started hot, shredding IU’s defense with quick passing and accurate shooting to take a 14-7 lead before a pair of Indiana three-pointers woke the Assembly Hall crowd and trimmed the lead to one point. Indiana’s defense buckled down and Lamar Wilkerson warmed up, getting into a rhythm and getting some help from Trent Sisley and Conor Enright to surge into the lead at 27-26. Nebraska retook the lead at 28-27 but IU finished the half on a 12-2 run and led 39-30 at the break. Lamar Wilkerson continued his scorching hot form to begin the second half and the Hoosiers extended the lead to 16 points before a pair of critical calls flipped the game. Tucker DeVries got bowled over by a Nebraska player but was called for a blocking foul while laying on his back. On the other end, he was called for an offensive foul and he headed to the bench with four fouls. The visitors took advantage of the sudden change in momentum, draining three straight triples and going on an extended run to take a two-point lead before Tucker DeVries re-entered the contest with a little bit less than six minutes left. Indiana went ice-cold from the field and Nebraska made timely baskets to pull away, holding off IU and dropping the Hoosiers to 12-4 (3-2) with a very difficult stretch of games ahead.
IU got 32 points from Lamar Wilkerson but he faded down the stretch and ended up only 9-20 from the field. Tucker DeVries had 17 points and six rebounds and Reed Bailey had ten points to round out the Hoosiers in double-figures. IU had 14 turnovers to Nebraska’s 8 and Tayton Conerway was particularly ineffective. Indiana will certainly rue this missed opportunity as they now take on a stretch of five games that includes matchups at Michigan State, at Michigan and against Iowa and Purdue.