It may have taken a little longer than planned, but Nebraska finally picked up a Big Ten road win on Wednesday. The Huskers walked into Assembly Hall and took down Indiana 85-70, sweeping the season series with the Hoosiers.
Keisei Tominaga scorched Indiana in the first half, scoring 18 of his 20 points before halftime. Jamarques Lawrence came off the bench and gave the Huskers a huge spark, scoring 19 points and knocking down all five of his shots from 3-point range.
Nebraska also got 18 from Brice Williams and 15 from Juwan Gary in Wednesday's win.
After the game, Fred Hoiberg was proud of his team for withstanding Indiana's punches and finding a way to get a road win. Here's what he had to say following the victory in Bloomington:
On his message to the team during Indiana's run ...
Hoiberg: "I saw a little bit of that deer in headlights at that under-12 timeout. The thing I said, I said, 'Fellas, here's the reality of the situation, before the game, if you would've said we had a lead at the under-12 media timeout in the second half, I think we probably would've taken it.
"So let's get it back, get our poise, get our composure. Then, I think Sam (Hoiberg) got a big steal for us to get it going, and then Jamarques just made play after play after play for us down the stretch. Brice (Williams) made some big defensive plays. Josiah (Allick) I thought was all over the place, Juwan all game long, Rienk (Mast) as a facilitator. Everybody who stepped on the floor made a positive impact for us.
"The thing I was most pleased with — I mean, that place was electric. It got rolling in there and we found a way. We had not done that. Minnesota, we let a big one slip away. Rutgers, in the second half we let slip away. So, to find a way to get that thing back up and respond with a 7-0 run that pushed it back up to double figures was huge."
On what makes this Nebraska team different ...
Hoiberg: "You know, you look at last year and we played really good basketball in February. I think that helped us get Brice Williams, it helped us get Josiah Allick, it helped us get Rienk Mast, it helped us get some of the players we got in here when we had that 5-1 record, best record in the Big Ten in February.
"This is the time of year you wanna play your best. We're coming off three really good performances right now. Two home games and found a way to get a huge road win. The struggles are obviously well-documented for our team. We got a great win against Kansas State in the (nonconference) on the road, then to get this one tonight was huge. It was big for confidence to know we can do it."
On Nebraska's 14-of-33 mark from 3-point range ...
Hoiberg: "Well, first half, Keisei just finds a way to make ridiculously tough shots. He shot one from a step or two inside the logo. You live with those with Keisei.
"I'm really proud of Jamarques. He's been putting so much time and work into his shot — getting to the gym, he's always one of the first ones in there and he's always coming in for an extra session. To see that pay off with a five-for-five night ... was huge.
"Keisei obviously had a heater going in the first half. Jamarques, as we were walking off the court at half, said, 'Coach, keep running that play for Keisei.' We were running one little action for him. When they chased him, he got in the paint. When they went under, he got his shot."
On if getting a road win felt like a relief ...
Hoiberg: "Yeah, it did. Simple as that. Our guys did a great job of prep after the off day, after the Penn State game. And we had a really sharp shoot-around today. I knew the guys were locked in.
"We did something a little different. We had an early shoot-around time and had all day long. So we brought them in, did a meditation session ... and then we brought them back and did a film session walk-through just to get them out of bed so they're not laying around for seven or eight hours before the pre-game meal. I think it helped."
On the locker room after the game ...
Hoiberg: "It was great. (Jamarques) got a little shower, got a little cold water dumped on him and deservedly so. Listen, this was huge. We needed to get a big road win and found a way to put 34 good minutes together. Give Indiana credit, those guys kept fighting. They've got a lot of talent, length, they pose a lot of problems. Again, I love the composure our guys showed and fun to celebrate with them."
More must-reads: