It’s been 42 days since IU men’s basketball lost to Wisconsin in its first true road game of the season. It’s been 42 days since the Hoosiers gave up 84 points and allowed the Badgers to shoot 53.6% from the field.
A lot has changed for the Hoosiers in 42 days.
In the two other road games, IU was outscored a combined 25 points and lost both. But Saturday night in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Hoosiers snapped their road losing streak as they defeated the Cornhuskers 82-74.
It took overtime for IU to defeat Nebraska in the first matchup last month, but regulation was only needed this time around. Last season, IU didn’t pick up its 14th win until Feb. 26 but is already at that mark now.
“I thought our guys played really together and played hard for the most part,” IU head coach Archie Miller said. “Offensively, we were able to make a few shots and it gave us confidence. You can’t put a price on a game in this league if you’re able to win it and we’re thankful.”
The road woes seemed to continue in the first half when Nebraska went on an 11-0 run in 81 seconds to take a 23-14 lead. IU eventually closed the gap and went on a 12-2 run itself.
The Hoosiers scored 46 points to secure a 5-point lead heading into halftime. It was an improvement after only scoring 50 points total in the loss to Rutgers in the game prior.
“It’s just our mindset,” freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “We really got the ball inside and they double-teamed and it left a guy wide open.”
IU also only scored two points off the bench against Rutgers, but in the first half against Nebraska, it already had 18 points from the bench. Freshman forward Jerome Hunter had a pair of 3-pointers less than 13 minutes into the game. It was his first game with more than one made 3-pointer since Nov. 9.
By the time the second media timeout hit in the second half, IU was on a 15-3 run and in control of the game. The Hoosiers dominated the paint and controlled possessions by playing through their bigs.
IU eventually got out to a 19-point lead, but Nebraska wasn’t done. The Hoosiers didn’t score for eight minutes and seven seconds but were only outscored 13-3 during that stretch.
Nebraska kept the deficit in single digits for the most part down the stretch, but IU did just enough to maintain the lead.
Jackson-Davis recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead IU. Junior forward Justin Smith and junior center Joey Brunk combined for 31 points as the frontcourt dominated Nebraska once again.
After the two-game road trip, life doesn’t get much easier for the Hoosiers with a pair of ranked matchups coming up. But they're just happy to finally have a Big Ten road win.
“It’s a great feeling getting on the plane with a W,” Brunk said.
