National Basketball Association
Nebraska 93, Indiana 66
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, March 15, 2024
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
# Edwin Young, # Tim Comer, # D.J. Carstensen
Attendance:
12675
By Field Level Media
Brice Williams and Keisei Tominaga poured in 23 points apiece as Nebraska drilled 12 3-pointers in the first half to roll to a 93-66 victory over Indiana on Friday in a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal at Minneapolis.
Jamarques Lawrence contributed 15 points while Juwan Gary added 11 points and six rebounds as the third-seeded Cornhuskers (23-9) tied their season high with 14 3-pointers. Nebraska reached the Big Ten tournament semifinals for the first time since joining the conference prior to the 2011-12 season.
Backup guard CJ Gunn scored all of his career-high 17 points in the second half while Mackenzie Mgbako added 16 for sixth-seeded Indiana (19-14). The Hoosiers shot just 35.3 percent from the field to see their season-best five-game winning streak come to a close.
Leading scorer Kel'el Ware, who entered the night with a 16.2 scoring average, didn't score in the first half and finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
While Indiana awaits its postseason fate, Nebraska gets to face second-seeded and 13th-ranked Illinois (24-8) in Saturday's second semifinal. In the teams' only regular-season meeting, the Illini claimed an 87-84 overtime home win on Feb. 4 despite Tominaga's career-high 31 points thanks to 5-of-7 3-point shooting.
Tominaga also enjoyed success in Nebraska's two regular-season wins over Indiana -- logging a total of 48 points and eight 3-pointers -- so the Hoosiers set out Friday to prevent a repeat. They glued Gabe Cupps to him while providing help from their bigs.
Williams took advantage by sticking two 3-pointers in the first two minutes, but Mgbako scored eight early points to give the Hoosiers a 17-16 edge. Williams responded with two more 3-pointers for a 22-17 lead, which gave Tominaga a chance to find open space.
The lefty cut backdoor for a layup, then swished a 3-pointer and a 20-foot fadeaway from the corner to give Nebraska a 29-19 lead. After a quick break on the bench, Tominaga returned and drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to trigger a 17-0 run to conclude the half.
Tominaga scored 16 points in the final eight minutes of the half and set up two other 3-pointers as the Huskers owned a 50-27 lead at the break.
Indiana never got closer than 18 in the second half as Nebraska converted layup after layup. Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson picked up a technical foul with 8:34 to play, then received a second with 5:20 left to earn an ejection.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Indiana |
|
Nebraska |
CJ Gunn 17 |
Scoring |
Keisei Tominaga 23 |
Xavier Johnson 5 |
Assists |
Rienk Mast 7 |
Mackenzie Mgbako 7 |
Rebounds |
Josiah Allick 9 |
Mackenzie Mgbako 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Brice Williams 9 |
Gabe Cupps 2 |
Steals |
Brice Williams 3 |
Mackenzie Mgbako 2 |
Blocks |
Rienk Mast 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Indiana
|
66 |
35.3 |
5-20 |
13-13 |
16 |
32 |
5 |
8 |
12 |
Nebraska
|
93 |
50.0 |
14-32 |
19-24 |
20 |
39 |
4 |
8 |
11 |