Quick thoughts about a 84-76 victory in Nebraska:
How did this happen: Indiana went off shooting all cylinders offensively at the Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska was determined to remove Trayce Jackson-Davis from the pole and, as a result, gave the Hoosiers space on the perimeter to hoist 3 points. By the 10:03 mark of the first half, Indiana had accumulated 31 points and led by 31-13. Nebraska, however, had an answer and reduced Indiana’s lead to eight at the 2:25 mark on a Derrick Walker tray. Rob Phinisee, who scored 16 points in the first 14:32 of the time, fell with an apparent leg injury 1:48 from the end of the break. The Hoosiers scored the final four points of the game and entered the break taking 46-34. The offensive numbers of UI in the first half were impressive: 1.27 points for possession, 7 of 13 in 3s and an effective percentage of field goals of 63.
Phinisee was on the floor to start the second half and pushed the IU lead to 10 with a 17:36 layup. At the time limit for minors under 16, the UI lead was back to 14 at 55-41. After a Jackson-Davis free throw stretched the lead to 15 at the 15:53 mark, Nebraska responded with a 14-4 run to stay within five in 60-55 in the under-12 media timeout. The Huskers’ offensive attack continued, as they managed to spread Indiana in half the court.
Nebraska grabbed his first advantage of the second half in 63-62 on a Kobe Webster 3 points from the corner. Anthony Leal’s 3-pointer equalized at 69 with seven minutes to go and by the four-time limit, Indiana led 73-71 after a Jackson-Davis tray. Four consecutive free throws by Jackson-Davis helped increase his lead to 77-72 with 2:50 left, but Teddy Allen responded with a 3-point basket to put the Huskers in two points with 2:08 to play. In the next possession of IU, Jerome Hunter missed a difficult shot from the corner, but followed his shot and got a tray to give IU a four point advantage with 1:33 to play. The Huskers would not come any closer the rest of the way, as IU made enough free throws for his first championship win.
Featured artists: Phinisee’s 18 points led the Hoosiers, with 16 of them in the first half. Jackson-Davis scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half. His work on the free throw line was especially important when he hit 9 out of 14 in the night.
Stunning statistics: Indiana caught 23 offensive rebounds (32 OR%) and had 16 second chance points. Nebraska had only three points for a second chance.
Final individual UI statistics:
Final statistics without pace:
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
Filed under: Nebraska Cornhuskers