Freshman big man Thomas Bryant was basically a non factor Wednesday at Rutgers, but Saturday when the Indiana Hoosiers traveled to Lincoln to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers, he helped the Hoosiers in a big way.
Indiana opened with their first two Big Ten games on the road and were able to move to 2-0. This was the first time since the 2012-13 season where Indiana won two Big Ten road games in a row. In addition, Indiana has now won seven straight games.
First Half Of Runs
The first half in Lincoln wasn't the cleanest of halves as many fouls were called along the way, and neither team was really able to take control of the ballgame. It was 20-17 Indiana when Nebraska went on a little 8-0 run and it looked like they were in command. But moments later with the score tied at 28, Indiana had an 8-2 burst before the Cornhuskers took a 39-36 lead to halftime.
Bryant may have had one of his best games of the season and in the first half really proved his worth in the middle for Indiana. The Hoosiers were finding him every chance they could get and it seemed like he still wasn't getting the ball nearly enough because of his efficiency from the field. He finished the game with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Nebraska, however, was going to have a tough time holding their halftime lead even with the productivity of Jack McVeigh and Andrew White, who both had 16 points when this one was all said and done.
Indiana Makes Their Move
The Hoosiers may have struggled a bit in the first half with some fouls and turnovers, but in the second half they started to assert their dominance.
There wasn't really a stat that you could point to that told the story in this one as both teams were pretty even throughout, but Indiana just slowly started to pull away behind some stellar performances from Yogi Ferrell and role player O.G. Anunoby.
Ferrell did struggle a bit to get going in the first half with his jump shot along with a few turnovers, but in the second half he was the man the Hoosiers turned to for offense. Without the injured James Blackmon Jr., who is one of Indiana's best offensive players, the senior point guard started going to work and finished the game with 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting while knocking down four three pointers.
As for Anunoby, he came off the bench and provided a spark for Indiana on defense that ended up turning into some offensive productivity. He had two steals to go along with 11 points while not missing a shot from the field. The freshman forward hasn't gotten too many minutes, but is slowly gaining the trust of coach Tom Crean and will likely see an expanded role if his play keeps up.
Nebraska Didn't Back Down
The Cornhuskers came out of the half and opened up a six point lead on their first possession with a three by White, but from there, Indiana went on a 14-4 run that put them in control and they didn't look back as Indiana would extend their lead to 11 at its largest. The Cornhuskers tried to claw back but whenever they got close, the Hoosiers answered right back. Credit Nebraska for not going away quietly.
Nebraska's main scoring threat in Shavon Shields was held to just 10 points, giving the the Cornhuskers a lack of a go-to man on offense to get consistent scoring. They did shoot a reasonable 44 percent from the field, but when going up against a high powered Indiana offense, you have to be on top of your game.
What Does This Mean?
For Indiana, this is a tremendous 2-0 start to Big Ten play and sets them up nicely moving forward. They are favored in nearly every game remaining this month and after two road wins, will head back to the friendly confines of Assembly Hall where they will face Wisconsin on Tuesday followed by Ohio State next Sunday.
As for Nebraska, they opened up with two home games, but were unable to get a win in either of those contests. It won't get much easier as they travel to Iowa on Tuesday followed by a trip to the east coast to face Rutgers on Saturday.