Indiana men’s basketball loses to Nebraska 93-66 : Three Observations

That’s All, Folks

After a trio of made free throws from Mackenie Mgbako, Indiana found itself down six with 3:29 left to play in the first half. By halftime, Nebraska was up by 23. That’s it. That’s the story.

In the final three minutes of the first half, Kesei Tominaga hit three 3-pointers, including a well contested shot from well outside the arc as time expired in the first half. He had 18 points in the first half on 4-7 from deep.

Tominaga was one of many Nebraska players lighting it up from deep, but he wasn’t ever left open like his teammates were. This has been the blueprint to every bad Indiana loss this year, and I hardly need to say more for you to know how it all went down.

And with that loss, we likely enter portal season. The win streak there at the end may have earned an NIT bid, but I would imagine this staff is more focused on retooling the roster than postseason play.

Here are Three Observations:

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Keisei Tominaga

Keisei Tominaga is one of the players for whom the occasional Steph Curry comparison does not feel unwarranted. He has such a quick release, high arc, and confidence in his shot that he becomes absolutely unguardable for portions of games.

Indiana had moderate success in the second half switching between C.J. Gunn and Xavier Johnson to try to deny Tominaga the ball and contest his every step, but it wasn’t enough. Tominaga was just too good.

I have no idea if he’s considered an NBA prospect at this point or how much eligibility he has left, but I hope to god I never see him play against Indiana again. I am going to have nightmares about all three of his games against the Hoosiers this year.

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Out of Gas?

Call it energy, focus, hustle, or even just Juice, but Indiana did not have whatever it had over the last five games. Regression or simple fatigue, that was a tough note to end the season on.

One of the best things this season was Malik Reneau’s development, which was in large part due to his newfound ability to avoid foul trouble. That was not the case tonight, as he fouled out in just 22 minutes tonight with 9 points, three assists and five rebounds.

Mackenzie Mgbako, whose development helped space the floor and gave Indiana the ability to respond to opposing team’s 3-point runs. He had a cold night from deep, though he did tally 14 points and go 7-7 from the free throw line, so it wasn’t a bad effort in all.

In the absence of his shooting, Indiana had to rely on the paint even more than usual, and Nebraska was ready for it. Fred Hoiberg’s defense absolutely stifled Indiana’s bigs tonight with immediate double teams that produced a lot of missed shots and turnovers.

By the end of the game, Mike Woodson, like all of us, had seen enough and got his second technical of the game, heading to the locker room early to think about everything that had just happened.

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Nebrasketball

Nebraska is set to head to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade and will pose a legitimate threat to Purdue in the rest of the Big Ten Tournament. With their style of play and shooting ability, they may be my favorite team from the conference to make an NCAA Tournament run.

Now, few schools would tolerate just how awful the early Hoiberg years were for Nebraska, but it’s worth noting how he built this team, which went from 11th in the conference to earning the three seed and advancing to the BTT semifinal for the first time ever.

Nebraska has ten players on its roster from the transfer portal, including starters like Tominaga, Bryce Williams, Juwan Gary, and Rienk Mast.

They’ve landed players from junior colleges (Tominaga), other power five teams (Gary), mid majors (Williams and Mast), and even some bench players from inside the conference.

It’s worth noting that some of these guys have been at Nebraska for a couple of years now and have some familiarity with each other. But this team is a testament to the kind of production and talent that can be found in the tournament and how quickly it can turn around a team.

I’m not proposing Indiana have a long term plan similar to Nebraska’s. That would simply not cut it. But for a team that needs a quick fix of talent, it’s nice to see what’s out there if you cast a wide enough net and look in the right places.