Fresh off a big road win over a ranked opponent, Nebraska will try to keep that momentum going when it visits No. 14 Indiana on Wednesday night in a Big Ten Conference game in Bloomington, Ind.
The Cornhuskers (6-3) upset then-No. 7 Creighton 63-53 on Sunday, their first road victory against their in-state rival since 2004. It was Nebraska’s third consecutive road win over a ranked team, having won at Wisconsin and Ohio State to end the 2021-22 regular season.
“To be able to get a signature win like this is huge,” said Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg, who is 30-70 in his three-plus seasons with the program.
Sam Griesel, a transfer from North Dakota State who grew up in Lincoln, Neb., posted his first double-double for Nebraska with 18 points and 12 rebounds to go with seven assists.
“For a guy who grew up in this (area), it means so much to him,” Hoiberg said. “To be able to come back and put that type of win on his resume, that’s pretty darn cool.”
Indiana (7-1, 0-1) is coming off a 63-48 loss at Rutgers on Sunday, which caused it to drop four spots in the latest Associated Press poll. The Hoosiers shot a season-low 30.4 percent and had their fewest points in the Mike Woodson era.
“Our offense was awful tonight,” Woodson said afterward. “We’ve been shooting the ball pretty well. Tonight we couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”
The Hoosiers are hoping to get back freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who sat out the Rutgers loss with a sore back. He had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists in his most game, a home win over previous No. 1 North Carolina.
Nebraska getting Derrick Walker back has turned its season around. The 6-foot-8 senior forward missed the first five games for what was described as “healthcare reasons,” but in the four contests he’s played, he’s averaging 16.8 points and 9.5 assists while shooting 73.3 percent from the field.
Walker had 22 points and eight rebounds against Creighton, besting his previous career-high point total that he had set on Nov. 27.
“One thing I’m proud of (with) this team is, every night it’s somebody different,” Hoiberg said.
Indiana’s main scorer all season has been senior Trayce Jackson-Davis. The 6-foot-9 forward, and preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, is averaging 18.3 points and 8.6 rebounds on 67.5 percent shooting. He had 13 points and 10 rebounds at Rutgers, but the Hoosiers were outrebounded for the first time this season.
“It takes effort to block out and rebound the basketball,” Woodson said. “That’s an area where we’ve got to get better as a team. Big teams are in the Big Ten, and we’re going to have to put our bodies and sacrifice our bodies.”
Indiana has won the last six meetings with Nebraska, but the last time the Hoosiers were ranked when facing the Cornhuskers (in 2019), they lost at home.
It doesn’t get easier for either team after this one. Indiana travels to Las Vegas to face No. 10 Arizona on Saturday, while Nebraska hosts No. 4 Purdue on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
