On the heels of an out-of-nowhere upset of seventh-ranked Creighton on Sunday, Nebraska looked to win their fourth straight road game Wednesday against a top-25 team. Unlike Creighton, Indiana started fast and never let up in an 81-65 blowout win over the Huskers in Bloomington.
All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis paced IU with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, the first triple-double by a Husker opponent in school history.
Nebraska sophomore C.J. Wilcher scored a career-high 22 points to lead the comeback attempt, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Senior Emmanuel Bandoumel added 13 points, and senior Derrick Walker and junior Keisei Tominaga contributed 11 apiece.
Sam Griesel, the Huskers’ senior point guard who finished strong in the 63-53 Sunday victory over Creighton, became ill before tip-off and was ruled out.
14th-ranked Indiana (8-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) sprinted out to leads of 14-2 and 20-5 to start the game. Nebraska (6-4, 0-1) missed 11 of their first 13 shots, while IU began 8-for-13.
Despite the rough start, NU played the rest of the half pretty even with the Hoosiers, trailing 39-26 at the break. Fred Hoiberg’s bunch even went on a 6-0 run to start the second half, cutting the lead to just seven at 39-32.
Indiana fired back to lead again by 11 at 43-32, but Wilcher then scored Nebraska’s next nine points to again get the Hoosier advantage down to seven, 48-41.
That’s when IU landed the knockout punch. A 14-0 run for Indiana all but ended the game. The Husker scoring drought lasted 4:34, with five straight missed shots, while the Hoosiers went 5-6 over the same stretch.
Despite the 21-point deficit, the largest of the game, Nebraska didn’t go away. NU hit 9-of-11 field goals after falling behind by 21. IU, with Jackson-Davis a couple assists away from the triple-double, kept their foot on the gas and finished off the 16-point victory.
Junior forward Juwan Gary led the Huskers in rebounds with seven. Walker nabbed five boards and passed out a team-high five assists as well. His 11 points make it 5-for-5 on double-figure scoring this season since returning from a health issue.
Nebraska will return home to take on #4 Purdue this Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 1:15pm.