BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Nebraska coach Tim Miles sensed his upset-minded Cornhuskers were fatigued midway through a second-half struggle at 16th-ranked Indiana on Wednesday, so he offered some added incentive.

"About 7 minutes left, I said, 'OK, I promise a day off tomorrow if you win,'" Miles said.

Just two games removed from a humbling home loss to mid-major Gardner-Webb, Nebraska perked up after that pep talk to pull off a stunning 87-83 victory that snapped the Hoosiers' 26-game home winning streak at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The Cornhuskers (7-6, 1-0) fended off a series of comebacks from the Hoosiers (10-3, 0-1) in the Big Ten opener as the backcourt of sophomore Glynn Watson Jr. and senior Tai Webster combined for 47 points.

Watson hit five free throws in the final 14 seconds to finish with a game-high 26 points. He'll enjoy a day off, but truth be told, was unaware of the Miles promise.

"To be honest, I didn't hear him. I was too locked in," Watson said.

Webster sank a pair of foul shots with 38 seconds remaining as part of a 21-point effort.

"I gathered the boys in and said, 'Yo, we need this. I need that day off,'" Webster said.

Indiana won't enjoy that luxury after such a sloppy effort with 19 turnovers. And it's not like Nebraska was lucky. The Cornhuskers led by as much as 12 in the first half and erased a seven-point deficit in the second half to lead by as much as eight before the game got tight again.

"It's bewildering to me that we're having trouble challenging shooters," said Hoosiers coach Tom Crean, whose team allowed Nebraska to make 31 of 64 shots, including 9 of 18 3-pointers.

Miles, who received his share of criticism after the eight-point loss to Gardner-Webb, insisted his team was capable of pulling it together.

"This is probably one of the more unexpected ones for our guys," he said of the victory.

It was also unexpected when considering Indiana is the defending Big Ten regular-season champions and Nebraska finished 11th in the 14-team league last season. James Blackmon Jr., the Hoosiers' leading scorer this season, had waited two years to play a conference opponent due to a knee injury, but finished with 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Junior guard Robert Johnson led Indiana with 19 points, but had to sit down with four fouls early in the second half when his team led by seven. That became a pivotal juncture.

"It all comes down to sticking to the way we play and building each and every day, not taking no day for granted because that's when you have lapses," Johnson said.

He made 7 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 3-pointers, but the rest of his team made just 21 of 54 shots.

The Hoosiers' home winning streak was fifth longest in program history and the fourth longest active streak in the country.

"It's frustrating, but all we have to do is bounce back from it," said Indiana sophomore center Thomas Bryant, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds. "One loss doesn't define us."

It sure didn't for Nebraska just two games ago. Miles, in his fifth season with the Cornhuskers, appreciated a call from none other than Crean after that Gardner-Webb loss.

"When there's noise out there, we lost a tough game, and actually one of the first guys to reach out to me was Tom Crean to say 'Hang in there. Keep battling,'" Miles said. "I thought that was a first-class move on his part. I think that's our mentality, though, to just hang in there and battle together and we can do this.

"The job is to do it repeatedly, obviously, right? Over and over and over. Tonight was a nice move in that direction. I don't think you can define yourself as arrived, but at the same time, as these guys sit in their chairs tonight on their way home, they know we can do this. Indiana is a great team. This is a phenomenal environment. To do it here, you can do it anywhere."

NOTES: A left shoulder bruise sent Indiana sophomore F Juwan Morgan to the locker room with 10:12 remaining. He didn't return. He underwent offseason surgery on that shoulder. ... Indiana opened Big Ten play at home for the first time since 2010-11. ... Nebraska has started conference play against a ranked opponent four times in six seasons. ... The Hoosiers have a 12-5 series advantage, but is 5-4 since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011. ... Nebraska's non-conference schedule was rated as the toughest in the conference with games against three top 10 opponents in UCLA, Kansas and Creighton. The Hoosiers faced three ranked opponents with victories against Kansas and North Carolina, and a loss to Butler.