Fred Hoiberg, Keisei Tominaga reflect on making Nebraska's 1st Big Ten Tournament semifinal

Nebraska men’s basketball does not exactly have the richest history — the Cornhuskers program has yet to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. But the 2023-24 squad has the makings of an outfit that could change that history, and it showed in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win over Indiana on Friday night.

Behind 23 points a piece from Keisei Tominaga and Brice Williams, Nebraska burned down the Hoosiers defense in a 93-66 win. And the game was practically over by halftime thanks to hot shooting early from the duo.

“He was unbelievable, what else is there to say?” head coach Fred Hoiberg said on Big Ten Network postgame. “I thought Brice Williams got us off to a really good start. They were going under on the ball screens. That loosened up a little bit and allowed us to get downhill and into the paint. And then Keisei was just absolutely incredible the last 10 minutes of the half. And the thing I was really pleased with was how our guys seeked him out and found him. Brice had a great random flare to get him that corner 3, which really kind of started it off for him.”

At the half, when Hoiberg spoke to BTN, he wasn’t ready to heap praise on his team, despite going into the half up 50-27 and on a 17-0 run. Even making 12 shots from beyond the 3 point line in the first half didn’t impress Hoiberg, who wanted his team to drill in on the defensive end.

“We gotta continue on doing what has made us successful,” Hoiberg said at the half. “We can’t get away from this formula. Like I said, we gotta come out — these first five minutes are very important. … But yeah, for us it’s just about finishing the job.” 

After the game, Hoiberg was pleased with the way his team kept the intensity up in the second half of the game.

He harkened back to an early game against Indiana this season, where a large halftime lead for Nebraska was quickly cut away.

“I was pleased with the effort out of the gate in the second half,” Hoibeg said. “Sometimes when you get that big lead, you take your foot off the gas a little bit. That’s what we did in Bloomington earlier this year and we talked about that in the locker room. We can’t have a duplicate of what happened in the first 10 minutes when they cut a 20 point lead to 3. So, really good effort by our guys. Need to get some rest. This is a quick turnaround tomorrow to play a 2:30 game. But I really like how we’re playing right now.”

One player that Hoiberg would love to see keep up in current form is Tominaga, who was lethal from the field on Friday. He finished 9-of-13 and 4-of-7 from 3 to tally his 23 points and added three rebounds, five assists and two steals.

And speaking on Big Ten Network after the game, Tominaga gave some credit to his coach for the confidence in him.

“He helps me with a lot of stuff, even the off court. He trusts me as a player right now. He never told me to stop shooting, that also builds my confidence, too,” Tominaga said. 

Behind Tominaga’s confidence and a stellar team offensive showing, Nebraska made a little bit of history on Friday, reaching the conference tournament semifinals for the first time. With a bid for the NCAA Tournament almost assuredly sewn up already, more history could be on the way with a win in March Madness

And Tominaga is excited for the chance to keep chasing it down with this Nebraska team.

“It means a lot to us,” Tominaga said. “We had a great regular season and this is the postseason coming up right now. We have a chance to do a special team this year, so I’m super excited for that.”