Indiana Falls to Nebraska

Wednesday, February 21

Bloomington, Ind.

8:30 PM

Indiana University

14-12,6-9Big Ten

Nebraska

19-8,9-7Big Ten

Nebraska

Indiana

2/21/2024 10:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Defeats continue, disappointment grows, and a possible solution is as clear as it is challenging.

"We have to stick together," guard Trey Galloway said in the aftermath of Wednesday night's 85-70 loss to Nebraska at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. "We have to be focused on each other. We can't worry about outside noise. Be a unit."

He paused. Frustration was obvious.

"We show spurts where we're really good. We're right there. We have to stick together."

IU (14-12 overall, 6-9 in the Big Ten) has lost three straight and eight of its last 11 games. It never led Wednesday night.

Nebraska (19-8, 9-7) won its first conference game of the season. It made 14-of-33 3-point attempts.

"We played well in spurts," coach Mike Woodson said, "but not well enough to complete the game. That makes it frustrating."

Forward Mackenzie Mgbako had 22 points and seven rebounds. Center Kel'el Ware had 17 and 12. Forward Malik Reneau had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

It wasn't enough.

Chris Tucker the actor/comedian not only attended, but participated in the halftime Simon Says competition and a second-half timeout entertainment.

It wasn't enough.

IU fell behind by 20 in the first half, and by 22 in the second, then rallied within three points with six minutes left before fading.

"We played great to cut it to three," Woodson said, "but we had no defensive effort in the first half. They made some tough threes, but you can't have two halves like that. We need to play the first half the way we did the second.

"I'll keep working with them and see if they can play two halves."

IU had a 16-2 edge in second-chance points and a 38-20 advantage in points in the paint against the guard-heavy Cornhuskers.

It wasn't enough, and disappointment was everywhere you looked.

"They're down," Woodson said. "You expect to be down. The only way to come out of it is to work your way through it.

"Nobody is going to feel sorry for Indiana. I have to keep pumping them up and get us back to the winning ways."

Practices remain competitive, Woodson added.

"They've been good, but when you get smacked in the face like we did in the first half … we didn't compete. In the second half, we competed. We cut it to three, and then we stopped competing."

Guard Keisei Tominaga's three early 3-pointers shot Nebraska to a 16-8 lead, negating Ware's two field goals and Mgbako's 3-pointer.

The Cornhuskers' hot shooting produced an 18-point lead. Ware blocked a shot, then dunked off a Reneau assist to spark a Hoosier run that cut the lead to 11 with four minutes left. A final Nebraska surge gave it a 51-31 halftime advantage. Mgbako led IU with 11 points. Ware had nine.

The Cornhuskers opened the second half with a dunk for a 22-point lead. The Hoosiers countered with a flurry from Reneau, Trey Galloway, Mgbako and Ware to cut the lead to 13. They hit five straight shots while holding Nebraska to 1-for-7 shooting.

IU ratcheted up the defense and attacked the basket. Nebraska's previous red-hot shooting cooled.

The crowd roared.

Reneau scored inside. CJ Gunn hit a 3-pointer. Reneau had a steal and a dunk. The 11-0 run cut the lead to 57-51 with 12:56 left. A second Gunn 3-pointer made it 59-56 with 11 minutes left.

The crowd roared.

The Cornhuskers countered with a 14-1 run to restore their double-digit lead with six minutes remaining.

IU's final push couldn't get the deficit under 10.

The Hoosiers play again Saturday at Penn State, which is coming off a one-point upset home victory against Illinois.

"In the Big Ten, you have to win at home," Woodson said. "It's always been that way. You can't lose at home. We've lost more games at home this year (five) than in the last two years. That's frustrating."