Indiana moves into tie for Big Ten lead with 80-64 win over Huskers
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Troy Williams spent three days looking for answers. The junior forward and Indiana coach Tom Crean found the problem on tape.
Williams rebounded from a scoreless game with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, leading the 22nd-ranked Hoosiers to an 80-64 victory over Nebraska on Wednesday night and a share of the Big Ten lead.
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"I didn't come out aggressive (against Michigan State) and I watched -- we watched," said Williams, who was 0 for 5 from the field in Sunday's 88-69 loss to the Spartans. "Me and Coach Crean had talked and decided it's time to put on an aggressive mindset. Playing like that, I see the results it gets me."
Iowa's surprising loss at Penn State provided an opening for the Hoosiers (21-6, 11-3), and Williams made sure they took advantage of the opportunity. He also had five rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and a steal.
His teammates provided plenty of help, too. Robert Johnson scored 13 points, freshman Juwan Morgan had a season-high 12 and Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell scored 11.
"It just really opens everything up when he's flying down the court, especially with as many shooters as we have," Johnson said. "If they come after him, he kicks it to us."
Once Williams and the Hoosiers heated up, Nebraska (14-13, 6-8) had no chance. Jack McVeigh scored 17 points for the Cornhuskers, and Andrew White III had 15 points.
Indiana closed the first half with a 17-4 run for a 41-34 lead at the break. It started the second half on a 13-2 spurt to make it 54-36 with 15:56 left.
Nebraska got as close as 62-54 with 9:18 left, but Indiana answered with nine straight to put it away.
"They were coming at us (in the second half), especially Troy Williams," Cornhuskers coach Tim Miles said. "Troy Williams was like shot out of a cannon and we didn't handle that very well. He ends up 8 for 9 and I thought really hurt us bad."
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Indiana had a chance for an even better run at the end of the first half. The Nebraska bench was called for a technical foul with 6.3 seconds left and Ferrell made one of two free-throw attempts. Ferrell also made a 3 at the buzzer, but it was erased on a replay review.
"It was a dramatic shot that Yogi hit, and it didn't count and you couldn't even tell in the locker room," Crean said. "It didn't take anything out of us."
ZONED OUT
Nebraska has been the league's most vulnerable team to 3s this season, but that didn't stop Miles from going to zone late in the first half. It turned out to be a mistake.
"We go zone and they get six points in three possessions," Miles said. "That's where our downhill slide began."
FERRELL'S FEATS
Ferrell is closing in on more milestones. After breaking the school's career assists record and moving into the top 10 in scoring earlier this season, Ferrell is now within 18 points of passing Kent Benson (1,004) for No. 10 in points scored in conference play, and two 3-point attempts from passing A.J. Guyton (307) for the most by an Indiana player in Big Ten play.
TIP-INS
Nebraska: Shavon Shields stayed home with concussion symptoms. Shields is averaging 15.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. ... The Cornhuskers are 1-7 against ranked teams this season. ... Nebraska was 6 of 15 on 3-pointers.
Indiana: The Hoosiers remained perfect at home this season, improving to 15-0. ... The reserves have outscored opposing backups by a combined 78-28 over the last three games. ... Williams needs 11 points to become the 49th player in school history with at least 1,000 for his career.
UP NEXT
No. 22 Indiana hosts No. 17 Purdue on Saturday.
