The Minute After: Nebraska

Darian DeVries on the sidelines during IU basketball's loss to Nebraska.

Thoughts on an 83-77 loss to the Huskers:

Indiana has struggled mightily in its last four games against Nebraska.

Under Mike Woodson, all four losses came by 15 or more points, which included a 93-66 drubbing during the Big Ten Tournament during the 2023-24 season.

Nebraska’s 5-out style — the spacing, the cutting, the shooting, the movement — all befuddled the Hoosiers. And Indiana’s offensive style didn’t give it a chance to keep pace. It was a real bringing-a-knife-to-a-gun-fight situation.

The Cornhuskers entered Bloomington this weekend at the apex of the Fred Hoiberg era, riding a 19-game winning streak with a top-10 ranking. But Indiana, in its first crack at the Cornhuskers under Darian DeVries, was ready to fight fire with fire.

Jamarques Lawrence going off for 27 points, including a 5-of-8 shooting mark from deep? IU matched with Lamar Wilkerson’s 32-point performance (5-of-11 from 3-point range, 9-of-9 from the free throw line). Gonna go 14-of-34 (41.2 percent) on 3s? The Hoosiers kept a decent pace at 11-of-30 (36.7 percent). Eighteen assists for you on 29 made baskets? Sixteen assists on 26 made baskets for IU.

But in the end, it’s another loss.

Despite carrying a nine-point lead into the break and getting up by 16 in the second half, Indiana couldn’t close this one out. The Hoosiers started to unravel after a pair of Tucker DeVries free throws gave them that 16-point cushion at the 16:54 mark. Some calls they didn’t get seemed to affect them and the defense that had been keeping the Cornhuskers in check started to leak and loosen. And after DeVries went out of the game after picking up an offensive foul — his fourth of the contest — at the 12:54 mark, Indiana’s offense, which had been working well inside-out with an attacking mindset, started falling flat.

Nebraska tied it at 59-all on a Rienk Mast bucket with 9:17 to play. Wilkerson then made a 3-pointer and was fouled on Indiana’s next possession while taking another 3-pointer. He made all three free throws and Indiana was quickly back up six, 65-59. But just as quickly, Pryce Sandfort and Lawrence hit back-to-back 3s to tie it.

And then came IU’s turnovers. On its next four possessions, it turned the ball over. A bad pass by Bailey. Nick Dorn lost it off himself dribbling. Then Wilkerson and DeVries threw bad passes on Indiana’s next two possessions. Nebraska turned those passes from Wilkerson and DeVries into two buckets at the other end to go up four and the Hoosiers never tied the game or led again. The Cornhuskers keep it going from there on out, eventually scoring 53 points in the second half, with Indiana being just too far behind late in the contest to seriously challenge.

The Hoosiers turned the ball over on 21 percent of their possessions this afternoon, their worst mark in Big Ten play and their third-worst of the season.

“The live-ball turnovers, the 14 turnovers, it’s a pretty simple deal,” Darian DeVries said after the game. “You take care of the basketball, you win the game.”

DeVries did find his shot a bit more in this one, going 6-of-11 overall, 3-of-8 from deep and 2-of-2 from the line for 17 points. But the fouls kept him off the court in the second half during a crucial stretch and he had three turnovers, which tied for a team-high with Tayton Conerway.

Give credit to Nebraska in this one. The Cornhuskers are a connected bunch who didn’t get fazed and didn’t pack it in down a large margin. This Nebraska team is a cool, calm and collected group. It’s a big reason why they remain undefeated and have had some impressive road wins so far in Big Ten play.

But for as much as Nebraska deserves credit for seizing the opportunity, Indiana takes just as much blame for letting this one slip away. This afternoon’s contest was a golden opportunity to finally collect a tourney-worthy resumé win. And considering how hard wins are going to be to come by as this brutal January slate marches on, it feels like a big missed opportunity.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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