Riding on the Back of Keisi Tominaga’s Season Best, Nebraka Outfox a Resilient Indiana

The Nebraska Cornhuskers upended the Indiana Hoosiers at the Pinnacle Bay Arena on Wednesday. The Nebraska won the match convincingly as the Cornhuskers reached an 86-70 tally against the Hoosiers riding on the back of their star Keisi Tominaga.

The Nebraska had an 11-2 tally before entering the match whereas the Hoosiers had a 10-3. Both of the teams are considered important in the Big Ten. At the centre of the Nebraska’s brilliant display was their guard Keisei Tominaga who turned things for them.

How did Keisei Tominaga perform?

Tominaga basketed a whopping 28 points in the 27 minutes he played with a majority of his score coming in the second half. He reportedly smashed 18 points in the second half with 16 of them coming in less than five minutes.

The Japanese baller also demonstrated exceptional shooting skills, throttling 9-for-15 field goals and 4-for-10 three-pointers against the Hoosiers. Additionally, he also smoked 6-for-7 free throw tally that helped his team take an unassailable lead against their opponents. It was a season-high performance by Tominaga whose previous season best of 23 points had been against the Duquesne Dukes.

The Nebraska cruised past the Hoosiers seven minutes into the game when their guard C.J. Wilcher smoked a three-pointer to extend it to 18-13. The first half saw a lot of cut-throat competition in which the Nebraska outdid their rivals by a 41-33 margin.

The Nebraska performed better in both halves with a tally of 45-37 in the second half. Other than Tominaga, the team showed a collective effort with three other players touching double digits. While their guard Brice Williams potted 15 points, their other guard Jamarques Lawrence sozzled 12.

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Other than that Wilcher thrashed 11. Thus, it was a comprehensive win where the third and fourth player stood up for their team. The Nebraska were a formidable force even defensive with their forward Josiah Allick nabbing eight rebounds. The Nebraska stood true to the old adage – “Where there is will, there is a way.”

What turned things in Nebraska’s favor?

Surprising, Tominaga had performed similarly to his teammate Wilcher and both had 10 and 11 points on board respectively in the first half. The Nebraska created more chances in shooting and despite a lesser field goal and three-pointer percentage outclassed their opponents in volume. Furthermore, the Nebraska had a better 76.9% free throw percentage.

The Hoosiers had a total of 36 rebounds whereas the Huskers had 29. The largest lead for the Nebraska was of 22 points while the Hoosiers had of 5. For the Indiana, the saving grace was their center Kel’el Ware who shattered an astonishing 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Thus, he smoked a double-double.

While Tominaga stood out in terms of performances and has become the highest scorer in his team with an average of 14 points per game. The next best is by Williams who has an average of 13.8 points to his name. 

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The Nebraska will next battle it out against the Wisconsin and fans would be expecting a similar display and quite the same result. It remains to be if the Nebraska will stand tall on the expectations.