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Huskers Rout Indiana in Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals

Nebrasketball advances to its first-ever Big Ten semifinals with 93-66 blowout

Kaleb Henry

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
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It was an absolute no-doubter to begin the Big Ten Conference Tournament for Nebrasketball Friday night.

The No. 3 seed Huskers (23-9) dismantled the No. 6 seed Indiana (19-14) 93-66 in Minneapolis. The win snaps a five-game losing streak in the conference tournament for NU.

Brice Williams got the party started, scoring 14 of Nebraska's first 22 points as the Huskers grabbed an early lead that would never be relinquished. Williams finished with 23 points.

Then Keisei Tominaga took over with multiple ridiculous shots, including a step-back triple just before halftime to put NU up 50-27. Tominaga also finished the game with 23 points.

Nebraska shot 50% for the game, including 14-of-32 on 3s. A dozen of those made triples came in the first half.

Indiana managed to shoot 35%, making just 5-of-20 3s.

Into the conference tournament semifinals for the first time as a member of the Big Ten, Nebraska takes on the No. 2 seed Illinois at approximately 3 p.m. CDT Saturday.

Postgame notes

  • Nebraska won its 23rd game of the 2023-24 season, marking the second-most wins in school history.
  • Nebraska’s victory marked its first win in a Big Ten Tournament contest since 2019, and tomorrow will be Nebraska’s first-ever appearance in the Big Ten semifinals. The Huskers were last in a conference tournament semifinal in 2006 when the Huskers reached the Big 12 semifinals.
  • Nebraska’s 27-point win marked its largest margin of victory in a Big Ten Tournament game, surpassing a 17-point win over Rutgers in 2016 (89-72). It was also its largest in any conference tournament game in Nebraska history, bettering a 23-point win over Iowa State in 1983 (94-71) in a first-round Big Eight tournament game in Lincoln.
  • The win completed a three-game sweep of Indiana, marking the first time Nebraska has defeated a team three times in one season since sweeping three games from Rutgers in 2015-16.
  • Nebraska connected on 14-of-32 3-pointers in the game, marking its 16th game this season with at least 10 3-pointers, including all three matchups with Indiana. The Huskers connected on a total of 40 3-pointers in three games against the Hoosiers this season, with at least 12 in each game.
  • Nebraska’s 14 3-pointers tied a season high (four times).
  • The 14 3-pointers are the most Nebraska has made in a conference tournament game in school history. The previous high was 11 against Maryland in 2016 (31 att.). Nebraska eclipsed that total before halftime with 12 first-half 3-pointers.
  • Nebraska scored 50 points in the first half to take a 50-27 halftime lead. It marked the Huskers’ second straight game with 50 first-half points after leading Michigan 50-43 at halftime last Sunday in Ann Arbor.
  • Nebraska held Indiana to 35.3 percent shooting in the game, marking the 12th straight game Nebraska has limited the opposition to 43 percent or less.
  • Keisei Tominaga scored 23 points, including 18 before halftime. Tonight’s game marked Tominaga’s seventh 20-point game of the season and the 17th of his Nebraska career.
  • Tominaga made 4-of-7 3-pointers, including 4-of-6 before halftime. It marked his seventh game this season with at least four 3-pointers.
  • Tominaga finished with a career-high five assists, bettering his previous high of four on two occasions earlier this sea­son.
  • Brice Williams’ 23 points were his most since scoring a season-high 25 points against Oregon State on Nov. 18. It was his third 20-point game of the season.
  • Williams had four 3-pointers in the game, all in the first half. The four 3-pointers tied a career high.
  • Jamarques Lawrence scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. It was Lawrence’s 10th double-figure scoring game of the season with five of those since Feb. 7. Lawrence made at least three 3-pointers for the fifth time this season, including two against Indiana.
  • Notes courtesy of Nebraska Athletics
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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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