IU men’s basketball fans have a nickname for sophomore guard Rob Phinisee.
It started last season when he hit a buzzer-beating 3-point shot in the Crossroads Classic against Butler University. And on Friday night, fans took to social media to praise his late game heroics once again.
“Big shot Rob” scored seven of his 16 points in overtime to help IU escape its Big Ten home opener against Nebraska with a 96-90 win. It included a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer that gave IU a 6-point lead. The Hoosiers led by at least two points throughout overtime and outscored the Cornhuskers 14-8.
“Sometimes when you're at home, you get into overtime, it turns into that, 'Wow, I can't believe we're here,'” IU head coach Archie Miller said. “They didn't do that. Came out, really responded. Got off to a great start. Played hard all the way through, especially that last four minutes.”
The beginning of the game was something different than IU has experienced recently. Against Florida State University, Wisconsin and the University of Connecticut, IU trailed early. Each time, IU had to play from behind the remainder of the first half just to have a fighting chance going forward.
This time around, it was IU that got out to the fast start with an 11-2 run to start the game. The Hoosiers were taking advantage of a 4-5 Cornhuskers team that lost two prior road games.
With IU up 13-6, Miller elected to replace four starters. It was a decision that gave Nebraska the opportunity to get back in the game as it went on a 10-0 run. From that moment, neither team managed to pull away.
In the first half, junior guard Al Durham was the only player who got much footing within the offense. But freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis eventually found the confidence he needed to take over.
He scored 22 points in the second half and overtime alone while grabbing 15 rebounds to secure his fifth double-double of the season through 11 games. He consistently dominated Nebraska in the paint and was the offensive presence IU relied on to stay in the game.
“In the first half I didn't really try to put an emphasis on running the floor very hard, and I thought I could beat my man down the floor,” Jackson-Davis said. “In the second half, I tried to run past him and get as deep as I could and try to leg whip over him.”
Despite the performances from Jackson-Davis and Phinisee, the Cornhuskers took advantage of turnovers and late clock management.
The Hoosiers had a 6-point lead with 42 seconds remaining but couldn’t put it away. Nebraska hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force the game into overtime. Miller acknowledged how fortunate his team was to survive after the sequence of events.
When Miller left the press room after speaking to the media, he let out a sigh as he walked out the door. His team won, but he admitted if they lost, it would’ve been all on him.
Miller felt he could have handled the final seconds of regulation better. He could have called a timeout, saving Durham from committing a foul on a three-point shot. But it didn’t matter in the end. Miller’s team found a way.
“At the end of the day, you're playing a Big Ten Conference game in early December,” Miller said. “Our entire league's going through it right now. When you play these games, it's just a different feeling.”
