Meet the Opponent: Nebraska Looks For Third Win Over Indiana in Big Ten Tournament

Indiana advanced to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, where the No. 6 seed Hoosiers will face No. 3 seed Nebraska, which won both regular season matchups. Here's a full breakdown of the Cornhuskers.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Big Ten Tournament continues on Friday with a quarterfinal matchup between No. 6 seed Indiana and No. 3 seed Nebraska at approximately 9 p.m. ET. The Hoosiers defeated Penn State 61-59 on Thursday, while the Cornhuskers had an extra day of rest after earning the double-bye.

Nebraska defeated Indiana 86-70 on Jan. 3 in Lincoln, then won its first Big Ten road game of the season, 85-70, at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. on Feb. 21. Across the two matchups, All-Big Ten guard Keisei Tominaga combined to score 48 points. 

Here's a full breakdown of the Cornhuskers.

Key returners

(2023-24 stats)

• G Keisei Tominaga: 14.6 ppg, 37.1 3-pt FG%
• F Juwan Gary: 11.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 50.2 FG%
• G C.J. Wilcher: 8.1 ppg, 40.5 3-pt FG%
• G Jamarques Lawrence: 6.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 34.4 3-pt FG%
• G Sam Hoiberg: 3.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 31.9 3-pt FG%

Key departures

(2022-23 stats)

• F Derrick Walker: 13.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.9 apg
• G Sam Griesel: 12.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.8 apg
• G Emmanuel Bandoumel: 8.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
• F Wilhelm Breidenbach: 3.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Key newcomers

(2023-24 stats)

• F Rienk Mast (Bradley transfer): 12.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 43.8 FG%
• G Brice Williams (Charlotte transfer): 12.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 37.7 3-pt FG%
• F Josiah Allick (New Mexico transfer): 6.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 51.4 FG%
• G Eli Rice (No. 200 freshman): 4.2 ppg, 37.0 3-pt FG%

Schedule (22-9, 12-8 in Big Ten)

• W, 84-52 vs. Lindenwood
• W, 81-54 vs. Florida A&M
• W, 64-50 vs. Rider
• W, 84-63 vs. Stony Brook
• W, 84-63 vs. Oregon State (neutral site, South Dakota)
• W, 89-79 vs. Duquesne
• W, 85-72 vs. Cal State Fullerton
• L, 89-60 vs. Creighton
• L, 76-65 at Minnesota
• W, 77-70 vs. Michigan State
• W, 62-46 at Kansas State
• W, 83-75 vs. North Dakota
• W, 91-62 vs. South Carolina State
• W, 86-70 vs. Indiana
• L, 88-72 at No. 21 Wisconsin
• W, 88-72 vs. No. 1 Purdue
• L, 94-76 at Iowa
• L, 87-82 at Rutgers (OT)
• W, 75-69 vs. Northwestern
• W, 83-69 vs. Ohio State
• L, 73-51 at Maryland
• W, 80-72 vs. No. 6 Wisconsin
• L, 87-84 at No. 14 Illinois
• L, 80-68 at Northwestern
• W, 79-59 vs. Michigan
• W, 68-49 vs. Penn State
• W, 85-70 at Indiana
• W, 73-55 vs. Minnesota
• L, 78-69 at Ohio State
• W, 67-56 vs. Rutgers
• W, 85-70 at Michigan

Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Keisei Tominaga (30) dribbles the ball while Indiana Hoosiers guard Gabe Cupps (2) defends in the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Woodson's history against Nebraska

• L, 85-70 vs. Nebraska on Feb. 21, 2024 at Assembly Hall
• L, 86-70 at Nebraska on Jan. 3, 2024 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
• W, 81-65 vs. Nebraska on Dec. 7, 2022 at Assembly Hall
• W, 78-71 at Nebraska on Jan. 17, 2022 at Pinnacle Bank Arena
• W, 68-55 vs. Nebraska on Dec. 4, 2021 at Assembly Hall

Nebraska coach: Fred Hoiberg

Hoiberg is in his fifth season at Nebraska, by far his best year since taking over the program. The Huskers totaled just nine Big Ten wins in his first three seasons at Lincoln, closing out each campaign with a losing record.

Nebraska made a big jump last season, finishing with a 9-11 mark in Big Ten play and going 16-16 overall. While it was still short of any postseason berth, things started looking up in Lincoln. This year, Hoiberg won co-Big Ten Coach of the Year, and the Cornhuskers should make the NCAA Tournament.

Strengths

Sharpshooter Keisei Tominaga is the matchup Indiana must do a better job on this time around. The 6-foot-2 guard made 8-of-19 3-point attempts across both regular season games against the Hoosiers, scoring a combined 48 points. Indiana lost him a few times on ball screens, but he's also capable of knocking down highly contested shots. Even if Tominaga has a rare off night, Nebraska has various other 3-point shooters like Brice Williams, Jamarques Lawrence and C.J. Wilcher that each shoot above 34% from beyond the arc. As a team, Nebraska ranks 33rd nationally in 3-point attempt rate, 84th in 3-point percentage and 45th in assist rate. 

Perhaps the biggest reason for Nebraska's first winning season in five years under Fred Hoiberg is an improved defense. Nebraska ranks 28th nationally in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric, fifth best among Big Ten teams. While there's no intimidating shot blocker – starting bigs Juwan Gary and Rienk Mast average 0.8 and 0.5 blocks per game, respectively – opponents shoot an awful 45.1% on 2-point attempts against Nebraska. That's 14th best in the nation from a defensive standpoint. Something will have to give against Indiana bigs Kel'el Ware and Malik Reneau, who both shoot over 59% on 2-point attempts.

Weaknesses

Nebraska is one win away from its most in any season since 1990-91, but it'll have to do so away from home. And that's no guarantee. The Cornhuskers won 18 of their 22 games in the comfort of Pinnacle Bank Arena but went just 4-8 away from home. Nebraska lost its first seven Big Ten road games, five of which by 11 or more points. It didn't win a conference road game until Feb. 21 at Indiana, coincidentally. The Cornhuskers concluded the regular season with an 85-70 win at Michigan, one of the worst Power 5 teams at 8-24. They're set to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014, when they won their first tournament game in program history. Getting a second win in the Big Dance will require far better play away from home, something that hasn't happened often this season.

Season outlook

After going 40-83 across his first four seasons, coach Fred Hoiberg has a chance to set the program record for most wins since 1991, if Nebraska beats Indiana on Friday. It'll also be the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade. Hoiberg was named co-Big Ten Coach of the Year, along with Purdue's Matt Painter. Two Cornhuskers, Keisei Tominaga and Rienk Mast, made the All-Big Ten teams. 

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