Nebraska Finally 'Found a Way' to Pick Up Important Big Ten Road Win

After losing their first seven Big Ten road games of the year, Nebraska finally got a victory away from Pinnacle Bank Arena, taking down Indiana 85-70 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Huskers now appear to be on a clear path for the NCAA Tournament.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Better late than never. That's the feeling for Nebraska, which finally picked up its first Big Ten road win of the season on Wednesday night, waltzing into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and steamrolling Indiana 85-70.

Nebraska has struggled outside the friendly confines of Pinnacle Bank Arena this season. Until Wednesday night's victory, the Huskers had dropped their seven previous road games. It had been the biggest blemish on their NCAA Tournament resumé. 

Five of those losses came by double figures. The other two were much closer, with Nebraska taking both Rutgers and Illinois to overtime. 

• Dec. 6 — Lost at Minnesota 76-65
• Jan. 6 — Lost at No. 21 Wisconsin 88-72
• Jan. 12 — Lost at Iowa 94-76
• Jan. 17 — Lost at Rutgers 87-82 (OT)
• Jan. 27 — Lost at Maryland 73-51
• Feb. 4 — Lost at No. 11 Illinois 87-84 (OT)
• Feb. 7 — Lost at Northwestern 80-68

By watching Wednesday night's game at Assembly Hall, you never would've guessed Nebraska was uncomfortable outside of Lincoln. 

The Huskers came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders. They connecting on nine-of-19 shots from 3-point range in the first half and shot a sizzling 57.5% from the floor through the opening 20 minutes. Keisei Tominaga was unstoppable, scoring 18 points in the half.

At halftime, it looked like Nebraska was going cruise to a victory, building a 51-31 advantage at recess.

Then, those nasty road troubles reared their ugly head. 

Indiana went on a 25-8 run in the first eight minutes, closing the gap to 59-56 at the under-12 timeout. In just a few minutes, all the hard work the Huskers put towards finally getting a conference road win had vanished.

Hoiberg used a timeout to rally the troops.

"I saw a little of that deer in headlights at that under-12 and the thing I said was, 'Fellas, before the game if you would've said we had a lead at the under-12 media timeout in the second half, I think we probably would've taken it,'" Hoiberg said.

"So let's get it back. Get our poise, get our composure. Then I think Sam (Hoiberg) got a big steal for us to get it going and then Jamarques just made play after play after play for us down the stretch."

Hoiberg's message worked. The Huskers countered Indiana's punch with a 14-1 run of their own, sparked by a Jamarques Lawrence 3-pointer. They quickly pushed the lead back out to 73-59, essentially sealing Indiana's fate.

Finally, three-quarters of the way through the Big Ten season, Nebraska secured a road win. Hoiberg couldn't have been prouder of the effort.

"The thing that I was most pleased with — I mean, that place was electric," Hoiberg said. "It got rolling in there and we found a way. We had not done that. Minnesota, we let a big one slip away. Rutgers in the second half we let slip away, so to find a way to build that thing back up and respond with a 7-0 run and push it back to double figures was huge."

The lack of a road win was the biggest knock against Nebraska having a guaranteed spot in March Madness. Now, the Huskers seemed to have found a home in the NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska has swept the state of Indiana, defeating the Hoosiers twice and upsetting then-No. 1 Purdue in January. It owns a nonconference road win win over Kansas State and upset then-No. 6 Wisconsin.

It might've taken a few years, but Hoiberg has finally constructed a tournament team in Lincoln.

• INDIANA-NEBRASKA-LIVE BLOG: Welcome to our live blog for Indiana's matchup against Nebraska, where we'll share live updates, highlights and thoughts on the game from press row at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
• IU'S FREE THROW STRUGGLES: Indiana is one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country despite its frequent trips to the line. Several Hoosiers have become worse free throw shooters throughout their careers. Coach Mike Woodson said it's a mental issue. CLICK HERE
• MEET THE OPPONENT: Nebraska heads to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the return game against Indiana on Wednesday. The Huskers won the first meeting in Lincoln 86-70. The Hoosiers are looking for revenge on their home court while the Huskers are searching for their first Big Ten road win. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Mike Woodson is going to be 66 years old in a few weeks, and the Indiana basketball coach can't keep doing this forever. He was asked Tuesday how long he wants to coach and he said ''I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, guys.'' CLICK HERE