The No. 10 Nebraska men’s basketball team rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Indiana, 83-77, Saturday in Bloomington, Ind. The Cornhuskers continued its best start in school history by moving to 16-0, winning their 20th straight game dating back to last year’s run to the Crown Basketball Tournament championship.
This one might have been the most improbable, though. Nebraska led 28-27 with five minutes to go in the first half before the Hoosiers ended the half on a 13-2 run. Indiana took a 39-30 lead to the halftime locker room. Sam Hoiberg scored on a putback to cut the IU advantage to 39-32 with 19:46 remaining. The Hoosiers then went on a 13-2 run to build a 51-35 lead with just under 17 minutes remaining. With 14:35 to go, a made basket by IU’s Tucker DeVries held the lead at 55-42.
But then the Huskers rallied. A 13-0 run erased the deficit and tied the game at 55 with 11:35 to play. The game was tied at 57 and 59, before an Indiana 6-0 run entirely by Lamar Wilkerson put the Hoosiers ahead, 65-59 with 8:27 to play. Nebraska stormed back with a 10-0 to take a 69-65 edge with 5:29 to go. After an Indiana free throw, the Huskers scored the next six points to build a 75-66 lead with 3:41 to play. The Hoosiers drew no closer than six points the rest of the way.
JaMarcus Lawrence scored a career-high 27 points on eight-for-13 shooting, including five-for-eight from behind the arc. Rienk Mast tallied 13 despite shooting just one-for-seven from three-point range. Pryce Sandfort contributed 12 points, while Braden Frager added 11. Wilkerson scored 32 for Indiana, DeVries pitched in 17 while Reed Bailey scored 10 and nine rebounds.
Nebraska returns home to face Oregon Tuesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m., with tipoff at 8 p.m., on KLIN.