The second half of IU’s two-game road stretch comes in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Nebraska and IU’s women’s basketball teams will look to move up in the Big Ten rankings as each come in with a 5-5 conference record. While IU is 16-6 overall, Nebraska is just 10-11.
Here are three things to know before tipoff at 3 p.m. Sunday.
1. IU’s struggle on the road in Big Ten
The nonconference slate for IU was nearly perfect, with the exception of a loss to Grambling State University in December’s Puerto Rico Classic.
But the Hoosiers showed resiliency with a 3-0 road record and a 2-1 neutral court record. However, the Big Ten has presented new challenges for IU.
The Hoosiers are 2-3 on the road in conference play and have lost four of their last five games overall.
In these road losses, IU often finds itself in a significant scoring drought. Against No. 17 Rutgers on Thursday, IU had a 14-point lead in the second half. But the Scarlet Knights were able to pull away in the final 15 minutes with a pressure defense the Hoosiers could not overcome.
IU averages 65.4 points per game on the road in the Big Ten, contrary to the nearly 70 the team scores at home in conference play. IU’s offense has shown signs of potential on the road with 85- and 75-point performances at Illinois and Wisconsin, respectively.
But even in those wins, IU struggled for long stretches.
This season, Nebraska is holding opponents to 68.8 points per game, but that number moves down six points in home games.
2. Nebraska’s depth
Among Nebraska’s three leading scorers, two have not started a game this season.
Freshmen forward Leigha Brown and guard Sam Haiby each average just less than 10 points per contest. In their first seasons, the freshman have each shown the ability to score from inside and out. However, both are shooting below 80 percent from the free throw line.
As Nebraska Coach Amy Williams goes down her bench, she will not find a high-scoring threat like IU Coach Teri Moren has.
While IU has four players averaging 10 or more points, Nebraska only has one. However, Nebraska has eight players that score seven or more points per game while IU only has the four aforementioned players.
Bench players such as freshmen Aleksa Gulbe and Grace Berger will be important for IU in challenging the depth and energy Nebraska brings off the bench.
Against Rutgers, a team that Moren said had strong depth, Berger and Gulbe combined for just eight points.
3. Patberg’s pace
After combining for 13 points in a three-game stretch, junior guard Ali Patberg was able to find some more rhythm against Rutgers with a 10-point outing.
IU’s leading scorer shot 3-for-6 from the field including her first three-pointer since Jan. 16 against Northwestern. As the leader of the team, Patberg has shown her importance particularly in road games.
In IU’s two Big Ten road wins, Patberg is averaging 17.5 points while scoring just seven in the losses.
While 10 points may not seem like much for a player averaging more than 15 per game, it is momentum in the right direction for the struggling guard.
If Patberg can step up and push the pace against Nebraska’s depth, IU has a chance to pick up a tough road win.
