Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Despite suffering a loss last week, the
Indiana Hoosiers maintained their spot atop the AP poll, and they'll put their
No. 1 ranking on the line in Wednesday night's Big Ten Conference clash with
the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Nebraska comes in sporting an even 12-12 mark on the year, and its 3-8 league
ledger has it in 11th place in the 12-team Big Ten. The Cornhuskers beat up on
last-place Penn State over the weekend, 67-53, at home, and a win in this
bout, while would be shocking to say the least, would give the team three wins
in its last five games. Nebraska is just 2-6 in true road games this season,
and it only has won conference road win, that also coming against Penn State
back on Jan. 19.
Indiana began the season as the No. 1 team in the land, but a tough loss to
Butler in mid-December dropped it from the lofty perch. The Hoosiers
resurfaced as the top team last week after defeating previous No. 1 Michigan
on Feb. 2, but 74-72 loss at Illinois five days later put that in jeopardy
once again. The team bounced back to post a solid 81-68 win at Ohio State on
Sunday, and that coupled with losses by the nation's other top teams kept the
Hoosiers No. 1 for at least one more week. Indiana is 14-1 at home this
season, and its 9-2 conference mark has it a half game back of first-place
Michigan State in the Big Ten standings.
Indiana owns an 8-2 lead in the all-time series with Nebraska, but the
Cornhuskers won last year's tussle in Lincoln, stunning the 11th-ranked
Hoosiers in a 70-69 final. This bout marks Nebraska's first trip to
Bloomington since it dropped a 97-60 decision to Indiana in the championship
game of the 1974 Hoosier Classic.
Dylan Talley scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Brandon Ubel
nearly had a double-double with 14 points and nine boards, and those efforts
helped propel Nebraska past visiting Penn State over the weekend. Ray Gallegos
added 11 points and five rebounds for the Cornhuskers, who won the game rather
easily, despite shooting a mere 32.6 percent from the field, which included a
dreadful 5-of-18 showing from beyond the arc. A 32-23 edge in points from the
foul line certainly helped, as did the fact that it committed only eight
turnovers and held the Nittany Lions to a paltry a .292 field goal percentage.
Gallegos (13.3 ppg, 34 steals), Talley (13.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Ubel (11.9 ppg,
6.9 rpg) are all averaging double figures in the scoring column this season,
but the team as a whole is netting a league-low 59.0 ppg. The Huskers are one
of only three teams in the Big Ten with a negative rebounding margin (-2.2),
but they are permitting just 61.9 ppg, which is only 1.5 points from ranking
the squad in the top-four in the conference.
From the worst scoring team in the league to the best, Indiana is putting up a
gaudy 83.2 ppg, which actually ranks it second in the nation entering the
week. Continuing with the Hoosiers' many other top billings, they lead the Big
Ten in field goal percentage (.502), 3-point field goal percentage (.425), and
field goal percentage defense (.382). IU boasts four double-digit scorers,
with All-America candidate Cody Zeller leading the way with 16.5 ppg, to go
with 8.3 rpg, 31 blocks and 27 steals. Not to mention, he is a 60.5 percent
shooter from the field, who also happens to convert nearly 75 percent of his
free throws. Victor Oladipo (14.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg. 2.5 apg), Christian Watford
(13.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Jordan Hulls (10.8 ppg, 3.3 apg) add plenty of punch
in the starting five, while sixth-man Will Sheehy (9.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg) also
makes an impact most nights. Oladipo scored a career-high 26 points, Zeller
tacked on 24 and Watford finished with 20 to lead Indiana to a huge road win
over Ohio State last time out. As a team, the Hoosiers drained 53.1 percent of
their total shots compared to 42.4 percent for the Buckeyes. IU hit seven
treys to OSU's three, and the Hoosiers outscored the home team at the foul
line, 22-15.
The Sports Network