Nebraska Comes Back at Indiana, Keeps Undefeated Run Alive

Jamarques Lawrence goes off for 27 points while Braden Frager shows up big in crunch time again to push Nebraska's winning streak to 20 games.
 Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Jamarques Lawrence celebrates after a play against the Indiana Hoosiers.
Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Jamarques Lawrence celebrates after a play against the Indiana Hoosiers. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Nebraska men's basketball has been tested during its winning streak.

Top-10 opponents. Tough road environments. Cold shooting. But on Saturday afternoon in Bloomington, the No. 10 Huskers got a new test: a 16-point deficit in the second half.

This came after Nebraska put together another brilliant start in a Big Ten Conference game, going up 14-7 just over six minutes into the game. But Indiana flipped the script and erased the deficit just five minutes later.

Indiana Hoosiers guard Lamar Wilkerson makes a three-point basket over Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg.
Indiana Hoosiers guard Lamar Wilkerson makes a three-point basket over Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Thanks to 15 points from Lamar Wilkerson, the Hoosiers led 39-30 at halftime. He continued to pour it on after the break, scoring seven of Indiana's first 10 points to put the home side up by 16.

But Nebraska is undefeated for a reason, and the experience and determination of the Huskers began to show.

Over the next five minutes, the Huskers put together a 20-4 run to tie the game. Indiana made just one shot during that stretch.

The Hoosiers reasserted themselves, getting the lead back to six points before back-to-back three-pointers from Pryce Sandfort and Jamarques Lawrence sparked a 16-1 run.

Indiana Hoosiers guard Conor Enright and Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Cale Jacobsen
Indiana Hoosiers guard Conor Enright and Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Cale Jacobsen look at each other during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Indiana never got closer than six points the rest of the way, with Nebraska taking the 83-77 victory. The Huskers improved to 16-0 on the year and 5-0 in Big Ten play, while the Hoosiers fell to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in the league.

The Hoosiers had been on a four-game winning streak, notching victories over Chicago State, Siena, Washington, and Maryland. The winning streak for the Huskers now sits at 20 games, going back to the run through the Las Vegas Crown to end last season.

Nebraska shot 48.3% for the game, making 14-of-34 three-pointers. Indiana made 46.4% of its shots, including 11-of-30 from downtown.

While Wilkerson finished with a game-high 32 points, the Huskers held him to 4-of-13 shooting in the second half.

Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Berke Buyuktuncel
Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Berke Buyuktuncel dunks the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Lawrence led the Husker attack with 27 points, including a 5-of-8 effort from deep. He added five rebounds and three assists.

Three other Huskers scored in double figures: Rienk Mast (13 points), Sandfort (12 points), and Braden Frager (11 points). Frager scored all of his points in the final six minutes of the game.

Nebraska returns home on Tuesday to host Oregon. Tip from Pinnacle Bank Arena is set for 8 p.m. CST. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Box score

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Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes

  • Nebraska improves to 16-0 for the first time in school history and extends its win streak to a school-record 20 games.
  • Nebraska improves to 5-0 in Big Ten play, its best start since opening Big Eight play with a 7-0 record in 1965-66.
  • The Huskers also improved to 3-0 on the road in conference play for the first time since the 1975-76 season, when the Huskers won their first four conference road games.
  • Today’s win was NU’s fifth straight in the series dating back to Jan. 3, 2024. It is NU’s longest win streak in the all-time series.
  • Nebraska overcame a 16-point deficit with 17:42 remaining. It was the second 16-point deficit NU has overcome this season (also vs. Oklahoma) and the third time this year NU has overcome a double-figure deficit. NU has 5 comebacks of 10+ points in the win streak dating back to last season
  • Nebraska won its second straight in Assembly Hall (also during 2023-24) and has four of the last seven meetings in Bloomington since Dec. 28, 2016.
  • Nebraska picked up its fifth Quad 1 win of the season
  • Jamarques Lawrence finished with a career-high 27 points, topping his previous best of 21 set against New Mexico on Nov. 20. It is his third career 20-point game and second of the season. Lawrence tied his career best with five 3-pointers, set four other times. In NU’s last two wins in Bloomington, Lawrence is 10-13 from 3-point range.
  • Nebraska hit 14 3-pointers on the day, the 10th time this season NU has reached double-digit 3-pointers.
  • Rienk Mast grabbed his 1,000th career rebound on Saturday. He is now one of only three active Division I players with 1,000+ rebounds (Carson Towt, Notre Dame; Grahan Ike, Gonzaga). Mast finished with 13 points and six rebounds and has 1,003 career boards.
  • Nebraska, with a 13-0 second-half run, had its 19th double-figure run for the Huskers this season
  • Sam Hoiberg finished with three steals, his ninth multi-steal game of the season
  • Braden Frager finished with 11 points, the 10th time he has had double figures off the bench.

Nebraska Men's Basketball 2025-26 Schedule

  • Oct. 18 Nebraska 90, BYU 89
  • Oct. 27 Nebraska 91, Midland 50
  • Nov. 3 Nebraska 86, West Georgia 53
  • Nov. 8 Nebraska 96, Florida International 66
  • Nov. 11 Nebarska 69, Maryland-Eastern Shore 50
  • Nov. 15 Nebraska 105, Oklahoma 99 (Sanford Pentagon)
  • Nov. 20 Nebraska 84, New Mexico 72 (Hall of Fame Classic)
  • Nov. 21 Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85 (Hall of Fame Classic)
  • Nov. 25 Nebraska 80, Winthrop 73
  • Nov. 29 Nebraska 72, South Carolina Upstate 63
  • Dec. 7 Nebraska 71, Creighton 50
  • Dec. 10 Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60
  • Dec. 13 Nebraska 83, Illinois 80
  • Dec. 21 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
  • Dec. 30 Nebraska 86, New Hampshire 55
  • Jan. 2 Nebraska 58, Michigan State 56
  • Jan. 5 Nebraska 72, Ohio State 69
  • Jan. 10 Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
  • Jan. 13 Oregon 8 p.m. BTN
  • Jan. 17 Northwestern 3 p.m. BTN
  • Jan. 21 Washington 8 p.m. BTN
  • Jan. 24 Minnesota 11 a.m. FS1
  • Jan. 27 Michigan 6 p.m. Peacock
  • Feb. 1 Illinois 3 p.m. FS1
  • Feb. 7 Rutgers 11 a.m. BTN
  • Feb. 10 Purdue 6 p.m. FS1
  • Feb. 14 Northwestern Noon BTN
  • Feb. 17 Iowa 8 p.m. BTN
  • Feb. 21 Penn State 1 p.m. BTN
  • Feb. 25 Maryland 6 p.m. BTN
  • Feb. 28 USC 3 p.m. BTN
  • March 3 UCLA 10 p.m. FS1
  • March 8 Iowa 4 p.m. FOX
  • March 10-15 Big Ten Tournament in Chicago

Home games are bolded. All times central.


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Published | Modified
Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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