Indiana University Athletics
Balance the Secret to the Hoosiers' Success at Nebraska
1/11/2021 4:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LINCOLN, Neb. - Balance is everything. And when you're on the road in the Big Ten, the more balance, the better.
Indiana jumped out to a huge first half lead at Nebraska, and the Hoosiers did it with limited contributions from star Trayce Jackson-Davis. Then, when the Huskers battled back to make a game of it, it was Jackson-Davis who was there to give his teammates support.
Push and pull. Helping each other out. That's the key to success on the road in the toughest conference in the land.
"(The Huskers) were obviously surrounding the paint with five players," head coach Archie Miller said. "They also trap the post, and they tried to make other guys beat them. In the first half, Rob (Phinisee) and Al (Durham), in particular, did a really good job. We had some other guys step up and make some shots in the second half when we really went through a rut and struggled to score. Trayce sort of emerged when we needed him the most."
Phinisee scored 18 points, and Durham dropped in 17 of his own. The duo combined for 26 of those points in the first half, not only keeping IU from slumping when Nebraska shut down Jackson-Davis but actually allowing the Hoosiers to thrive. Indiana shot 52.9 percent from the field overall in the first 20 minutes, and the team made 7-of-13 attempts from 3-point range.
IU cooled off after halftime, going just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc and shooting 38.7 percent in the second half, but Miller didn't see a big difference in terms of shots.
"Based on not watching the film and just having a feel from the sideline, some of the shots in the second half were the same ones as the first half," Miller said. "They just went in. We got some good looks in the second half. They just didn't go down."
That's a hard fact of basketball life. Sometimes shots are falling. Other times, they clank out. The fact Indiana was able to force Nebraska to guard the entire floor was critical The Huskers' game plan was to make people other than Jackson-Davis beat them, and the Hoosiers did just that.
Four Hoosier starters scored in double figures. Forward Race Thompson scored 11 points, and fellow starter Trey Galloway added eight points. IU even got 15 points from its bench, nine coming from Jerome Hunter. Hunter was part of the barrage in the first half when he scored seven points and went 3-of-4 from the field.
Miller also saw seven players play at least 20 minutes, and only Jackson-Davis and Durham played more than 31 minutes. Given some of the heavy minutes IU's starters have been getting over the course of the last couple of weeks, more balance in terms of playing time was another positive.
Finally, Indiana's work on the offensive glass was huge. IU grabbed 12 offensive rebounds resulting in 16 second-chance points, and the Hoosiers outrebounded Nebraska 41-30. Rebounding hasn't always been a strength for IU this season, but six players grabbed at least four rebounds.
Balance, again, is critical.
"We talked a lot about it in the last three days, especially playing against Nebraska, who changes up its defenses," Miller said. "There were going to be a lot of rotation with post traps and drives that (gave us) the opportunity to crash with lanes. I thought tonight, we had some big ones."
Indiana's trip to Nebraska ended its first real road trip of the season. The Hoosiers played at Wisconsin Thursday before Sunday night's tilt in Lincoln, and Miller decided to take his team directly from Wisconsin to Nebraska. The idea was to allow his team to be a bit fresher with less travel.
"We've looked at a lot of our trips this year from a COVID standpoint and from a budget standpoint and just trying to figure out what's the best," Miller said. "To leave Wisconsin, fly all the way back in Indiana, get in at two or three in the morning (Thursday). Friday is going to be a hard day, then you have to get back on a plane Saturday.
"The players, the more they can stay in one place, the more they can have recovery time in the hotel, the more you could use your hotel ballroom to walk through things… It gives much more of a comfortable recovery approach. So, we tried that this week. It worked out well for us."
Phinisee said the extended trip helped bring his team closer.
"I feel like we really bonded," Phinisee said. "We were just stuck in a hotel the whole time. Guys were always together, and we had a lot of fun together."
Balance on the floor. Better balance off the floor with less travel.
The result was an important win, one that leaves the Hoosiers on solid footing with games vs. Purdue, Michigan State, and Iowa on the horizon.
Indiana jumped out to a huge first half lead at Nebraska, and the Hoosiers did it with limited contributions from star Trayce Jackson-Davis. Then, when the Huskers battled back to make a game of it, it was Jackson-Davis who was there to give his teammates support.
Push and pull. Helping each other out. That's the key to success on the road in the toughest conference in the land.
"(The Huskers) were obviously surrounding the paint with five players," head coach Archie Miller said. "They also trap the post, and they tried to make other guys beat them. In the first half, Rob (Phinisee) and Al (Durham), in particular, did a really good job. We had some other guys step up and make some shots in the second half when we really went through a rut and struggled to score. Trayce sort of emerged when we needed him the most."
Phinisee scored 18 points, and Durham dropped in 17 of his own. The duo combined for 26 of those points in the first half, not only keeping IU from slumping when Nebraska shut down Jackson-Davis but actually allowing the Hoosiers to thrive. Indiana shot 52.9 percent from the field overall in the first 20 minutes, and the team made 7-of-13 attempts from 3-point range.
IU cooled off after halftime, going just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc and shooting 38.7 percent in the second half, but Miller didn't see a big difference in terms of shots.
"Based on not watching the film and just having a feel from the sideline, some of the shots in the second half were the same ones as the first half," Miller said. "They just went in. We got some good looks in the second half. They just didn't go down."
That's a hard fact of basketball life. Sometimes shots are falling. Other times, they clank out. The fact Indiana was able to force Nebraska to guard the entire floor was critical The Huskers' game plan was to make people other than Jackson-Davis beat them, and the Hoosiers did just that.
Four Hoosier starters scored in double figures. Forward Race Thompson scored 11 points, and fellow starter Trey Galloway added eight points. IU even got 15 points from its bench, nine coming from Jerome Hunter. Hunter was part of the barrage in the first half when he scored seven points and went 3-of-4 from the field.
Miller also saw seven players play at least 20 minutes, and only Jackson-Davis and Durham played more than 31 minutes. Given some of the heavy minutes IU's starters have been getting over the course of the last couple of weeks, more balance in terms of playing time was another positive.
Finally, Indiana's work on the offensive glass was huge. IU grabbed 12 offensive rebounds resulting in 16 second-chance points, and the Hoosiers outrebounded Nebraska 41-30. Rebounding hasn't always been a strength for IU this season, but six players grabbed at least four rebounds.
Balance, again, is critical.
"We talked a lot about it in the last three days, especially playing against Nebraska, who changes up its defenses," Miller said. "There were going to be a lot of rotation with post traps and drives that (gave us) the opportunity to crash with lanes. I thought tonight, we had some big ones."
Indiana's trip to Nebraska ended its first real road trip of the season. The Hoosiers played at Wisconsin Thursday before Sunday night's tilt in Lincoln, and Miller decided to take his team directly from Wisconsin to Nebraska. The idea was to allow his team to be a bit fresher with less travel.
"We've looked at a lot of our trips this year from a COVID standpoint and from a budget standpoint and just trying to figure out what's the best," Miller said. "To leave Wisconsin, fly all the way back in Indiana, get in at two or three in the morning (Thursday). Friday is going to be a hard day, then you have to get back on a plane Saturday.
"The players, the more they can stay in one place, the more they can have recovery time in the hotel, the more you could use your hotel ballroom to walk through things… It gives much more of a comfortable recovery approach. So, we tried that this week. It worked out well for us."
Phinisee said the extended trip helped bring his team closer.
"I feel like we really bonded," Phinisee said. "We were just stuck in a hotel the whole time. Guys were always together, and we had a lot of fun together."
Balance on the floor. Better balance off the floor with less travel.
The result was an important win, one that leaves the Hoosiers on solid footing with games vs. Purdue, Michigan State, and Iowa on the horizon.
Players Mentioned
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Forward
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