Slow Starts Costs No. 25 Indiana In Loss To Nebraska

Monday, January 14

Bloomington, Ind.

6:30 PM

Indiana University

12-5, 3-3B1G

Nebraska

13-4, 3-3B1G

Nebraska

Indiana

Slow Starts Costs No. 25 Indiana In Loss To Nebraska

1/14/2019 8:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By: Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com

By: Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – These were not the Indiana Hoosiers we've seen, the tough-minded guys who beat Butler, Marquette and Louisville.

On Monday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, IU morphed into a group coach Archie Miller didn't recognize.

Given the 66-51 loss to Nebraska, Miller doesn't want to see them again.

"It comes down to energy, leadership, guys being right every day and honoring the process when it's hard, when it's a grind," he said. "I didn't see the same team we've had all year."

What happened?

"A lot of the tougher games that we've won, we've been in tough spots," Miller said. "We've always had a good energy level. We've always had a good communicating team. We didn't have that. We were very emotionless. We have to figure that out."

Must-win stakes didn't deliver a victory. A two-game losing streak became three. A top-25 national ranking is likely to disappear.

Now comes a Saturday trip to rival Purdue (10-6).

"We have to be grown men about it," senior forward Juwan Morgan said. "Take this loss and learn from it. There's nothing else you can do.

"We can't let the losses keep stacking. We have Purdue next. That's what we have to focus on and be ready for."

A disastrous start -- yes, we've seen this before -- was too much to overcome, although the Hoosiers had their second-half chances.

"It's a matter of not coming out with the right mindset," Morgan said. "We weren't all on the same page. That falls on me. I have to make sure everybody is ready to go."

Again, the question came -- what happened?

"There's no excuse for it," Morgan said. "We've got to come out ready to fight. We can't always take the first punch and just keep taking body blows."

As for how do you stop it, he added, "There's no one answer. As we get guys back and just over the course of practice, it's having everybody on deck. That would help us far as being ready to go.

"At the same time, it's something you have to have. You can't wake up guys for them. They have to be ready to go."

In limited doses throughout the game, IU (12-5 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten) was ready. Freshman guard Romeo Langford totaled 18 points and six rebounds. Morgan had 17 points and eight rebounds.

At one second-half point, an 18-point deficit was cut to three.

"Our energy level got up," Langford said about the rally. "When we're all together and focused, we can pretty much stop anybody from scoring. It's the start that always gets us. We have to focus on getting better every day."

At a later second-half point, with victory still within reach, IU took a 30-footer – and missed -- and gave up a five-footer, which Nebraska (13-4, 3-3) didn't miss.

"The way you win big road games," Nebraska coach Tim Miles said, "is you play from the front, and just hang on. Our guys did a good job with the game plan from the get go."

IU's season-long injury trend continued. Guard Aljami Durham was sidelined after just six first-half minutes when he was hit in the leg. He never returned.

Center Deron Davis, battling an ankle injury, didn't play. Forward Clifton Moore came in and totaled five points and three rebounds in five minutes.

No matter, Morgan said. It remains next man up.

"As bad as it is, there's no excuse for it. They're all here to play big-time basketball. They have to be ready to go. They have to be tough. They have to defend, rebound and, when they're in the right spot, score."

As for a porous Indiana defense that allowed Nebraska to shoot 45 percent from the field, including 51.9 percent in the second half, Langford said, "That was on us. We weren't all together as one unit during (Nebraska's) ball screens, so they were able to get easy baskets."

Indiana slept-walked through the first 12 minutes to fall behind 25-7. Nebraska dominated every stat except blocked shots, of which the Hoosiers had four to the Cornhuskers' two.

IU couldn't defend or score or rebound or take care of the ball.

Nebraska was a big reason why.

The Cornhuskers were defensively aggressive (leading the Big Ten with 8.4 steals a game), offensively diverse (four double-figure scorers led by James Palmer's 19.5 average) and came out hot.

Still, the Hoosiers had to be better. They could be better. They needed a spark.

Rob Phinisee delivered.

Langford followed.

Assembly Hall energy returned.

Back came the Hoosiers.

They closed with six points, but gave up a half-ending dunk to Palmer – generating some focused Miller comments -- and trailed 31-22.

Still, they were back in the game.

A Devonte Green three-pointer cut the lead to 35-32 early in the second half. Nebraska scored the next eight points to boost the lead back to 11.

IU never challenged again.

That no longer matters.

It's all about Purdue.

"We have to figure out how to be better," Miller said. "We can't let the negativity of losing take away our confidence.

"We have to get back to work. Guys have to regroup. The staff has to do a good job with that. Our guys have to be much more dialed in and much better to have a chance to compete against them."