LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Game at Nebraska in Real Time Live From Press Row

Indiana plays its first Big Ten road game on Friday night, taking on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. Here's our live blog with Indiana Hoosiers on SI publisher Tom Brew straight from press row, with all the news, views and opinions live in real time.

Indiana guard Trey Galloway (32) dribbles against Nebraska in the second half of a game at Pinnacle Bank Arena in 2023. / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

LINCOLN, Neb. — Indiana takes on Nebraska Friday night in the Hoosiers' first Big Ten road game of the season. It's a national TV showdown — on your local FOX station at 8 p.m. ET — and the chance for Indiana to join Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA at 2-0 in league play.

Welcome to our live blog, straight from press row at the beautiful Pinnacle Bank Arena. (It's a lonely place. I am the ONLY Indiana beat writer here). I'll keep you updated on all the news and views from the game, plus throw in some opinion and highlights along the way.

All the latest items are at the top, so just keep refreshing and you'll see it all. Enjoy the game!

9:39 p.m. ET — Myles Rice is up to 20 points now for the Hoosiers and he's got this game tied at 64-64. He's got four steals, all leading to buckets. Refs are calling all inside contact as fouls. Malik Reneau picks up his fourth with 8:29 to go, and Oumar Ballo comes back in.

9:33 p.m. ET — Indiana's defense hasn't been very good tonight. Keep getting lost on screens, especially inside. Their making Andrew Morgan look like a star. And the under-12 timeout now and Nebraska leads 62-58 with 11:19 to go. Myles Rice with 16 for the Hoosiers.

9:22 p.m. ET — We are at the under-16 timeout and Nebraska leads 51-47. Hoosiers just 2-for-8 from the field to start, and 1-6 from three. There's 15:47 to go.

9:17 p.m. ET — Second half rolling and Mackenzie Mgbako is back on the floor for the Hoosiers. Sat out all but a minute of the first half with two fouls. He's made two nice defensive plays already, which is good to see. Not backing off. But Malik Reneau picks up his third just a minute it, and he sits. Luke Goode comes in.

9:02 p.m. ET — Some halftime stats that jump out. Only four turnovers for Indiana. Bryson Tucker 1-for-6 and Kanaan Carlyle 0-for4. The rest of the team shot 12-for-19, a nice 63.2 percent. Those two need to be better. No field goals for Indiana the final four-plus minutes.

HALFTIME — We're at the turn, and Nebraska leads 44-41. Tough last few minutes for the Hoosiers. Missed several shots and didn't get much help from the refs. Oumar Ballo and Luke Goode were both pushed to the ground on one possession and no call.

8:48 p.m. ET — Center Oumar Ballo is having a nice half for the Hoosiers. Hits two straight buckets — one a dunk on a nice lob pass from Trey Galloway — and then a nice floater in the lane. We're at the under-4 media timeout now and Nebraska, on a 7-0 run, leads 40-37 with 2:30 to go.

8:44 p.m. ET — I wonder if Mike Woodson is going to get Mackenzie Mgbako back in the game before halftime. Left after just one minute with two fouls.

8:41 p.m. ET — Forgot to mention it earlier, but Earl Walton, Doug Sirmons and Kelly Pfeifer are tonight's officials.

8:34 p.m. ET — We're at the under-8 media timeout now and Indiana trails 29-28. Nebraska hit a couple of threes when Anthony Leal and Kanaan Carlyle left weak-side shooters. A well-discussed flaw in Indiana's defensive system.

8:28 p.m. ET — Malik Reneau fights inside and gets fouled. He goes to the line and makes both. Indiana leads 20-19. Nice comeback from 10 down.

8:24 p.m. ET — Luke Goode knocks down a three from the left corner and now Indiana is down just one at 19-18. Second media timeout at 11:52. It's a good sign that Indiana is winning the long-ball battle so far. Three three-pointers for the Hoosiers, just one for Nebraska. It was a 40-18 discrepancy a year ago.

8:20 p.m. ET — Nebraska is doubling both Indiana bigs — Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo — on every interior touch. Ballo passes out of it and after a good rotation, Bryson Tucker knocks down a three. Reneau adds two free throws and it's 17-15 now.

8:17 p.m. ET — We've hit the first media timeout at the 14:49 mark and Nebraska leads 17-10. The Cornhuskers are a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. Hoosiers need to be better, much better, defensively.

8:14 p.m. ET — Back-to-back steals by Myles Rice leads to two straight runouts for the Hoosiers. Rice lays one in, then hits Malik Reneau with a perfect pass for a dunk. Indiana back within five at 13-8.

8:12 p.m. ET — Trey Galloway gets Indiana on the board with a three-pointer, but Nebraska answers on the other end and Mike Woodson has to call timeout. Nebraska up double-digits already, 13-3. Looks so familiar to last year's disasters.

8:10 p.m. ET — Brice Williams is picking on Bryson Tucker, scoring on back-to-back drives. It's 8-0 Nebraska out of the blocks.

8:05 p.m. ET — Indiana wins the tip, but Myles Rice misses a jumper from the free throw line. Nebraska rebounds. On the other end, Mackenzie Mgbako picks up TWO fouls just a few seconds apart. Had to go the bench early, and freshman Bryson Tucker comes in.

7:50 p.m. ET — Indiana needs to defend the three tonight. In the three losses to Nebraska last year, they gave up a combined FORTY threes. Got to keep them to eight tops tonight.

7:40 p.m. ET — Trey Galloway remains in the starting lineup for Indiana. Joined by Myles Rice, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo.

Friday starters. ✅ pic.twitter.com/b3El9QOf91

— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) December 14, 2024

7:30 p.m. ET — There's been very little movement in the point spread today. It's still 4.5 for Nebraska. Seems like that's relying more on last year's matchups that what's real right now. I think it's too many, but that's just my opinion. I can't see Nebraska making 14 threes tonight. Here's my story from earlier on all the point spread-related history. CLICK HERE

7:20 p.m. ET — Junior forward Malik Reneau is close to reaching a milestone. He's just 22 away from scoring 900 for his career at Indiana. He leads the Hoosiers in scoring at 15.5 points per game. He has 878 career points.

7:15 p.m ET — Indiana is without sophomore guard Gabe Cupps tonight. He had knee surgery earlier this week. He's unknown how much time he will miss, but coach Mike Woodson said he's probably out for the year. He hasn't played since Nov. 29 against Providence in the Bahamas. He's played in four games this year, a total of 25 minutes. He is 0-for-4 from the field and has yet to score. Guards Myles Rice and Jakai Newton were listed as questionable on the Big Ten mandated injury report, but they were both warming up pregame and are ready to play.

7:10 p.m ET — Indiana got walloped here a year ago, and their last win at Pinnacle Bank Arena came on Jan. 17, 2022 when the Hoosiers won 77-71. That was a big-time Trayce Jackson-Davis game. The Indiana great had 23 points and 12 rebounds. The only current Hoosier who played in that game was Trey Galloway. He had nine points off the bench on 3-of-3 shooting, plus three free throws.

7:05 p.m. ET — I'm looking forward to seeing how Indiana freshman wing Bryson Tucker adjusts to his first true Big Ten road game. He had a season-best 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor in Indiana’s 82-67 win over Minnesota on Monday, and also collected six rebounds and just 20 minutes of action. The 2024 McDonald’s All-American leads the Hoosiers in points (6.4 per game) and rebounds (3.5) off the bench. He has scored 8-plus points in four games this season — Minnesota, Sam Houston, UNC Greensboro and Eastern Illinois — all Indiana wins. Tucker ranks among the top 10 in Big Ten rookies off the bench in rebounding (fourth at 5.5 per game), scoring (sixth at 6.4 per game), and total steals (tied for sixth at 5).

 Related stories on Indiana-Nebraska

• 3 THINGS TO WATCH: It’s Indiana first true road game of the 2024-25 season. As it is in many things, the Hoosiers record in such games in the Mike Woodson era is mixed. CLICK HERE

• MEET THE OPPONENT: Indiana heads to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers on Friday night. CLICK HERE.

• HOW TO WATCH: All of the information you need to know on how to watch Indiana's game against Nebraska on Friday. CLICK HERE.

• TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana got blown out by Nebraska three times a year ago, and one loss was more embarrassing than the other. Watching them again was tough on the eyes. The two teams meet Friday in Lincoln and the Hoosiers need to reverse some ugly trends. CLICK HERE

• CUPPS HAS SURGERY: Indiana guard Gabe Cupps had surgery for a meniscus injury on Wednesday. CLICK HERE.

• TODD GOLDEN COLUMN: Indiana guard Kanaan Carlyle’s presence was immediately felt by the Hoosiers in their 82-67 victory over Minnesota. He was a welcomed return to Indiana's lineup after missing three games with an injury. CLICK HERE

 

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