Huskers Travel to No. 16 Indiana for B1G Opener

GAME 13: AT No. 16/16 INDIANA Date: Wednesday, Dec. 28 Time: 5:31 p.m. (CT) Location: Bloomington, Ind. Arena: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS 2016-17 Record: 6-6 Head coach: Tim Miles                Record at Nebraska: 69-73 (5th year)                Career Record: 352-293 (22nd year) No. 16/16 INDIANA HOOSIERS 2016-17 Record: 10-2 Head coach: Tom Crean                Record at Indiana: 158-121 (9th year)                Career Record: 248-217 (18th year) BROADCAST INFO Television: BTN Online: BTN2Go and on BTN.com                Play-by-play: Cory Provus                            Expert Analysis: Shon Morris 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 Also available online at Huskers.com, on the Huskers App and on TuneIn Radio and the TuneIn Radio App.

Huskers Open B1G Play at No. 16 Indiana
Nebraska opens Big Ten Conference action this week, as the Huskers travel to No. 16/16 (AP/Coaches) Indiana Wednesday evening. 

Tipoff from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is set for 5:31 p.m. (CT), as the start time was moved up 30 minutes to accommodate the Hoosiers' Foster Farms Bowl appearance  on Wednesday. The game between the Huskers and Hoosiers will be carried nationally on BTN with Cory Provus and Shon Morris on the call. The game will also be available online on BTN2Go and on BTN.com. 

Fans can listen to Wednesday's game and all of the action throughout the 2016-17 season on the Husker Sports Network with Kent Pavelka and Matt Davison on the call, including on Huskers.com and the Huskers app. The broadcast starts 60 minutes before tipoff and a complete list of HSN affiliates is on page 5 of the release. 

The Huskers enter Big Ten play with a 6-6 record following an 81-76 victory over Southern on Dec. 20. The Huskers' depth played a major role in the win, as Nebraska's bench accounted for 38 points. Freshman Jeriah Horne led all scorers with a career-high 18 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while Anton Gill added 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

NU has played the toughest non-conference schedule in the Big Ten entering the week, including games against UCLA, Kansas and Creighton, all of which reside in the top-10. The schedule does not get any easier, as NU's first week of Big Ten play features matchups at Indiana and Maryland, two teams which are a combined 22-3. 

Senior Tai Webster has quietly put together a strong non-conference campaign, as the 6-foot-4 guard leads a youthful Husker squad in both scoring (17.0) and assists (4.0). He ranks in the top-10 in the conference in both categories. Webster is the only senior in a 10-man rotation which features seven freshmen and sophomores.

Indiana comes into Wednesday's Big Ten opener with a 10-2 record and has won seven of their last eight games following a 97-62 win over Austin Peay last Thursday.  Indiana features a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures, led by James Blackmon Jr., who is at 18.5 ppg.

If the Huskers are to snap Indiana's 26-game home winning streak, NU will have to slow down a Hoosier offense which leads the Big Ten in scoring offense (88.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.519), rebounding margin (+14.7) and 3-pointers per game (9.8).

OPENING NUMBERS
4 - Wednesday's matchup with No. 16 Indiana marks the fouth time in six seasons that Nebraska has opened Big Ten play against a ranked opponent.

5 - Jeriah Horne became the fifth different Husker to lead NU in scoring and the first Husker freshman to top the Huskers in scoring since Jack McVeigh had a team-high 16 points vs. Ohio State on Feb. 20, 2016.

6 - Nebraska is 6-1 when hitting at least six 3-pointers and 0-5 when being held to five 3-pointers or less. NU's seven 3-pointers vs. Southern were the most since Dec. 3.

9.8 - Rebounds per game by Ed Morrow Jr. over the last six contests, including more than four offensive boards per game. In that stretch, he is also chipping in 9.2 points and 1.7 blocks per contest.

13 - Consecutive games in double figures for Tai Webster, dating back to last year's Big Ten Tournament. It triples the previous long stretch of his career.

38 - Bench points by the Huskers against Southern, the most by the Huskers in 42 games dating back to last season (48 vs. Southeastern Louisiana).

SCOUTING INDIANA
Indiana enters Wednesday’s Big Ten opener with a 10-2 mark following a pair of wins last week. The Hoosiers may have the Big Ten's two most impressive non-conference wins, a 103-99 overtime win over Kansas in Hawaii on Nov. 11, and a 76-67 win over North Carolina at Assembly Hall on Nov. 30.

The Hoosiers, who have not left the state of Indiana since the Kansas game, are one of the most explosive teams in the Big Ten, leading the conference in scoring (88.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.519) and 3-pointers per game (9.8). Indiana has scored 80+ points in six of the last seven contests with the only exception being an 83-78 loss to Butler in Indianapolis on Dec. 17.

Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. paces Indiana in scoring at 18.5 points per game while Robert Johnson is at 13.8 points per game. Blackmon, who missed all of Big Ten play last season with a knee injury, and Johnson are both shooting well over 40 percent from 3-point range. Indiana's attack also features sophomore Thomas Bryant, as he averages 12.0 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska and Indiana meet for the 17th time on Wednesday, and eighth since the Huskers joined the Big Ten. Indiana leads the all-time series, 12-4, but the Huskers are 3-4 against the Hoosiers since Nebraska joined the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have won the last three meetings, as NU's last win in the series was a 70-60 win in Bloomington on March 5, 2014.

Jan. 2, 2016: Despite a team-high 16 points from both Jack McVeigh and Andrew White III, Nebraska fell to Indiana, 79-69, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. 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. McVeigh shined off the bench for the Big Red, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the floor and grabbing six rebounds, while White also finished with 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

Feb. 17, 2006: Despite a career-high 17 points from Jack McVeigh, the Huskers fell 80-64 at Assembly Hall to No. 22 Indiana. McVeigh led NU with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting to pace three Huskers in double figures. The Hoosiers used a 20-2 spurt spanning the end of the first half and start of the second half to take control. Indiana shot 53 percent from the field and was led by Troy Williams, who had a game-high 18 points.

LAST TIME OUT
Freshman Jeriah Horne scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half, as Nebraska closed non-conference play with an 81-76 win over Southern on Dec. 20. 

Horne hit 7-of-9 shots from the floor, including four 3-pointers, to pace four Huskers in double figures. His 3-pointer with 11:01 left broke a 53-all tie and keyed a decisive 8-0 run for the Huskers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. After Southern closed to within 66-63, Horne came through with five points in a 7-2 Husker spurt, including a 3-pointer with 3:49 left to stake the Huskers a 73-65 advantage before his final basket, a jumper with 14.1 seconds remaining to beat the shot clock and give the Huskers a 79-73 lead.

Southern had one final opportunity as a 3-pointer from Emanual Sheperd with 4.1 seconds left, but Glynn Watson Jr. hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.

Watson had 13 points for the Huskers, while Anton Gill came off the bench for 10 points and three rebounds, as the Husker reserves accounted for a season-high 38 bench points.

WORTH NOTING

• Husker assistant coach Michael Lewis played collegiately at Indiana for four seasons (1997-2000) and ranks second in school history in assists with 545.
• Six of Nebraska's 27 career 1,000 point scorers are from the state of Indiana (Carl McPipe-Hammond; Tom Baack-Ft. Wayne; Jack Moore-Muncie; Brian Carr-Muncie; Brian Banks-Hammond and Herschell Turner-Indianapolis).
• Wednesday's meeting with Indiana will mark the second time in three seasons that NU has opened Big Ten play with the Hoosiers.
• Wednesday's game at Indiana marks the fourth time in six seasons that the Huskers open Big Ten play with a ranked opponent. The others were 2011-12 (No. 11 Wisconsin), 2012-13 (No. 8 Ohio State) and 2013-14 (No. 22 Iowa).

YOUTH IS SERVED
With seven freshmen and sophomores in the Huskers' current 10-man rotation, it is not surprising that most of the scoring and minutes have come from the underclassmen. Through the first 12 games, 67 percent of NU's minutes and 65 percent of the Huskers' points have come from the freshmen and sophomore classes.

TAI'S TAKING OVER
Last season, Tai Webster was one of the most improved players in the Big Ten, and the 6-foot-4 guard has taken another leap as a senior. Webster comes into the week sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.0 points per game and also chipping in 5.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

? Webster is the only Big Ten player - and one of eight players nationally - averaging at least 17 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Among power conference teams, the list includes Washington's Markelle Fultz and South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell. Since 1993-94, only eight Big Ten players have finished the season at those thresholds, a list which includes Evan Turner, Denzel Valentine, D'Angelo Russell and Michael Finley among others.

• Webster's 17.6 points per game is on pace to be the highest by a Husker senior since Eric Piatkowski in 1994.
• He has been exceptional against NU's best foes, as he is averaging 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game in NU's three games against ranked opponents this season.
• Webster ranks 50th on NU's career scoring list with 792 points and needs just 208 points to become Nebraska's 28th 1,000-point scorer.
• He is the only Husker to score double figures in each of NU's 12 contests in 2016-17 and has been in double figures in 13 straight games dating back to last season.
• Webster had his fifth 20-point game of the season, a 22-point, five-assist effort, at No. 3 Kansas on Dec. 10. He has five 20-point games (also Sacramento State, Virginia Tech, Louisiana Tech and Creighton) this season after reaching that mark twice in his first three years, including a career-high 23 points against both Virginia Tech and Louisiana Tech.
• He turned in a strong performance at the Wooden Legacy, averaging 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in three games. Webster had 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists vs. No. 14 UCLA and had 23 points and eight rebounds against Virginia Tech.

As a junior, Webster put together one of the largest one-season scoring jumps by a Husker in recent years during the 2015-16 season. He improved his scoring average from 3.9 ppg to 10.1 ppg from his sophomore to junior campaigns, marking the largest one-season jump by a Husker in nine seasons. Webster reached double figures 16 times in 2015-16 after accomplishing the feat just seven times in his first two seasons and closed the year by averaging 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game at the Big Ten Tournament.

MORROW ENJOYS BREAKOUT SEASON
Sophomore Ed Morrow Jr. has enjoyed a breakout season. One of the "Five Most Improved Players" in the Big Ten by BTN analyst Shon Morris, Morrow has raised his scoring average from 4.1 points to 10.3 points per game on 57 percent shooting, while ranking among the Big Ten leaders with 8.4 rebounds per game. Morrow comes into Wednesday's game at No. 16 Indiana ranked fifth in the Big Ten in rebounding and 11th in field goal percentage.

• Morrow's 8.4 rebounds per game is on pace to be the highest average by a Husker sophomore since Venson Hamilton also averaged 8.4 rebounds per game in 1996-97. Only seven Husker sophomores since the 1953-54 season have averaged at least eight rebounds per game.
• Grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds vs. Gardner-Webb on Dec. 18. It was the highest total by a Husker since the 2006-07 season. He also matched his career high with four blocked shots in the game.
• Turned in a strong effort at No. 3 Kansas, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds.
• Snagged a then-career-high 13 rebounds against No. 10 Creighton on Dec. 7.
• Reached double figures six times in NU's first 12 games after reaching double figures just four times in 2015-16.
• Earned his second career double-double at Clemson on Nov. 30, grabbing a then-career-high 12 rebounds and adding 10 points and three blocked shots.
• Collected his first career double-double against Dayton, scoring 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds in the 80-78 win.
• Reached double figures in the loss to Virginia Tech, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven boards, as he averaged 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds during the three games at the Wooden Legacy.
• Morrow's mother, Nafeesah Brown, was a standout basketball player for the Huskers in the mid-1990s, as she averaged 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during her Husker career. As a senior, she averaged 20.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in earning first-team All-Big Eight honors.

WATSON IS POINT OF IT ALL
Glynn Watson Jr. has continued his emergence as one of the best young guards in the Big Ten. The 6-foot sophomore enters the Southern game averaging 12.6 points, 2.8 assists and a Big Ten-best 1.9 steals per game. Watson comes from a basketball family, as his older brother Demetri McCamey was a first-team All-Big Ten performer at Illinois, but has quickly made his own name at Nebraska.

• Watson is second on the team in scoring and assists and ranks among the conference leaders in scoring (21st) and steals (first).
• Reached double figures seven times, including four 20-point efforts, after not scoring more than 17 points in a game as a freshmen.
• Returned to the starting lineup against Southern, finishing with 13 points, including 6-of-7 from the foul line.
• Paced NU with 20 points, matched his career high with six rebounds and added four steals and four assists at Clemson.
• Played well at the Wooden Legacy, averaging 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.0 assists per game.
• Established a career high with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting against No. 14 UCLA, scoring 21 of his 27 points in the second half as Nebraska rallied back and cut a 15-point deficit to two.
• Keyed NU's win over Dayton with 20 points, a career-high five steals and three assists while hitting a pair of game-winning free throws with 8.8 seconds left when the Huskers trailed 78-77.
• He opened the season with a then-career-high 23 points along with six assists and five rebounds in NU's win over Sacramento State on Nov. 13.
• Prior to Watson's effort in the opener, Shavon Shields was the last Husker with a 20-point, six-assist effort as he had 21 points and seven assists against Delaware State on Nov. 19, 2015. The last Husker guard to do that was Jamel White against Western Kentucky during the 2006-07 season.
  

As a freshman, Watson played in all 34 games and made 16 starts for the Huskers. He averaged 8.6 points per game and was in double figures 15 times.

• Watson was one of five Husker freshmen to finish his initial campaign on NU's top-10 list for both freshmen points and assists, joining Eric Piatkowski (1991), Tyronn Lue (1996), Cookie Belcher (1997) and Jake Muhleisen (2002).
• Finished fourth among Big Ten freshmen in both assists and steals per game in 2015-16.
• His 2.44-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2015-16 was the best by a Husker guard in nearly a decade and the fourth-best over the last 30 years.

TAKING ON A CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Nebraska has faced a daunting 2016-17 non-conference schedule. The Huskers are 6-6 on the season and have played the seventh-toughest schedule in the country according to the NCAA's RPI as of Dec. 25.

• Nebraska is one of four Big Ten teams who have played a top-50 non-conference schedule through Sunday's games (Illinois, 21; Minnesota 32; Penn State, 36).
• Earlier this month, Nebraska completed a week where the Huskers played consecutive top-10 teams in non-conference play for the first time in program history (No. 10 Creighton, No. 3 Kansas)
• The 2016-17 season marks the third time Nebraska has faced multiple top-10 teams prior to the start of conference play. In both of the other two instances (1950-51 and 1954-55), NU played a conference opponent as part of the Big Seven Holiday Tournament in Kansas City.
• It is the second straight season that NU will face multiple ranked teams during non-conference action. Prior to last season, it has not happened since the 2002-03 season.
• The Big Ten currently has 12 of its 14 teams in the top-100 of the RPI through Dec. 25.

JERIAH'S BREAKOUT GAME
The biggest highlight of Nebraska's win over Southern was the breakout performance by freshman Jeriah Horne. The freshman from Overland Park, Kan., had averaged just 1.4 points per game in NU's first 11 contests before scoring 18 points in the 81-76 win.

• In the performance, Horne set season highs in points (18), field goals (seven), 3-pointers (four), assists (two) and blocked shots (two) while playing just 18 minutes.
• Entering the Southern game, he had not scored in his last seven appearances dating back to the Dayton game on Nov. 24, and had played only 21 minutes in that stretch.
• Horne's 18-point performance was the most by a Husker reserve since Tai Webster scored 22 points at No. 19 Iowa on Jan. 5, 2016.
• Horne's 18-point outburst was the most by a Husker freshmen since Shavon Shields had 19 points against Purdue in the 2013 Big Ten Tournament.
  

Horne was a prolific scorer in high school, totaling more than 2,000 career points at the Barstow School, including a 39-point, 14-rebound effort last year against Washington signee Michael Porter Jr. in the Missouri Class 3 State title game. A three-time all-state pick, Horne was the co-recipient of the DiRenna Award as the top player in the KC area in 2016, joining a list which includes Alec Burks and Wayne Simien among others.