Published Dec 4, 2021
Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Indiana
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Robin Washut  •  InsideNebraska
Senior Writer
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@RobinWashut

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-3) vs Indiana Hoosiers (6-1)

Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021 - 11 a.m. CT

Assembly Hall

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

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Nebraska projected starters
NAMEHT/WTYEARNOTES

Alonzo Verge Jr.

6-3/164

Sr.

Nearly posted a triple-double at NC State with 25 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds in 54 minutes played.

Bryce McGowens

6-7/179

Fr.

Had 24 points and nine rebounds at NCSU. He now has four 20-point efforts in his first eight games, the fourth-most by an NU freshman.

Keon Edwards

6-7/204

Fr.

Made his fifth straight start but played just 5 of the 60 minutes at NC State. He had 1 rebound and was 0-1 shooting.

Lat Mayen

6-9/217

Jr.

Had 8 points and 4 rebounds before being ejected in the second half against NC State.

Derrick Walker

6-9/239

Jr.

Posted his first career double-double with 12 points and a career high 13 rebounds at NCSU. He also added two blocked shots and two steals.

Indiana projected starters
NAMEHT/WTYEARNOTES

Xavier Johnson

6-3/200

Jr.

Former Nebraska signee and transfer from Pitt. Ranks second on the team with 10.7 ppg and fifth in the Big Ten with 4.6 apg.

Parker Stewart

6-4/196

Jr.

Averages 8.6 points per game and while shooting 47.4% from 3-point range on a team-high 38 attempts from behind the arc.

Miller Kopp

6-7/220

Jr.

Averages 10.1 ppg while shooting 38.5% from 3-point range and 94.4% at the free-throw line.

Race Thompson

6-8/235

Jr.

Scoring 9.9 points and ranks second on the team with 8.6 rebounds per game. Also leads IU with 1.4 steals per game.

Trayce Jackson-Davis

6-9/245

Jr.

First-team All-Big Ten selection and All-American candidate. Ranks 2nd in the conference at 22.0 ppg on 66.7% shooting from the field and is 3rd with 8.9 rpg and 1st with 3.7 bpg.

3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Contain TJD

Nebraska's first conference game of the season will be against one of the best overall players the Big Ten has to offer in Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis.

A third-team All-American and first-team all-league selection by the media, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound junior was the only high-major player in the country to average over 19 points and nine rebounds last season.

He's continued that production and then some so far this year, ranking second in the Big Ten in scoring (22.0 ppg), third in rebounding (8.7 rpg), and first in blocked shots (3.7 bpg).

Indiana doesn't shoot many 3-pointers, ranking 10th in the conference with 141 attempts, yet they are third in the Big Ten in scoring at 82.1 ppg.

That means IU is going to make it point to get the ball into the paint as much as possible, and Jackson-Davis is going to be the primary option every time down court.

2. Be smart at the rim

Nebraska had really struggled with getting its shots blocked over head coach Fred Hoiberg's first two seasons. But the Huskers had done a much better job in that regard through the first seven games of 2021-22.

Then North Carolina State swatted 11 NU shots on Wednesday night, including eight Ebenezer Dowuona alone.

NU has had the luxury of facing some relatively small front courts for most of the year, but it really struggled to get shots off at the rim against the best rim protection it's seen yet.

How well Nebraska finishes in the paint will go a long way in determining today's outcome, as it now faces the best shot blocker in the Big Ten in Jackson-Davis.

3. Get ready to battle

Roughly 60 hours before Nebraska tips off against Indiana, it was walking off the PNC Arena court in Raleigh having just played 60 minutes and four overtimes of back-and-forth basketball.

The physical drain is one aspect. Hoiberg said the Huskers would focus mostly on mental preparation on Thursday and Friday and do their best to allow the players time to recover from a grueling loss to NC State.

Four players saw at least 43 minutes in that game, led by 58 for Bryce McGowens and 54 for Alonzo Verge Jr.

The other issue is how quickly NU can recover from an emotionally exhausting defeat that saw it come up short time and again in the final seconds.

Nebraska battled from start to finish, but now it needs to find a way to bring the same level of fight against on the road against an Indiana team that won't make anything easy.

QUOTABLE

"We know we've got to work on a lot of things, but at the end of the day, I'm proud of how hard we fought as a team. We knew it wasn't going to be perfect. It was a game of runs, but we stayed together, and we never fell apart. That's what I'm most happy about. We can definitely build off of this. I'm just so proud of the way we fought."
Freshman guard Bryce McGowens on how Nebraska grew as a team from its quadruple-overtime loss at North Carolina State.

PREDICTION

Indiana (-11.5) 82, Nebraska 70

Robin's season record: 6-2

vs. the spread: 5-3