Indiana men’s basketball exhibits losing recipe in lopsided defeat to Nebraska

On a night where Indiana men’s basketball shot 50% from 3-point range, won the rebounding battle and got 20 points from sophomore center Kel’el Ware, the Hoosiers were trounced by Nebraska 86-70 — and the margin could’ve easily been wider. 

In the first game of the New Year Wednesday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, Indiana committed a season-high 19 turnovers, well above its previous average of 12.3 per game. The Cornhuskers capitalized with 27 points off those blunders, providing more than enough to coast to a comfortable victory. 

“I thought that was the difference in the game,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “You go out on the road, you gotta play differently than you do at home… You can’t turn it over. I thought tonight, that was the biggest problem.” 

Ware and sophomore forward Malik Reneau, despite pacing the team in scoring, recorded four turnovers apiece. Redshirt senior guard Xavier Johnson — who made his return to action after a seven-game absence due to an ankle injury — added another four turnovers in just 14 minutes. 

Nebraska excelled in transition. Frequently charging to the other end of the court off Indiana’s miscues, the Cornhuskers were able to inflict considerable damage as the Hoosiers clumsily attempted to set their defense. The result was often open looks on the perimeter or an Indiana foul. 

Seven of the Hoosiers’ 10 players tallied at least a pair of fouls Wednesday night, giving Nebraska 26 trips to the free throw line. This season, the Cornhuskers averaged just over 16 attempts from the stripe per game. 

Indiana’s ineptitude regarding turnovers and fouling came to a head on multiple occasions. With a little under eight minutes left in the game, Nebraska senior forward Josiah Allick swiped the ball from Ware and pushed it up the court to senior guard Keisei Tominaga. 

Tominaga, a dangerous threat from beyond the arc — he shot 4-of-10 from range — squared up for a shot and was fouled by Indiana sophomore guard CJ Gunn. Tominaga drained his ensuing trio of shots from the free throw line. After the game, Ware said the team’s mistakes were more self-imposed as opposed to forced by Nebraska. 

“It was just more of us throwing bad passes to each other,” Ware said. 

Coming out of a first half filled with nine turnovers, the opening minutes of the second period proved the Hoosiers hadn’t remedied their glaring issues. After tumbling to the floor and seemingly successfully corralling a loose ball, Reneau rolled it aimlessly into the hands of Nebraska junior guard Brice Williams. 

In a flash, the Cornhuskers caught the Hoosiers’ defense scrambling, and Tominaga splashed a baseline jumper to force Woodson to call a timeout just 90 seconds into the half. Following an 18-turnover performance against Kennesaw State University on Dec. 29, Indiana is starting to trend in a worrisome direction. 

“Over the last two years we’ve been pretty good in that area,” Woodson said. “The last two games, we’ve exploded the other way in terms of turning the ball over. Especially on the road, you’re not going to beat anybody turning it over 19 times.” 

Indeed, the Hoosiers’ turnover marks the past couple games offer a striking comparison to previous seasons. In the 2021-22 campaign, Indiana averaged just under 12 turnovers per game. In 2022-23, that number was 11.5. 

With Nebraska’s defenders packing the paint and hounding Ware and Reneau on the outside, the Hoosiers’ frontcourt duo was frequently resigned to endless pivots and trying to thread passes into narrow windows. 

A byproduct of the Cornhuskers’ emphasis on forcing Indiana outside was altering the very basis of the Hoosiers’ offensive system. This season, largely devoid of consistent 3-point shooting threats, Ware and Reneau have made a living playing near the basket and drawing fouls. 

Through the first half Wednesday night, Indiana had just seven shots from the line, which was on pace to finish below its season average of roughly 17 per game. An inability to utilize Ware and Reneau’s size on the interior forced the Hoosiers to play outside their comfort zone. 

Despite Wednesday night representing Indiana’s first conference loss of the season, the manner in which it resulted affirmed an ongoing notion of inconsistency with Woodson’s group. As the Hoosiers plunge into the rest of Big Ten play, especially outside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, being able to take care of the ball and eliminate unforced errors will be paramount. 

“We’ve been competitive off and on, I’ve just got to get us competitive for 40 minutes,” Woodson said. “When we got our fanbase we seem to play a little bit better, but it’s different on the road. You got to do all the things right on the road to win basketball games, and we didn’t do that tonight.” 

Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.