The Nebraska men’s basketball team returns home for the first time since Dec. 13, as the Huskers welcome Indiana to Pinnacle Bank Arena in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams Wednesday afternoon.
Tipoff for the New Year’s Eve matchup is set for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on BTN with Kevin Kugler and Shon Morris on the call. Wednesday’smatchup will also be available on BTN2GO.
A very limited number of $30 tickets are available on Huskers.com or at the Pinnacle Bank Arena Ticket Office beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, as a sellout crowd of over 15,000 is expected.
The game will be broadcast across the state of Nebraska on the IMG Husker Sports Radio Network, including KLIN 1400 AM in Lincoln, 1110 KFAB in Omaha and KRVN 880 AM in Lexington with Kent Pavelka calling the action and Matt Davison adding color commentary. The game can be heard for free on Huskers.com and available on the Huskers’ app on iOS or android devices, as well as on TuneIn Radio and on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
The Huskers are 8-4 on the season after wrapping up a 2-1 showing in Hawaii last week with a 71-58 win over Ohio on Christmas Day. Against Ohio, the Huskers got 22 points apiece from Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields, while holding the Bobcats to 38 percent shooting. Nebraska never trailed and enjoyed a 39-28 advantage on the boards, including a career-high 13 rebounds by David Rivers, which matched the Huskers’ best individual rebounding effort in five years.
Nebraska has defended at a high level since the loss to Incarnate Word on Dec. 10, holding its last four opponents to a combined 34 percent shooting and 55.2 points per game. The improvement has coincided with a string of strong performances from junior forward Walter Pitchford, who is averaging 9.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in that stretch.
The Huskers will need to continue that strong defensive against an Indiana team which leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense at 83.4 points per game. The Hoosiers are second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.499) and fourth in 3-point percentage (.417).
Wednesday’s game features two of the top scoring duos in the Big Ten as Shields and Petteway combine for 36.5 points per game for the Huskers, while the Hoosiers’ duo of James Blackmon Jr. and Yogi Ferrell account for 35.1 points per game.