Indiana basketball stumbles with a loss to Nebraska

Indiana Basketball fell short with an 85-68 loss to Nebraska on Friday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The game ended with a sellout crowd of Cornhuskers fans chanting “Hoosier Daddy” as their team closed the game on a 17-1 run in the final six-plus minutes.

Indiana’s last field goal came with 6:51 to play – it missed 12 straight field goal attempts to end the game – and its last point of any kind was a free throw with 3:08 left against a Nebraska team facing a 27- Taking a point loss to Michigan State.

The Hoosiers (8-3; 1-1 Big Ten) finished the game shooting just 35.4% from the field and 22.9% from 3-point range, while Nebraska shot 61.2% from the field achieved.

It was the first time the Cornhuskers shot more than 60% in a game since beating Boston College on November 30, 2022, and the first time they did so against one since beating Northwestern on February 3, 2015 Conference opponents succeeded.

More:IU basketball vs. Nebraska player ratings: Myles Rice needed more help in loss to Huskers

Indiana basketball player Myles Rice can’t do it alone

Rice showed plenty of fire as he scored 13 straight points midway through the second half to tie the game within one possession.

The Cornhuskers struggled to deal with Rice on both ends of the court — he had two steals and made a rush in the second half — and got to the basket with ease as he drove through the lane.

It just wasn’t enough.

Rice scored 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting in the half, while the rest of the team combined for 13 points on 5 of 27 shooting (18.5%). The Hoosiers had a disastrous 3-point shooting performance and managed just 10 second-chance points with 15 offensive rebounds.

While it was something of a breakout game for Rice — he scored 20 points for the first time since IU’s win over UNC Greensboro on Nov. 21 — he was held scoreless for 10:55 of the finale.

Indiana basketball forward Mackenzie Mgbako disappears

Mgbako followed up an incredible block just under the basket with a left-handed layup in transition to start the second half.

The athleticism on display was a tantalizing reminder of the sophomore’s pro ceiling, but it was the first time he impacted the game in a significant way.

Mgbako picked up two fouls in less than 30 seconds early in the game and only played a minute in the first half. After his third foul, he had to go straight back to the bench with 13:17 left.

The game against Nebraska was the third time in four games that Mgbako played less than 25 minutes. He averaged just 8.0 points over the last four games after leading IU in scoring (17.2 points per game) in November.

Indiana can’t afford to have its best 3-point shooter on the bench for more than half the game. He played the second-fewest minutes of his career (13) and scored just two points.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek Click here to read all of his coverage.

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