Live Blog: Follow Indiana's Game Against Nebraska in Real Time

Welcome to our live blog for Wednesday's game between Indiana and Nebraska, where we'll share live updates, highlights and thoughts on the game live from press row at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.

Jack Ankony | Jan 3, 2024

Live Blog: Follow Indiana's Game Against Nebraska in Real Time /

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Indiana Hoosiers

LINCOLN, Neb. – It's Big Ten play the rest of the way for Indiana, as coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers travel to Nebraska for a 9 p.m. ET tipoff Wednesday night.

Indiana is coming off a 100-87 win over Kennesaw State on Friday, thanks to a career-high 34 points from sophomore forward Malik Reneau. On the other side, Nebraska is off to an 11-2 start and most recently defeated South Carolina State, 91-62.

Welcome to our live blog, where we'll share live updates, highlights and thoughts on the game live from press row at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.

10:11 p.m. – Final: Nebraska 86, Indiana 70. Indiana falls to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Not many positives to take away from Indiana's performance outside of 20 points from Kel'el Ware.

10:02 p.m. – Nebraska leads 83-64 with three minutes left.

9:51 p.m. – Tominaga hits three free throws after being fouled by CJ Gunn, then Williams banks in a three. Barring a miracle, that should do it. Indiana trails 73-53 with 6:48 left in the game. Pretty much nothing has worked for Indiana tonight outside of Ware's offensive performance. He's got 20 points.

9:44 p.m. – Mast picks up his third foul but stays in the game. IU trailing 64-53 with 8:23 to play.

9:41 p.m. – Reneau left Tominaga open on an offensive rebound, and Tominaga knocks down the three. That's inexcusable defense to leave a talented shooter like that.

9:39 p.m. – CJ Gunn checks in for the first time tonight. He's been a regular part of the rotation this year, but Anthony Leal has started to take some of his minutes. Indiana needs someone aside from Kel'el Ware to be an offensive threat. Ware is up to 20 points, as IU trails 61-50 with 10:04 left.

9:37 p.m. – Kaleb Banks fouls Sam Hoiberg on a three, and he goes 3-for-3 at the free throw line, pushing Nebraska's lead back to 14 points.

9:31 p.m. – Reneau hits a corner three, but Brice Williams answers with a three of his own to put Nebraska back on top by 11 points. Indiana can't get this lead past eight or so points.

9:28 p.m. – Ware called for a Flagrant 1 foul defending Allick. As Ware came down after trying to block the shot, his arm fell over Allick's shoulder and neck area, causing him to fall to the ground. Don't think it was anything malicious from Ware, but it's a foul.

9:25 p.m. – Cupps knocks down a corner three, and Nebraska's lead is down to nine points. Indiana is hanging around, but must get defensive stops.

9:22 p.m. – Getting defensive stops is the first priority as IU tries to make a comeback, but on offense it must keep going to Kel'el Ware and Malik Reneau inside. Ware has 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting.

9:19 p.m. – Jamarques Lawrence good from three, and Nebraska's lead is up to 51-36. Poor performance from Indiana's defense tonight, just giving up way too many open threes.

9:17 p.m. – Xavier Johnson picks up his third foul at the 18:04 mark of the second half. It hasn't been a good first game back from him. He's got zero points, four turnovers, three fouls, three assists and two rebounds.

9:13 p.m. – Mgbako strayed too far away from Brice Williams, who opened the second half with a three. Indiana has allowed way too many open threes. Tominaga sinks a mid-range jumper, and Woodson calls a quick timeout to start the second half. Indiana is in serious trouble, trailing 46-33.

9:00 p.m. – Ware leads IU with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting, and IU should keep feeding him all second half. Nebraska doesn't have anyone that can consistently guard him. Wilcher leads Nebraska with 11 points on 3-for-5 3-point shooting.

8:58 p.m. – Halftime: Nebraska 41, Indiana 33. Nebraska scored 14 points off nine Indiana turnovers, and four Hoosiers have two fouls. Defense has to tighten up for Indiana. Offensively, the ball should get to Ware, Reneau or Walker in the paint every possession.

8:51 p.m. – IU getting in a bit of foul trouble just before halftime. Johnson, Reneau and Mgbako each have two fouls. Nebraska leads 41-31 with 1:11 left. Mike Woodson calls timeout.

8:49 p.m. – Mast makes a layup over Ware, and Nebraska's lead is now up to 40-30 with two minutes left in the half. IU has to keep this below 12 points or so before the half.

8:46 p.m. – Xavier Johnson back in the game. He's 0-for-3 with three assists, four turnovers and two rebounds in his first game back.

8:45 p.m. – Nebraska is 4-for-15 from three so far, and they've missed several open looks. The Cornhuksers have six-point lead with 3:42 left in the first half, but it could easily be a 10-point lead.

8:42 p.m. – Mgbako back in the game for IU, replacing Leal, who gave Indiana a solid five minutes. Indiana is just 2-for-8 from three so far, and could use an outside shot or two from Mgbako, though Nebraska hasn't shown it can stop Ware inside.

8:40 p.m. – Cupps hits a mid-range jumper, and Nebraska's lead is down to 30-26 with 5:10 left in the half. Indiana is shooting 57.1% so far, but the eight turnovers have been really costly. Have to clean that up on the road. Galloway is also 0-for-3 from three.

8:32 p.m. – Anthony Leal in the game now for the Hoosiers. Mike Woodson has mentioned in recent interviews that the senior has earned more minutes in practice lately. Leal knocks down a corner three while being fouled, cutting Nebraska's lead to 30-24 at the under-8 timeout. He'll have a free throw on the other end.

8:30 p.m. – Wilcher good from three again, and Nebraska's lead is up to 25-19. The Hoosiers have seven turnovers, and that's really killing them so far. Nebraska doesn't have a post defender that can hang with Kel'el Ware or Malik Reneau, so the ball should go inside every possession for Indiana.

8:26 p.m. – Good ball movement from Indiana to free Xavier Johnson for a drive, but he misses the layup and tip in. Johnson redeems himself with a nice pass to Walker for an easy layup on the following possession.

8:21 p.m. – C.J. Wilcher knocks down a three, and Nebraska has its biggest lead of the game at 18-13. That's a 7-0 run for the Cornhuskers, who are capitalizing on Indiana's five turnovers.

8:19 p.m. – Two fouls on Nebraska leading scorer Brice Williams at the 14:33 mark of the first half. IU already has four turnovers, the most recent one leading to a Juwan Gary layup for Nebraska. We're tied up again, 13-13.

8:18 p.m. – Nifty pass from Reneau to a cutting Galloway for a reverse layup. Reneau has really improved that area of his game this year, along with his 3-point shooting. IU up 11-9.

8:13 p.m. – First sub for Nebraska is Josiah Allick for Rienk Mast and Gabe Cupps for Xavier Johnson. Will be interesting to see how much Johnson plays tonight coming off injury. Game is tied 9-9 at the under-16 timeout.

8:11 p.m. – Mast called for a foul on a moving screen. He can't really hang with Ware inside right now, and foul trouble would only enhance that mismatch. Indiana leads 9-6.

8:09 p.m. – Nice set from Indiana to free up Mackenzie Mgbako for a three on the wing. He ran across the baseline and was freed up by a screen. Indiana leads 7-4 early on and looking good offensively.

8:07 p.m. – Easy layup inside for Kel'el Ware on the first possession after winning the tip. Brice Williams answers with jumper for two.

8:04 p.m. – Xavier Johnson back in the starting lineup with Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware. For Nebraska, it's Jamarques Lawrence, Keisei Tominaga, Brice Williams, Juwan Gary and Rienk Mast.

7:48 p.m. – A few storylines to watch entering this game. Indiana seems to have a front court advantage with Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware. Can Rienk Mast stay out of foul trouble in his first game back from injury? Nebraska doesn't have much depth behind him, and Mast is not the most physical big Indiana will see this year. On the other side, will Indiana defend the 3-point line better than it has? Woodson's system is more geared toward limiting drives to the basket, but it's susceptible to allowing threes. Nebraska can certainly make them, with seven Cornhuskers having made at least nine this year, six of which shoot 33.3.% or higher.

7:00 p.m. – All three Hoosiers that were listed questionable – Xavier Johnson, Kel'el Ware and Payton Sparks – are in uniforms and going through pregame warmups. It certainly looks like they'll all play, which would be a big boost for the Hoosiers. Indiana hasn't been this healthy since Nov. 20 against Louisville.

Kel’el Ware and Payton Sparks also warming up after being listed questionable. #iubb pic.twitter.com/EY42mVNlPY
— Jack Ankony (@ankony_jack) January 4, 2024

Indiana PG Xavier Johnson in uniform for warmups, too. Hasn’t played since Nov. 26 against Harvard. #iubb pic.twitter.com/lQz0GaaSvH
— Jack Ankony (@ankony_jack) January 4, 2024

6:15 p.m. – Nebraska starting center Rienk Mast is listed questionable for tonight's game. He was averaging 13 points and 9.9 rebounds before undergoing knee surgery. Mast has missed the last two games, and coach Fred Hoiberg said he'll be a game-time decision Wednesday.

6:10 p.m. – Indiana is expected to have starting point guard Xavier Johnson and center Kel'el Ware back in the lineup tonight, according to a report from Jeff Goodman. Johnson hasn't played since Nov. 26, but was averaging 10.5 points prior to his foot or ankle injury. Ware missed last game with an illness. He's averaging 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds this year.

6:00 p.m. – We've made it to Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln as Indiana is set to resume Big Ten play against Nebraska at 8 p.m. CT.

Indiana takes on Nebraska Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. — Indiana takes on Nebraska Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena

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