Purdue Men’s Basketball and Nebraska Face Off in Big Ten Showdown
13th-ranked Purdue is traveling to Nebraska to take on the seventh-ranked Cornhuskers on February 10th at 7:00 p.m. EST. The Boilermakers are currently 19-4, and the Cornhuskers are 21-2. For their Big Ten records, Purdue is 9-3, and Nebraska is 10-2. Purdue is currently on a two-game winning streak after beating Oregon and Maryland following a three-game losing streak to Indiana, Illinois, and UCLA. For Nebraska, they are coming off a win against Rutgers, following their back-to-back losses to Illinois and Michigan.
Both teams are looking to extend their winning streaks and move up in both the top-25 and conference standings. Nebraska is currently one and a half games back from Michigan, and Purdue is two and a half games back. With both teams’ losses being from all Big Ten teams, this matchup will serve as a heavy morale and confidence boost for whoever comes out on top. If Purdue wins, they will surely move up in the top 25, while Nebraska would suffer a decline in the rankings.
When it comes to top performers, Braden Smith is leading the charge for the Boilermakers, averaging 15.2 and 8.7 assists while shooting an outstanding 42.7% from three. Although he is their leading scorer with impressive efficiency, he is coming off a rough performance against Oregon. He scored 12 points on five of 12 shooting from the field and was one of four from three; he also tallied up an uninspiring six turnovers. Fletcher Loyer is a name to look for during this upcoming matchup. He is Purdue’s second leading scorer, averaging 13 points, and is also shooting a healthy 37% from three. He is coming off a stirring performance, having 18 points on an efficient four of seven shooting from the field and three of four shooting from three. The Boilermakers scored 83 points per game while holding teams to 68.7 points per game.
For Nebraska, Pryce Sandfort is driving the team, averaging 17 points and shooting an admirable 41% from three. Although he is their leading scorer, Rienk Mast is the Cornhusker who is coming off a masterful performance against Rutgers with 26 points and eight rebounds while shooting 11-20 from the field. As a team, Nebraska is averaging 80 points with a scoring margin of 13.9, and they are holding teams to only 66.1 points per game. While Nebraska averages fewer points than Purdue, they also hold teams to fewer points than Purdue does, so overall, this appears to be an even matchup. ESPN analytics is also showing that it could be a toss-up game; Nebraska has a 52.4% chance to win, and Purdue has a 47.6% chance.
