Midway through the second half on Wednesday, Nebraska Coach Tim Miles had to be held back from IU Coach Tom Crean.
A clearly-agitated Miles screamed at Crean while trying to get through the grip of two Nebraska assistants. A silent Crean stared back.
What exactly started the argument is unclear – both Crean and Miles declined to go into specifics – but the implication was obvious. Big Ten basketball had arrived, and a narrow game was sparking emotions.
In the end, Crean’s IU team broke away from its usual winning formula to take a Big Ten-opening 70-65 win over Miles and Nebraska.
In Big Ten basketball, everything changes. Offense slows and physicality increases. It sets up as a problem for a fast-paced IU team that relies on finesse and quickness in place of size.
Wednesday, IU transformed itself to avoid those problems. When their offense stalled, the Hoosiers relied on defense and rebounding for a 70-65 win.
Offensively, the Hoosiers weren’t their normal selves.
Neither of IU’s star scorers – junior guard Yogi Ferrell or freshman guard James Blackmon, Jr. – shot the ball well. IU scored well below its season average of 86 points per game, shot the ball five percent worse and made just seven 3-pointers. The struggles even extended to the free throw line, where IU shot just 9-of-17.
A dip in offense to be expected with the arrival of Big Ten play. The Hoosiers were able to work around that through a strong performance in the other phases of the game.
The Hoosiers outrebounded the Huskers 44-31 on Wednesday. Their plus-13 rebounding margin was almost nine greater than their season average entering the game.
IU also stepped up defensively, holding Nebraska to 39 percent shooting for the evening.
Nebraska has been a two-man offensive show this season, and that trend continued against IU. Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields, the only two Huskers with double-digit scoring averages this season, combined to score 43 points Wednesday, but took 37 shots in the process.
Keying the Hoosiers' one-game transformation was junior forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea, who recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Most of his production came in the second half – 11 points and six rebounds in the period.
Yogi Ferrell was held to five points on the night, but managed to have an offensive impact as a facilitator. He contributed eight assists and five rebounds on a night when he shot just 2-of-7 from the field.
The win moves IU to 11-3 on the season and gives it a winning start to an 18-game Big Ten slate. The Hoosiers next take the floor Monday night against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich.
