Indiana Basketball: It takes overtime but Hoosiers get win over Nebraska

The Indiana basketball team got its first Big Ten win on Friday night against Nebraska. In a game where they didn’t play the best they still got the win.

The Hoosiers got off to a great start Friday jumping out to a nine-point lead and it looked like they were well on their way to coasting to an easy win. But a 10-0 Nebraska run put them right back in the game. That would be the last big run for either team as the game would remain close the rest of the night.

The Hoosiers were able to take a one-point lead into halftime after going down by three with just over four minutes left to go in the first half. A quick 9-5 run to end the half was enough to give Indiana the lead.

The Hoosiers started off slow in the second half as Nebraska was able to take a three-point lead after a mini five-point run, but Indiana answered right back with five straight of their own to take a lead and would never trail the rest of the game.

The game would remain close until the Hoosiers started to pull away in the last five minutes of the game and it looked like they would win easily. Trayce Jackson-Davis took over late, scoring from inside and the foul line to help the Hoosiers take a lead that looked like would take Indiana to an easy win but Nebraska wouldn’t go away.

The Cornhuskers kept clawing their way back and had a golden opportunity to tie the game with 37 seconds left when Dachon Burke Jr got fouled and hit a three. But he would miss the free throw and it looked like Nebraska was done but Burke would redeem himself by hitting a long three with one second left to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The Hoosiers scored the first six points in overtime but two big threes by the Cornhuskers kept it close. But Rob Phinisee would take over and the Hoosiers hit enough shots late to come away with the 96-90 win in overtime.

Jackson-Davis recorded yet another double-double scoring a career-high 25 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. He did all of this after having just three points and five rebounds at halftime. He was just too much down the stretch for the Cornhuskers to handle. Justin Smith and Al Durham both scored in double-figures to help out as 10 total Hoosiers scored on the night.

Free throw shooting and rebounding were the keys to the game for the Hoosiers. Getting to the line has been an advantage for Indiana ll year and this game was no different. The Hoosiers went 27-38 from the stripe while the Cornhuskers went just 11-16. Indiana also outrebounded Nebraska 54-31 on the night.

It was a positive for a Hoosiers team that really struggled to beat a Cornhuskers team that had not looked good this year. In what was like a must-win game for the Hoosiers they were able to come through even though it looked ugly.

The win puts the Hoosiers at 1-1 in the Big Ten as they play two non-conference games against Notre Dame and Arkansas next week.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Hoosiers as they must play Maryland, Northwestern, and Ohio State in their next three Big Ten games. But getting the win tonight keeps them from getting too far back in the standings.