Nebraska men’s basketball dominates Indiana in Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal
From The Daily Nebraskan: https://www.dailynebraskan.com/sports/nebraska-men-s-basketball-dominates-indiana-in-big-ten-tournament-quarterfinal/article_d6a5b3ca-e354-11ee-97a8-0b2708dc365f.html
MINNEAPOLIS — It was a long wait for Nebraska. After taking care of business on the road against Michigan last Sunday, the Huskers made their Big Ten Tournament debut on Friday while nine teams had already been eliminated from play. In the final game of the quarterfinal round, Nebraska put on a show.
The No. 3 seed Huskers dominated No. 6 seed Indiana 93-66, earning their first-ever trip to the Big Ten semifinals. They had their way at all points in the contest which was highlighted in a 17-0 run spearheaded by senior guard Keisei Tominaga to end the first half that made Target Center sound like Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“Our fans were unbelievable tonight,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said postgame. “I thought our guys did a good job getting the crowd into the game. I even saw a guy in a Michigan State sweatshirt going crazy after Keisei hit a couple.”
Junior guard Brice Williams got the crowd going early with a pair of 3-pointers. The Hoosiers stayed up to pace, however, with freshman forward Mackenzie Mgbako stepping up to the challenge. His eight points in the first eight minutes put Indiana ahead 15-13 at the U12 timeout.
Nebraska was quick to respond as sophomore guard Jamarques Lawrence hit his first 3-pointer of the night. While the Hoosiers retook the lead, Williams once again hit consecutive shots from deep forcing a timeout and the Target Center crowd on its feet.
Williams’ play earned him Indiana’s attention, allowing Tominaga to have some breathing room. He took advantage of that with a pair of deep jumpers to extend the Husker advantage.
“I just want to find some way to get him in the action because he can shoot it from anywhere,” Williams said of Tominaga postgame. “Whenever Keisei hits one shot, it finds Keisei the next play.”
Nebraska’s hustle on both ends had the Husker faithful rocking, but no one could have expected what would happen next.
After a trio of Mgbako free throws cut the Nebraska lead to six, Tominaga quickly responded with a stepback 3-pointer. The next trip down the floor, a blunder by the Hoosier defense left him open for another triple. Indiana burned another timeout as Target Center was sent into a frenzy.
The Huskers kept their foot on the gas with junior forward Juwan Gary getting a steal right out of the break. Ball movement was key as drive and dishes resulted in corner 3-pointers from Lawrence and Gary. The entire arena was in the hands of Nebraska as Tominaga capped off the 17-0 run with a deep 3-pointer, giving the Huskers a 50-27 halftime lead.
Tominaga led Nebraska with 18 points in the first 20 while Williams had 14. Both had four 3-pointers and the Huskers as a whole had 12, already breaking their record for most in a conference tournament game.
The second half was much calmer than the first with both teams struggling out of the gate. It wasn’t until Lawrence converted from deep with 12:36 left for Nebraska to net its first of only two 3-pointers in the period.
However, Tominaga’s hot hand from the first carried over as he knocked down a deep 2-pointer despite airtight coverage by senior guard Xavier Johnson. All Johnson could do was shrug after his heavy contest was all for naught.
“It feels great,” Tominaga said postgame. “My movement makes it too hard for them to guard me so I just go to keep moving like I usually do.”
Frustrations started to rise for the Hoosiers after sophomore forward Malik Reneau fouled out with just over nine minutes to go, as a technical foul on Indiana head coach Mike Woodson soon followed.
With 3-pointers not falling in the second half, the Huskers looked inside with junior forward Rienk Mast delivering crafty assists left and right to Lawrence and Gary. Woodson’s temper got the best of him once again as a second technical sent him to the locker room early.
Coachless and now down 30, Indiana had no chance at a comeback. Nebraska emptied its bench which gave the Husker faithful even more reasons to get loud. Senior guard Jarron Coleman hit a midrange jumper for his first points of 2024 while freshman forward Matar Diop finished a fast break with a dunk. Redshirt freshman guard Cale Jacobsen put the icing on the cake with his first career 3-pointer as the Huskers closed out a 27-point victory.
Tominaga and Williams each finished with 23 points while Lawrence put in 15 off the bench. Nebraska won in nearly every major category while shooting 50% from the field. Despite going 2-of-12 from behind the arc in the second half, the Huskers still finished with an impressive 43.8% from deep.
Nebraska now faces No. 2 seed Illinois on Saturday with a spot in the Big Ten Championship game on the line. After not playing for five days, the Huskers will find themselves in their second game in 16 hours. Still, Nebraska is ready for the challenge.
“We really have to have a good mental day of prep heading into this one but that’s what this time of year is all about,” Hoiberg said postgame. “You’ve got to get ready, move on to the next one and hopefully go out and play inspired basketball again.”
