Indiana Basketball Game Preview: Nebraska – key storylines, injury report, how to watch

Indiana basketball continues its 124th season of competition with a Wednesday night game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Hooiserd are currently riding a two-game losing skid.

Senior guard Keisei Tominaga scores a team-best 14.1 points per game on the strength of a Husker-high 53 made 3-pointers. Junior forward Rienk Mast leads the team in both assists (3.1 per game) and rebounds (8.1) while scoring 13.5 points per outing.

Nebraska is led by fifth-year head coach Fred Hoiberg, who is one of three coaches in the Big Ten to have played in the NBA. He joins Indiana head coach Mike Woodson and Michigan’s Juwan Howard.

Tip is scheduled for 8:30 PM ET on BTN.

Below is the full preview of Indiana basketball vs Nebraska.

Key Storylines

Malik Reneau showing old struggles

Man, it has not been a pretty last couple of games for the Indiana sophomore forward. The best player on the floor for Indiana basketball, Reneau has shown signs of the old Reneau which has not been helpful for this team.

Reneau, who seemingly looked like his silly mistakes were behind him, has fouled out of Indiana’s last 5 of 6 games, a problem that he saw a freshman which as of late, has seen his frustration on the floor become more and more noticeable. Yes, he has had some big games during that stretch, but Indiana needs him on the floor an often as possible for them to have a chance to win games.

“Well, I wasn’t happy with him after the game,” Mike Woodson said after the Northwestern loss. “I mean, after he had the two I thought the third foul was — it came so fast. I mean, he reached over the guy and he didn’t, at the time, didn’t think he fouled, but I thought it was a foul.”

“The fifth foul came so fast I couldn’t get him out, from the bump up top in the pick and roll. We just got to keep working with him because we need him on the basketball floor. The guy has played well this season for our ball club, and being our second leading scorer and second leading rebounder, we need him on the floor, especially coming down the stretch.”

Indiana can’t afford to have Reneau play with immatureness. He is without question the best and probably most important player on this year’s roster. If Indiana wants to finish out the season strong, Reneau has to get back to how he was playing earlier this season.

Lack of consistent toughness: Still a major issue

We can probably go ahead and say that this Indiana team is not the ‘toughest’ team we have seen in the 120+ years of Indiana basketball. It is without question the least toughest team during the Mike Woodson era.

This Indiana basketball team lacks consistency in almost all areas of the floor. They often start off the game hot and then will go quiet and then maybe show some fight when it is too late. Not having a team that shows consistent fight for 40-minutes has hurt this ear’s Hoosiers. With as much talent that is on the floor and on this roster, the lack of toughness has been the ultimate downfall.

At this point in the season, it’s not something that is going change this late in the year. You can still expect a widely inconsistent team that lack the true fight it needs for 40-minutes.

Any sense of consistent fight would do this team wonders come the Big Ten Tournament.

April can’t come soon enough

A lot of fans have become apathetic for this Indiana basketball. Not much hope in this team with the same reoccurring mistakes with a lackluster roster that just simply did not click this year on the floor. With that said…..

……April can’t come soon enough for Mike Woodson and Indiana basketball.

Why April you ask? It’s simple. Portal month. A month where you will see rosters at all levels of college basketball be shaken up. The Hoosiers will likely have players enter the portal, and there will be portal players that Indiana basketball will be going after.

Mike Woodson has to  hit a home run in the transfer portal this season. They know what need — guards and shooters — so it should be pretty obvious on what to expect the current Indiana basketball head coach to circle in on.

The month of April is the most important month of this season for the Indiana basketball team and the long term state of the program.

Related: ‘Nothing scientific about it’: Offensive deficiencies limit Indiana basketball as it continues to search for consistent style of play

Series History

Indiana holds an advantage of 19-8 in the abbreviated series history with Nebraska and have won seven of the last eight matchups between the two programs.

IU has secured wins in each of the last three matchups against the Cornhuskers in Bloomington with an average margin of victory of 12.3 points per game.

The two sides met in an 86-70 Nebraska win on Jan. 3 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Sophomore center Kel’el Ware posted a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double to pair with two steals and two blocks. The Huskers converted 12-of-32 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

Read: ‘That was kind of out of my hands’: Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson speaks on public reaction to ‘Fear of God’ jerseys from Sunday

Injury Updates

Xavier Johnson: At the 2:12 mark late in the second half of the Iowa game, Xavier Johnson drove to the basket but was fouled hard going for the dunk. He landed awkwardly on his left arm and was screaming on the floor in excruciating pain. After missing four straight games, Mike Woodson said this week that he is about a ‘week or two’ from returning.

Jakai Newton: Newton had a lower body surgical procedure done this past offseason to help fix a previous injury he sustained during high school. He is still recovering and is not expected to play for the rest of the season.

More: ‘I’m not going anywhere anytime soon’: Mike Woodson discusses Indiana basketball with six games remaining in regular season

Quick Hitters

Who?: Indiana (14-11) (6-8 Big Ten) vs Nebraska (18-8) (8-7 Big Ten)

When?: Wednesday Feb. 21, 2024 • 8:30 p.m. ET

Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) • Bloomington, Ind.

TV: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Shon Morris)

Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)

Betting Lines: Indiana basketball is listed as a 1-point underdog via DraftKings Sportsbook.

See Also: ‘Everyone thought Jalen wouldn’t be a one and done’: Jalen Hood-Schifino’s quick rise caught Mike Woodson, Indiana basketball by surprise

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