BLOOMINGTON, Ind. --- On the night when IU needed a victory most, the Hoosiers just could not get over the hump.
Despite tying the game with 10:08 to go, the Hoosiers ended up falling to Nebraska 70-60 on Senior Night at Assembly Hall.
In the final regular season home game for Taylor Wayer, Jeff Howard, Evan Gordon, and Will Sheehey, Indiana shot 36.7 percent from the field and gave up 6 3-pointers en route to it’s second consecutive Senior Night defeat.
"We didn't make enough at any point in time to put us over the hump," Indiana coach Tom Crean said.
In order to have any shot at the NCAA tournament, the Hoosiers (17-13, 7-10 Big Ten) had to beat the Cornhuskers in addition to other wins at Michigan and in the Big Ten tournament, and they failed in front of 17,472.
Walter Pitchford scored the first nine Nebraska (18-11, 10-7) points and finished tied with Shavon Shields for a team-high 17 points. Nebraska took a 9-3 lead at the first timeout and never relinquished the lead, winning for the first time ever in five tries in Bloomington (1941, ’44, ’74, ’13).
"We like to play from the front," Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. "We tell our guys all the time that it's so important to get on top of things so that when the other team puts together a run, you aren't panicking. I thought our guys did a good job of that."
IU was without Noah Vonleh for the second straight game due to foot inflammation and struggled at times defending the paint. The Hoosiers were not aware of Vonleh’s absence until the end of walkthrough, and weren’t able to respond like they did versus Ohio State.
Troy Williams finished with a game-high 18 points, while Yogi Ferrell struggled, going 1-10 from 3-point range and finishing with 10 points. Ferrell also had a career-high 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists, but the Cornhuskers made too many plays in a must-win for both squads.
“We made our comeback and they made some big plays,” Crean said.
Sheehey’s 3-pointer with 10:08 left tied the game at 52, capping off an 11-2 Indiana run. However, IU could never take the lead, and in his final regular season game at Assembly Hall, Sheehey finished with 13 points.
Devin Davis contributed 15 solid minutes, scoring 7 points along with 3 rebounds.
“He hits that offensive glass harder than anyone else," Ferrell said about Davis. "I know we can get energy from him off the bench."
For Nebraska, the Cornhuskers are trying to make their first NCAA tournament since 1998 and have put themselves in a good position heading into the final regular season game.
For Indiana, it will go to Michigan to finish the regular season before playing the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
"We got to make sure we go down swinging,” Sheehey said. “This might have been my last home game, but it's not my last game."
-Sam Rumpza, @samrumpza
