IU basketball: Indiana 84 Nebraska 76 — Three keys | Highlights | Final stats

January 10, 2021 Mike Schumann IUBB 23

Indiana defeated Nebraska by a final score of 84-76 on Sunday night in Lincoln.

The Hoosiers had four in double figures and were led by a career-best 18 points from Rob Phinisee.

The three keys to the game, highlights and expanded stats are below.

Indiana (8-5, 3-3) will host Purdue on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET in Bloomington.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Several contributors beyond TJD. A theme throughout the season has been where IU will get points beyond sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, especially with Armaan Franklin still sidelined with an injury. With Nebraska keying on Jackson-Davis, the Hoosiers had five others with at least eight points. Jackson-Davis scored nine of his 15 points in the final 7:38 to lead the Hoosiers down the stretch, but big contributions from Rob Phinisee (18) and Al Durham (17) including 16 and 10 in the first half, respectively, led the way. In the second half Race Thompson had nine of his 11 points to help carry the load before Jackson-Davis finished things off.

2. Hoosiers take care of the ball. In a hectic up-and-down game, IU committed just eight turnovers for the evening. Indiana had a better than 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio with 14 assists on 30 made field goals. Phinisee and Durham combined for seven assists and just two turnovers. IU was able to maximize possessions and scored 1.217 points per trip — a season best figure. Indiana also corralled 12 offensive rebounds, generating additional opportunities. The Hoosiers had 16 second chance points.

3. A tale of two halves. Indiana was able to survive a poor second half performance to hang on at Nebraska. The Hoosiers were outscored 42-38 after the break and struggled on both ends of the floor. IU shot 18-of-34 from the field overall and 7-of-13 from behind-the-arc before halftime while limiting Nebraska to just 40 percent overall. The Hoosiers made just 38.7 and 18.2, respectively, after the break. On the other end Nebraska made 51.9 percent of its second half shots and was able to get downhill on dribble penetration and transition offense to make the game uncomfortable. Indiana had a 14 point lead with 15:13 left in the second half but the Huskers led by three with seven minutes remaining.