Dawgs gonna dawg.
Brice Williams had the loudest bark in the gym on Friday night, with a scorching 30 points as Nebraska busted open a tight game for a critical 85-68 win over Indiana at Pinnacle Bank Arena. His counterpart Juwan Gary growled whenever the adversary needed backed off too.
“It starts in practice. It starts in warmups on the day of the game,” Williams said. “We just had to be locked in. Tonight we were locked in.”
Icy conditions outside. Closed interstate reports. But whatever road the senior Williams seemed to take continually had Nebraska making good time. He finished 10-of-15 from the field, adding six rebounds and five assists for good measure.
Even when he was guarded tight, buckets were had. Like that fading shot from No. 3 to make it 80-67. Highly contested. Degree of difficulty soaring. He still splashed it. He lifted his arms to the air. Crowd roaring.
PBA was a house of horrors for Big Ten foes last year. Williams made sure the Huskers picked up where they left off in that regard.
Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Where Big Ten teams go to die.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 14, 2024
“Obviously Brice’s numbers, you look at that. I don’t care about the points. The thing I was really pleased with was the rebounds,” said Husker head coach Fred Hoiberg. “He had really struggled rebounding the ball … But this was one of those games. Everybody that stepped on the floor contributed. That’s what you look for.”
This game was tied at 64 with 9 1/2 minutes left. A Williams driving score started a 21-4 run to close it out over the Hoosiers, a team which Nebraska also swept on the hardwood in three games a season ago.
“I think they were 1-for-their-last-18 the last seven minutes of that game,” Hoiberg said. “That’s what allowed us to stretch it. When we guard like that we’re a pretty effective team.”
The Huskers finished 61.2 percent from the field, which helped them overcome a 17-of-26 day at the foul line, a 14-9 deficit on turnovers and a 15-6 Indiana advantage on the offensive glass.
But Nebraska was a blistering 30-of-49 from the field. It was NU’s best field goal percentage since a game against Boston College on Nov. 30, 2022.
And while both teams made eight shots from three-point range, the difference is Nebraska had 14 attempts and Indiana had 35. And even though Indiana flexed some on the offensive boards, the second-chance points were just 10-8 in favor of the Hoosiers. And even though Nebraska had five more turnovers, the points off turnovers were 15-15.
The Huskers won by 17 despite taking 16 fewer shot attempts. Nebraska got stop after stop down the stretch. Indiana (8-3, 1-1) dropped off to just 35.4 percent from the field.
Williams, on the other hand, had the most points he’s had as a Husker and his fellow senior Gary added 14 points and five rebounds. The dudes Nebraska most needs to step to the moment did just that. Along with it, Connor Essegian was a major factor with 13 points on three three-pointers, while Andrew Morgan contributed 10 and showed off some slick post moves.
The duo of Williams and Gary pushed Nebraska full speed into the winning lane when Williams hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout to make it 75-67, then found Gary open for another deep bomb to push the lead to 11 with 3:31 to go.
Cue “Sandstorm” on the speakers. You don’t get party anthem moments without the work.
“They stepped up in practice. That’s what it was, and that’s what carried over to the game,” Hoiberg said. “We had a phenomenal week of practice and I talked obviously after the last one how disappointed I was in our prep heading into the Michigan State game. I give ourselves a lot of credit. They responded like men.”
Hoiberg said his staff “challenged the hell out of” Williams and Gary this week after a game in which NU was outrebounded 48-19 in East Lansing six days ago. “I didn’t think their physicality was where it needed to be and they completely reversed that and the entire team followed them. So I’m really, really pleased with Brice and Juwan. Now they have to keep that up. This can’t be a one-week thing.”
Said Gary, “After what happened last week, that was the main thing for sure. I don’t think there was nothing else but physicality all week.”
Even though the season is a marathon, there’s no sugarcoating how vital this win was after a 37-point loss at Michigan State. That 89-52 loss was embarrassing. It’s now old news. What matters at this hour are the standings as the Huskers moved to 7-2 overall and 1-1 in the league before a Hawaii trip and the build into the full Big Ten season which picks up again on Jan. 4.
Friday night will sure make looking at those league standings for the next three weeks a lot easier.
The Huskers set the tone with the game’s first eight points less than two minutes into the game, with Indiana’s Mackenzie Mgbako picking up two fouls just 33 seconds after tip.
“The crowd was incredible, for the weather the way it was and for the volleyball game tonight, for us to get off to that start was very important,” Hoiberg said.
The Huskers cooked to 65 percent shooting in the first half but Indiana fought right back, even leading by four at one point. It was just a 44-41 NU lead at halftime.
Nebraska pushed the lead up to 58-49 in the second half. Then Myles Rice hit. In three minutes the slick Indiana guard scored 13 straight Hoosier points, concluding it with steal and layup that tied it at 62.
“He went on his own little run. He was incredible,” Hoiberg said. “We know that’s what he’s capable of doing. Even when we got up in double-digits in both halves we knew they were going to make a run. That’s as a talented a team as there is in our league and Rice is right up there at the top.”
But Hoiberg thought his team’s contests were better down the stretch, although NU did catch a few breaks when Indiana couldn’t cash in some looks after some offensive boards.
The stops piled up. So did Nebraska’s lead. So did the noise. Everyone would worry about how to get home when the clock hit zeroes.
“We knew this was a huge game,” Hoiberg said. “Our schedule is very difficult. These first five – hell, all 20 of them are. But you look at these first five (which includes UCLA, and a road trip to Purdue) and you’re playing four of the top five teams and the fifth one is at Iowa – who took Iowa State who I think is as good as any team in the country all the way to the wire. So these first five are monsters. And you’ve got to take care of your home court in this league. And if you do that you’re going to have a chance to be playing in March.”
Teams that respond to adversity play important games in March.
The Huskers did that this week at least.
“But again, we can’t get comfortable,” Hoiberg said. “When we’re comfortable we’re not very good.”
