BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Jamarques Lawrence scored a career-high 27 points and Rienk Mast added 13 points and six rebounds Saturday to help Nebraska overcome a 16-point second-half deficit and extend major college basketball's longest winning streak to 20 games with an 83-77 victory at Indiana.
The Big Ten Conference co-leaders became the first Power Four team to start 16-0, opened conference play at 5-0 for the first time since 1965-66 and could soon
ascend to their highest ranking in school history. Nebraska reached No. 8 in 1965-66.
The Cornhuskers also won five straight over the Hoosiers (12-4, 3-2), this one coming after facing their biggest halftime deficit all season at 39-30.
Lamar Wilkerson scored 32 points and made five 3-pointers to lead Indiana, which had won its previous four games under first-year coach Darian DeVries. Tucker DeVries, the coach's son, finished with 17 points and six rebounds.
The game was played less than 24 hours after Indiana advanced to its first national championship game in football, and fans arrived to Assembly Hall decked out in sweatshirts that read “Football School” and “Rose Bowl champions.” But the basketball team couldn't extend the celebration after closing the first half on a 12-2 spurt and opening the second half on a 10-3 run capped by Wilkerson's four-point play to make it 49-33 with 17:42 left.
Nebraska finally responded with consecutive 3-pointers from Sam Hoiberg, Lawrence and Pryce Sandfort before getting back-to-back layups to tie the score at 55. It took the lead for good when Sandfort's 3 made it 65-62, setting up the Cornhuskers' strong finish.
Sandfort had 12 points for the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska: Hosts Oregon on Tuesday.
Indiana: Will try to rebound Tuesday at No. 12 Michigan State.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
