After stumbling in major nonconference games against the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky, Indiana men’s basketball appears to have righted the ship at the start of Big Ten play.
The Cream and Crimson began the proper conference slate with matchups against Washington and Maryland. In each contest, the Hoosiers pulled away in the second half, resulting in comfortable victories.
Through four conference matchups, fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson leads the Big Ten with 26.3 points per game and 4.5 3-point makes per contest.
But sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway has been a more surprising source of scoring production. In conference games, Conerway's scoring average jumped from 10.9 to 18.5 points per game. Against Big Ten opponents, Conerway boasts a 55.6% 3-point shooting percentage.
Indiana is 10-0 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. In Bloomington, the Hoosiers have defeated two Big Ten opponents — Penn State on Dec. 9 and Washington on Jan. 4.
At home this season, the Hoosiers put up an average of 88.9 points per game with a 25.9-point average margin of victory.
The Cream and Crimson's home dominance will be tested as they’re set to take onundefeated No. 10 Nebraska on Saturday.
Recent success
The Cornhuskers are led by seventh-year head coach Fred Hoiberg, who took over the Cornhuskers in 2019 after a stint as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg previously served as head coach at Iowa State University from 2010-15.
Despite not having a storied history of basketball, Nebraska has progressed into a competitive program in recent years. Hoiberg’s tenure started with back-to-back seven-win seasons. In year three, the Cornhuskers’ win total jumped to 10, and year four yielded 16 wins and a .500 record.
In Hoiberg’s fifth season, he led Nebraska to 23 wins and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade. Last season, the Cornhuskers won 21 games but missed the tournament. It was the first streak of consecutive 20-win seasons for Nebraska since the late 1990s.
Win streak
While Indiana has been perfect at home, Nebraska has been perfect everywhere dating back to the end of last season. Since winning the 2025 College Basketball Crown championship, the Cornhuskers own the nation’s best active winning streak, which sits at 19 straight victories.
So far this season, Nebraska has defeated two ranked opponents — then-No. 13 Illinois on Dec. 13 and then-No. 9 Michigan State on Jan. 2. The Hoosiers’ lone common opponent with the Cornhuskers so far is Kansas State University. Both teams defeated the Wildcats.
Nebraska’s record signals dominance, but not all of its wins have come easy. Five of the Cornhuskers’ seven wins over power conference opponents have been within six points — Oklahoma University, Kansas State, Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State.
Balance
Six players within Nebraska’s rotation average 7.9 points or more. The group is led by senior forward Rienk Mast with 16.3 points per game. Mast is joined by junior forward Pryce Sandfort and redshirt freshman forward Braden Frager in double-digit scoring. Nebraska has gone five straight games without a repeat leading scorer.
The Hoosiers and the Cornhuskers are the top two 3-point shooting teams in the Big Ten. Indiana leads the conference in 3-pointers per game, while Nebraska ranks second. Wilkerson leads the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game, and Sandfort ranks second.
Nebraska attempts over 30 3-pointers per game, and four of the Cornhuskers’ starters shoot over 35% from beyond the arc, with Frager shooting 35% off the bench.
The Cornhuskers are also an efficient defensive team, allowing only 65.7 points per game. Nebraska ranks 16th in the country in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency, while the Hoosiers sit at 28th. Nebraska’s No. 10 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 is its highest since the 1965-66 season.
Indiana will put its undefeated home record on the line and try to hand the Cornhuskers their first loss at noon Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Coverage will be available on the Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
