HUSKER MEN’S BASKETBALL: Nebraska Leads Wire To Wire In 66-51 Upset At No. 25 Indiana

By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – Glynn Watson Jr. scored 15 points and Isaiah Copeland added 14 to help Nebraska upset No. 25 Indiana 66-51 on Monday night.

The Cornhuskers (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten) have won two straight overall and three straight in the series. They never trailed.

Romeo Langford had 18 points and Juwan Morgan finished with 17 on a miserable shooting night for the Hoosiers (12-5, 3-3), who have lost three in a row. Indiana’s 10-game home winning streak also ended.

And the Cornhuskers never really gave Indiana a chance after scoring the first nine points.

After answering with five straight, Indiana eventually fought futilely to dig out of a 25-7 deficit midway through the first half.

When Nebraska missed 12 consecutive shots in the opening 20 minutes, Langford and Morgan teamed up to help cut the deficit to 26-20 with 70 seconds to go in the half. And after trailing 31-22 at the break, Devonte Green’s 3-pointer with 16:32 got Indiana within 35-32.

But Nebraska used an 8-0 run to reassert itself and closed it out by steadily extended the lead to as much as 16.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The Cornhuskers can challenge anyone in the Big Ten with their length and versatility on defense. But when they have consistent scoring, they can pose a real problem for any team on the schedule.

Indiana: It was just a bad game for the Hoosiers, who never fully recovered from a lethargic start. They didn’t get many favorable bounces but they also weren’t aggressive enough on offense or defense for long enough stretches to get back into the game.

STAT PACK

Nebraska: James Palmer Jr. had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. … Palmer’s assist total matched Indiana’s team total. … Palmer and Copeland made their 50th consecutive starts. … Nebraska ended the Hoosiers 26-game home winning streak in its last trip to Assembly Hall in December 2016.

Indiana: Made only four of its first 19 shots and had only nine points with 5 minutes left in the first half. … The Hoosiers were 2 of 14 form 3-point range and 11 of 19 on free throws while shooting 36.5 percent from the field. … Guard Rob Phinisee played 27 minutes and finished with three points in his second game back from concussion-like symptoms. … Justin Smith was 2 of 7 from the field after making 22 of 27 in the previous five games (81.5 percent). He had five points.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Returns home Thursday to face its second straight ranked opponent, No. 6 Michigan State

Indiana: Hits the road for the third time in four games when it visits rival Purdue on Saturday.