Indiana Opens Big Ten Play as Hosts to Nebraska

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The last time Mike Woodson stood on the floor for a Big Ten game at Indiana University, confetti rained down from the stands and fans stormed the court after the final buzzer to celebrate a conference championship.

It was March 2, 1980. The Hoosiers knocked of the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes in overtime 76-73 to win the Big Ten in what amounted to a one-game playoff for the league crown. Woodson played every minute of the game, scoring a game-high 21 points (an honor he shared with freshman Isiah Thomas) on 9-of-20 shooting to go with two rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, all despite playing through the pain in his back that cost him all but six games of his final Big Ten campaign.

It was a signature moment for Woodson, that final Big Ten game, a highlight in a college career that saw him earn All-America honors and finish as the second-leading scorer in IU history.
Fast forward 41-plus years. Woodson is back at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to take on a Big Ten opponent, but this time, it's in a very different role. The Hoosiers' first-year head coach has vast coaching experience in the NBA, but when it comes to coaching in the Big Ten, this will be his first go-around.

The opponent? Nebraska, a team that wasn't part of the Big Ten when Woody was terrorizing opponents on the hardwood at IU.

"Nebraska, they're guard driven, in terms of their style and how they play," Woodson said. "We're going to have to really lock in and defend off the dribble where we're not giving straight-line drives and keeping people in front of us where we're making them make tough, contested shots. We've got to keep them from the paint."

That's going to be huge with this team going into tomorrow's game.

The Cornhuskers sit at 5-3 and are coming of a 104-100 quadruple overtime loss to North Carolina State in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge earlier this week. Nebraska held as much as a 14-point lead midway through the second half in that one, but the Cornhuskers allowed the Wolfpack to claw their way back into the game before ultimately falling in a thriller.

The game was a microcosm of Nebraska's season. The Cornhuskers struggled to knock down 3-pointers, and N.C. State held a 15-rebound edge on the glass. Turnovers also were an issue, with Nebraska coughing the ball up 18 times. For the season, the Cornhuskers are making 27.6 percent of their shots from behind the arc, they're getting outrebounded by an average of 7.4 boards, and averaging 11.1 turnovers a night.

The Hoosiers, meanwhile, are coming off a loss to Syracuse, but it's one in which the potential of the team was on full display. The toughness that has been instilled in this year's team by Woodson was clear as the Hoosiers rallied from 16 points down at halftime to force first one overtime period, then another. Although IU didn't walk off the floor at Syracuse with a victory, the fact the Hoosiers held the Orange to 42.3 percent shooting overall and 5-of-18 shooting from 3-point range after halftime bodes well for the development of IU's defense.

"If you look at our numbers, defensively, we're still playing pretty good defense," Woodson said. "We're guarding the 3-point line well, and we're guarding the two. Teams haven't shot it that well. I always tell our players, 'You can't hope that guys are going to miss shots. You've got to make them miss shots.'"

Limiting turnovers will be critical for the Hoosiers. IU's 26 miscues vs. Syracuse led to 33 Orange points, and cleaning up the mistakes has been a focus over the past couple of days in practice. Nebraska has done a good job of disrupting opposing offenses this year, forcing an average of 16.8 turnovers a game, and the Hoosiers know they can't give the 'Huskers those kinds of opportunities.

"The turnover thing, I just don't want this to be lasting, because that's just not how we set out when we first got together in terms of playing offense," Woodson said. "You've got to get shots. You can't turn the ball over. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a lot better in that area, because I thought that's what cost us the Syracuse game."

Forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has been a man among boys offensively this year, and during his last home outing, he set a Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall record by dropping 43 points on Marshall. He followed that up by scoring 33 points at Syracuse, and if the Hoosiers are going to get off to a good start in Big Ten play, TJD needs to keep producing.

"When I first got the job and I started zooming in on how he played last year, I just thought he didn't play with the fire that he's playing with now," Woodson said. "There were possessions that he took off a lot of times last year. So, when I put the tape together and I showed him the things that I thought he could be better, the areas where he could be better in, he's picked up in those areas. He's really making an assertive effort when somebody be off the dribble, that he's there to try to challenge shots.

"He's trying to lead That's a big part. Here's a young man that's just his second year, and he's trying to be a leader. That's nice to see because if he's the best player on the team, he's got to lead, and he's doing a great job."

The Hoosiers could use all the attention paid to Jackson-Davis to open the floor for their shooters. Nebraska is allowing opponents to shoot just 32.5 percent from 3-point range this year, but Indiana is knocking down 37.6 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc overall and 46.1 percent of its attempts in its last four games. Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp are consistent from the perimeter, and Stewart has knocked down eight of his last 17 attempts.

"(Kopp) is starting to shoot the ball better," Woodson said. "That's what we brought him here for. I think he and Parker both are starting to find their shot, which we needed -- we won some games early without those two guys even scratching the surface. I mean, as we go into this Big Ten run, they've got to make shots. That's why we put them in the position. They both are starters, and we brought Miller here for that reason. I thought really the last three games he's starting to find his range."

This time around, the Big Ten title isn't on the line. The stakes are much lower than the last time Woodson was on the sideline for a Big Ten game, but few people better understand the importance of getting off to a good start in league play than a man who never finished lower than fifth in the conference standings when he was a player. The Hoosiers have lost three of their last four Big Ten openers, including their last two, and Woodson doesn't want to see that skid grow.

"This team hasn't been together that long," Woodson said. "You're going to have ups and downs like that. I hope it's not long. We've had games where we've sustained it over a 40-minute period, and then we've had games where we've had slippage. That's a part of basketball. It happens. You're going to have some close games. You're not going to blow everybody out that you play. From a coaching standpoint, I'm just trying to find out who's going to make plays when it gets tight.

"I'm still learning our players. They're still learning me. They're still learning each other. It's just work in progress right now."

Indiana Opens Big Ten Play as Hosts to Nebraska

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Players Mentioned

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Miller Kopp

Parker Stewart