Indiana @ Nebraska preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 13, 2019 ) Nebraska 90, Indiana 96

Indiana has yet to win a true road game and hopes to break through Saturday at Nebraska in the second meeting this season between the Big Ten opponents. The Hoosiers will be going for a regular-season sweep after working overtime on their home court in December to get past the Cornhuskers 96-90.

Nebraska welcomes a return to its home court after losing consecutive games to Northwestern and No. 19 Ohio State on the road. The Cornhuskers' two Big Ten wins have come in Pinnacle Bank Arena, where they are 5-4 overall this season. Indiana didn't come anywhere near the 96 points it scored against Nebraska last month in a 59-50 loss at Rutgers on Wednesday. The Hoosiers' season-low scoring output was due in part to 2-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc and 16 turnovers.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT INDIANA (13-4, 3-3 Big Ten): In the first game against Nebraska, Indiana found success inside as Trayce Jackson-Davis and Justin Smith finished with double-doubles and the Hoosiers dominated the boards with a 54-31 rebounding margin, but they had no response Wednesday when Rutgers controlled the lane and forced outside shots. Indiana shoots 29.9 percent from 3-point range, which ranked 313th nationally entering Friday, and doesn't want to be forced to fire from deep after connecting on only 20 percent of its 3-pointers in the first meeting. Smith led the Hoosiers on Wednesday with 15 points and Joey Brunk chipped in with a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds), but Jackson-Davis, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, didn't have one of his better games with four points and six rebounds in 19 minutes.

ABOUT NEBRASKA (7-10, 2-4): The Cornhuskers' guard-dominated lineup, led by Haanif Cheatham at 12.9 points per game, is at a disadvantage against teams with strong inside play. Cheatham scored 21 points in the first game against Indiana and fellow guard Dachon Burke Jr. (11.7 points) finished with 25. Guard Cam Mack, who totaled 15 points and 10 assists in December against the Hoosiers, averages 12.5 points and ranks third in the Big Ten in assists (6.7) and assist-turnover radio (2.5).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Indiana's three Big Ten losses have all come on the road, following a conference trend in which visiting teams were 6-36 entering the weekend.

2. Indiana ranked sixth nationally in free throw attempts with 449 and was ninth in made foul shots with 308 but went to the line only 12 times and sank 10 against Rutgers.

3. Nebraska's Thorir Thorbjarnarson made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored a team-best 15 points against Ohio State and has made 48.2 percent from beyond the arc this season.

PREDICTION: Nebraska 59, Indiana 58