3 Takeaways from Indiana Basketball's 83-77 Loss vs Nebraska

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — An energized Indiana crowd filled the arena with bellowing chants of “Hoo, Hoo, Hoo, Hoosiers,” watching as their team rolled to a sizable second half lead over a top-10 team.

No, this isn’t in Atlanta, where No. 1 Indiana football cruised to a 56–22 win over No. 5 Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Friday night.

This is Bloomington, a city long known for its basketball tradition — and, for a majority of Saturday afternoon, had reason to embrace the present.

Then, it all fell apart.

Indiana men’s basketball (12–4, 3-2 Big Ten) saw its 16-point lead evaporate into an 83-77 defeat against No. 10 Nebraska (16-0, 5-0 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are three takeaways from Indiana’s difficult home loss, its first defeat inside Assembly Hall this season.

Indiana misses significant opportunity for statement win

The Hoosiers entered Saturday searching for their first Quad 1 victory and first win over an opponent ranked in the top 50 of the NET. They left Assembly Hall still looking for one.

Indiana had a 49-33 lead over Nebraska with just under 18 minutes remaining in the second half, and the Hoosiers held all the momentum after sixth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson's 4-point play. Then, Indiana collapsed.

Nebraska used a 42-17 run — 16-1 at the end — to take a 75-66 lead, and the Hoosiers never trimmed their deficit within 6 points the rest of the way.

Indiana had a chance at a resume-padding, if not defining, victory. Instead, it's left picking up the pieces from perhaps the most head-scratching loss of coach Darian DeVries' first season at the helm.

Wilkerson shines — again. But are minutes catching up?

Indiana sixth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson eclipsed 20 points in each of the Hoosiers' previous four games, all wins. He reached the mark again just over two minutes into the second half.

Wilkerson scored a game-high 32 points on 9-for-20 shooting, including 5 of 11 from long range, while adding four rebounds, four assists and two turnovers in 39 minutes.

It's the second consecutive game Wilkerson has played 39 minutes, and he struggled down the stretch Saturday afternoon. Before making a layup with nine seconds remaining, he'd made only 1 of 9 shots since his 4-point play.

The Hoosiers have a difficult dynamic to balance. Wilkerson is the team's best shooter and best overall scorer, and he warrants as much playing time as possible. However, he slumped over a few times in the second half, placing his hands on his knees and showing signs of exhaustion.

Indiana needs additional scorers to step up. Sixth-year senior forward Tucker DeVries tallied 17 points, including 14 in the second half, and senior forward Reed Bailey notched 10 points and nine rebounds. But no other Hoosier registered more than 6 points.

Wilkerson is Indiana's biggest scoring threat and biggest weapon. But if his efficiency declines as a result of heavy minutes, Darian DeVries may have to reconsider the extent to which he plays his star guard.

Turnovers ravage Indiana in second half

The Hoosiers committed only six turnovers in the first half, and in his halftime speech, DeVries told the team if it had five or fewer giveaways, it would emerge victorious. Instead, Indiana became sloppy.

Indiana fell victim to nine turnovers in the second half, which translated to 6 points off turnovers for Nebraska. The Cornhuskers subsequently played more in transition and found greater offensive success — they scored 10 fastbreak points in the second half after none in the first as part of a 53-point final frame.

DeVries acknowledged Indiana scored enough points to win. But the Hoosiers committed too many turnovers on offense and struggled slowing down Nebraska on defense en route to a second-half collapse.