Huskers Travel to No. 22 Indiana

GAME 27: AT INDIANA Date: Wednesday, Feb. 17 Time: 7:36 p.m. (CT) Arena: Assembly Hall Location: Bloomington, Ind. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2015-16 Record: 14-12, 6-7 Big Ten Head coach: Tim Miles Record at Nebraska: 61-61 (4th year) Career Record: 344-281 (21st year) NO. 22/21 INDIANA HOOSIERS 2015-16 Record: 20-6, 10-3 Big Ten Head coach: Tom Crean Record at Indiana: 141-117 (8th year) Career Record: 331-213 (17th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN Play-by-play: Dave Revsine Expert Analysis: Bob Wenzel Online: BTN2GO Radio: IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN (1400 AM) in Lincoln, KXSP (590 AM) in Omaha and KRVN (880 AM) in Lexington. Play-by-play: Kent Pavelka Expert Analysis: Matt Davison Satellite Radio (Indiana feed): Sirius 145; XM-195 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and TuneIn Radio

The Nebraska men’s basketball team looks to pick up another signature road win Wednesday evening, as the Huskers travel to Bloomington, Ind., for a matchup with the Indiana Hoosiers.

Tipoff from historic Assembly Hall is set for 7:36 p.m. (central) and the game will be televised on BTN with Dave Revsine and Bob Wenzel on the call. It is also available on BTN2GO on mobile devices.

Wednesday’s game will also air across the state of Nebraska on the Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the call, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, KXSP 590 AM in Omaha and KRVN 880 in Lexington and is also available on Huskers.com and the Huskers App.

Nebraska (14-12, 6-7 Big Ten) is coming off a solid 70-54 win over Penn State on Saturday. In that game, the Huskers got a career-high 35 points from Andrew White III, as the junior guard had 10 of his points in a 12-2 spurt to begin the second half. His 35-point effort marked his second 30-point game of the season, as he became the 10th Husker player in school history to have multiple 30-point games in a season.

NU also got solid inside production, as post players Michael Jacobson and Jake Hammond combined for 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Hammond, who has seen more time the last two games as Ed Morrow Jr. has been sidelined by a foot injury, provided solid minutes in two games last week, averaging 5.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in 17.5 minutes off the bench.

Indiana (20-6, 10-3) makes its return to the national rankings on Monday, after the Hoosiers, who are ranked 22nd in the AP and 21st in the coaches poll, knocked off No. 4 Iowa (85-78) before falling at No. 8 Michigan State (69-88) on Sunday. The Hoosiers, who are 14-0 at home this season, are led by senior guard Yogi Ferrell, who averages 16.8 points and 5.7 assists per game, while the Hoosiers average 83.5 points per game and shoot over 41 percent from 3-point range.

 NUMBERS TO KNOW

5 - Nebraska has played five of the top-11 teams in this week’s AP poll, taking on No. 1 Villanova, No. 4 Iowa, No. 6 Maryland, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 11 Miami. Nine of NU’s 12 losses are to teams ranked or receiving votes in Monday’s AP poll.

69 - Andrew White III needs one 3-pointer to become the seventh player with at least 70 3-pointers in a season. Of the eight highest single-season 3-point totals in school history, three have come under Tim Miles.

2005 - The last time a Husker freshman averaged at least 10.0 ppg in conference play (Joe McCray, 15.8 ppg). Glynn Watson Jr. is currently averaging 10.3 ppg in Big Ten play.

10.0 - Nebraska is third in the Big Ten committing 10.0 turnovers per game in conference play. The Huskers have committed 10 turnovers or less in seven of the last eight contests.

12.1 - Nebraska’s scoring average is 12.1 points higher than last year’s total. It is on pace to be the largest single-season increase in school history.

Season #1	PPG	Season #2	PPG	Increase
2014-15	61.5	2015-16	73.6	+12.1
1950-51	52.6	1951-52	62.3	+9.7
1964-65	68.2	1965-66	77.2	+9.0

SCOUTING INDIANA
Indiana enters Wednesday’s game with a 20-6 mark and tied for second in the Big Ten with a 10-3 record. The Hoosiers are in the midst of playing three ranked teams in a four-game stretch following last week’s split with Iowa and Michigan State.

Indiana features one of the nation’s top offenses, as the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in scoring offense (83.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (.503), while ranking second in 3-pointers per game (10.0) and 3-point percentage (.417). The Hoosiers are 3-3 since a 12-game winning streak that began following a loss at Duke in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, but have been tough at home, going 14-0 this season.

Senior point guard Yogi Ferrell is one of the Big Ten’s top performers, as he averages 16.8 points and 5.8 assists per game to rank in the top six in both categories. He is one of three Indiana players averaging double figures following the season-ending injury to James Blackmon Jr. in December.

Troy Williams averages 15.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game, while freshman Thomas Bryant averages 11.9 points on 70 percent shooting and 5.7 caroms per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska and Indiana meet for the 16th time on Wednesday, and seventh since the Huskers joined the Big Ten. Indiana leads the all-time series, 11-4, but the teams have split six meetings since NU joined the conference. Indiana won the first meeting, 79-69 in Lincoln on Jan. 2.

Last Meeting: Despite a team-high 16 points from both Jack McVeigh and Andrew White III, Nebraska fell to Indiana, 79-69, at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Jan. 2. The Huskers led 39-36 at the break, but Indiana shot 60 percent in the second half, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, to earn the victory.

Yogi Ferrell led all scorers with 24 points, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, while Thomas Bryant added 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting to pace the Hoosier attack. Indiana shot 55 percent from the field and went 9-of-18 from 3-point range.

McVeigh shined off the bench for the Big Red, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the floor and grabbing a career-high six rebounds, while White also finished with 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Indiana took the lead in the back-and-forth contest with a 16-3 run after Nebraska got to within 50-49 after a White 3-pointer. Ferrell scored eight of his 15 second-half points in the spurt that was capped by his 3-pointer with 9:09 left to make it 65-53.

LAST TIME OUT
Behind a career-high 35 points from Andrew White III, Nebraska posted a 70-54 win over Penn State Saturday evening.

The Huskers (14-12, 6-7 Big Ten) took control with a 39-7 surge spanning both halves, turning a four-point deficit late in the first half into a 28-point lead before cruising to a 16-point win.
Nebraska trailed 31-27 with 1:30 left in the half before seizing momentum by running off the final five points of the half, including a 3-pointer by Glynn Watson Jr. to beat the first half buzzer and give NU a 32-31 lead at the break.

White, whose 35-point game equaled the Pinnacle Bank Arena record, took over in the opening minutes of the second half, keying a 12-2 spurt with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Huskers a 44-33 lead.

White hit a career-high six 3-pointers after being held without a trifecta for the only time this season in Wednesday’s loss at Wisconsin.

While White carried the offense, NU’s defense held PSU to just two field goals in the first 13 minutes of the second half. The Huskers closed the spurt with 14 straight points, the last coming on a 3-pointer by Jack McVeigh with 7:19 left.

While White got NU off to a quick start, sophomore Jake Hammond played a major role off the bench, scoring nine points and grabbing five rebounds in 20 minutes, including a pair of conventional 3-point plays in the 14-0 surge. Freshman Michael Jacobson added 10 points, while Watson added nine for the winners, who shot 46 percent from the field, including 8-of-18 from 3-point range.

Brandon Taylor led Penn State (12-13, 3-9 Big Ten) with 14 points and four rebounds, as the Nittany Lions shot just 38 percent and committed 17 turnovers that led to 23 Husker points.

WATSON JR. EARNS BIG TEN HONOR
Nebraska freshman Glynn Watson Jr. was honored Monday, as he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Watson is the first Husker freshman to earn the award since Shavon Shields captured it twice during the 2012-13 season.

Watson averaged 12.5 points and 1.5 steals per game during a 1-1 week for the Huskers. He shot 44 percent from the field, including 50 percent from 3-point range. Watson led NU with 16 points against Wisconsin on Wednesday and had nine points, including a 3-pointer to beat the first-half buzzer, and three steals in Saturday’s 70-54 win over Penn State.

WORTH NOTING

• 10 of the Huskers’ 12 losses have come to teams currently rated in the top 50 in the KenPom rankings, including four to teams in the top 15. In fact, four of NU’s losses are to teams in the top-11 of this week’s AP poll.
• Nebraska’s 73.5 ppg in Big Ten play is not only a 16-point improvement on NU’s conference scoring average (57.1 ppg), but is the first time NU has averaged at least 70 points in conference action since the 2001-02 campaign.
• Nebraska has scored 70+ points eight times in Big Ten play, which is already the best since joining the Big Ten. The previous high was six in 2013-14.
• One of the biggest differences between the Huskers’ wins and losses in Big Ten play has been defending the 3-point line. In the Huskers’ six wins, opponents are shooting 30 percent from long distance, while that number jumps to 50 percent in the Huskers’ seven Big Ten losses.
• Since moving Glynn Watson Jr. into the starting lineup and shortening the rotation on Dec. 22, Nebraska has been efficient, averaging 74.1 ppg while shooting 47 percent from the floor. Watson has flourished as well, averaging 9.7 points, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
• Glynn Watson Jr. has been one of the Big Ten’s best newcomers at point guard this season. The Bellwood, Ill., product is averaging 8.9 ppg and 2.5 apg while his 2.54 assist-to-turnover ratio is on pace to be one of the best ratios by a Husker in the last 30 years.

Huskers with 2.5 Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (Last 30 Years)

Ratio	Player	Asst.-TO’s	Year
3.04	Brian Carr	201-66	1985-86
2.73	Jamar Johnson	123-45	1993-94
2.57	Charles Richadson Jr.	179-71	2006-07
2.54	Glynn Watson Jr.	65-26	2015-16
minimum 2 assists/gm

 

•  Nebraska is one of three programs in the nation (joining Florida State and Tulsa) with multiple players averaging at least 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, as both Andrew White and Shavon Shields have reached that plateau. Entering the week, only 66 players in Division I have reached those averages.
• NU enters the Indiana game sixth in the conference in rebounding margin at +3.9 per game. NU has not finished with a positive rebounding margin since joining the Big Ten in 2011-12.
• Much of Nebraska’s inconsistency can be attributed to youth, as freshmen account for 38 percent of the Huskers’ minutes in 2015-16. The 38 percent is the most in the Big Ten. In conference action, the number jumps to 40 percent of the Huskers’ total playing time and 34 percent of NU’s offense.
• Nebraska's 3-point shooting has jumped from 28.4 percent to 35.2 percent this season, which is on track to be the second-highest increase for the Huskers since the 3-point line was instituted in the 1986-87 season. NU jumped from 27.6 percent to 38.9 percent between the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.
• Nebraska comes into Wednesday’s game with a 1-6 record vs. ranked opponents this season. NU’s seven games vs. ranked foes this season ties for third in the Big Ten (Iowa-9; Michigan-8; Nebraska and Michigan State-7). NU is 4-5 all-time against teams ranked 22nd in the AP poll.

WHITE IN RARE B1G COMPANY
Junior guard Andrew White III is one of only 10 players in the country averaging at least 15 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the foul line entering this week’s action. More impressively, only four Big Ten players have finished the season with those marks over the last 20 seasons.

Player	School	Season	FG%	3P%	FT%	PPG
Andrew White III	Nebraska	2015-16	.511	.426	.811	17.6
Frank Kaminsky	Wisconsin	2014-15	.547	.416	.780	18.8
Adreian Payne	Michigan State	2013-14	.503	.423	.790	16.4
Jared Sullinger	Ohio State	2011-12	.519	.400	.768	17.5
Evan Turner	Ohio State	2008-09	.503	.440	.788	17.3

Among power conference schools, only one player in the last five years has averaged 15.0 ppg while posting splits of .500/.400/.800. That was Creighton’s Doug McDermott in 2013-14. This season, White joins Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Josh Hawkinson (Washington State) and Michael Young (Pittsburgh) as players with a chance to join that list.

Player	School	FG%	3P%	FT%	PPG
Buddy Hield	Oklahoma	.510	.498	.902	25.6
Andrew White III	Nebraska	.511	.426	.811	17.6
Michael Young	Pittsburgh	.553	.429	.814	16.5
Josh Hawkinson	Washington State	.563	.452	.802	15.4