The Balcony Seats: At a Glance: The Nebraska Cornhuskers (NEB -3.5) 5:30 BTN, Pinnacle Bank Arena

Quick Facts
-Established in 1869
-First basketball season in 1897
-24,593 students
-Located in Lincoln, Nebraska
-Main colors- Scarlet & Cream
-2013/2014 results: 19-13 (11-7 in B1G)
-Warren Buffett attended
-Final Four appearances- 0
-6 regular season conference championships
-6th matchup between the Hoosiers & Cornhuskers (2-3)

Results Thus Far (8-4/0-0)

11/16 vs. Northern Kentucky W 80-61

11/18 vs. Central Arkansas W 82-56

11/22 @ Rhode Island L 62-66 (OT)
11/25 vs. Omaha W 80-67
11/28 vs. Tennessee-Martin W 75-64
11/26 @ Florida State W 70-65
12/07 vs. Creighton L 55-65
12/10 vs. Incarnate Word L 73-74
12/13 vs. Cincinnati W 56-55 (2 OT)
12/22 @ Hawai'i* L 58-66
12/23 vs. Loyola Marymount* W 50-42 (OT)
12/25 vs. Ohio* W 71-58

*Denotes Diamond Head Classic in Hawai'i

Nebraska Head Coach Tim Miles

Kenpom Rating- 89th

PPG-67.7 (150)

Opponent PPG- 61.6 (73)

Avg. Scoring Margin- +6.1 (90)

APG-10.5 (277)

RPG-35.5 (134)

Turnovers/game-15.0 (290)

Fouls per game-19.2 (201)

Scoring/Breakdown

Category Leaders

Terran Petteway leads Nebraska in scoring

Points
F #5 Terran Petteway-19.3
G/F #31 Shavon Shields-17.2

Rebounds

G/F #31 Shavon Shields-6.9

F #2 David Rivers- 5.4

Assists

F #5 Terran Petteway-2.7

G #3 Benny Parker-2.3

I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with the result against Georgetown, just like all Hoosier fans. However, I did sense a bit of optimism coming out of the game heading into conference play. Most importantly, speaking for most of Hoosier nation, we are in a better place than many of us thought we might have been heading into the second portion of the season. We sit at 10-3 with a questionable loss at the hall to a directional team (who by the way isn't as bad as we thought), we competed with Louisville for much of the game until it got out of hand, and finally hung with Georgetown until the post play was the determining factor in the end. Perhaps not another 'season on the drink' as Chronic Hoosier so eloquently put it last year. Unfortunately, and somewhat fortunately as well, the B1G is looking like a much weaker conference than a season ago. On one hand it could help our conference record and we can potentially pick up some much-needed conference victories...on the other...several losses can really eat away at you since not as many bids may be given out as in the past. First up is Nebraska.

Pinnacle is NOT an easy place to start out B1G play. I think all of us Hoosiers know that very well, seeing that we lost there last time we faced the Huskers. To add on to that, the Hoosiers also lost the last time they faced big red in their former arena. Needless to say we tend to struggle in B1G away games and this is going to be a tough test even if the Huskers have struggled up to this point. Right now they are not a tournament team but part of me is just frightened of Pinnacle and Tim Miles. He finds the best in his players and realizes the magnitude of the game tomorrow, make no mistake about it. Their offense has been sloppy as they have struggled to find a rhythm (hence the low assists figure) and tend to turn the ball over quite frequently. That said, I do not see tomorrow's contest having much continuity or fluidity to it whatsoever. Hard-nosed, B1G basketball in Lincoln will be on display at it's finest. If they allow IU to run and gun with the 3s it could get out of hand...but not Miles and not at home. I see this as a tough road test and yet another way for us as fans to evaluate where this team is and what they are capable of doing. Take care of the basketball, fire away, and focus on the task ahead. Go Hoosiers and Happy New Years!

Score Prediction: IU 64 NEB 62

IU Most Valuable Player Prediction: Troy Williams

Quote Before the Game: I've never predicted anything. All I have ever said is, that we will do the very best we can -Bob Knight

The Venue