Published Feb 23, 2019
Hoops Game Day: Purdue
circle avatar
Robin Washut  •  InsideNebraska
Senior Writer
Twitter
@RobinWashut

WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN

Advertisement

Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-12, 5-11) vs Purdue Boilermakers (19-7, 12-3)

Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 - 1 p.m. CT

Pinnacle Bank Arena

TV: BTN

Radio: Husker Sports Network

Internet: btn2go.com

Nebraska projected starters
NAMEHT/WTYEARNOTES

Glynn Watson

6-0/180

Sr.

Scored just six points on 2-of-10 shooting with only one assist in 34 minutes against Penn State.

Thomas Allen

6-1/184

So.

Had 11 points and five assists in 34 minutes of work in the loss at Penn State; scored a career-high 18 points off the bench in first meeting with Purdue this season.

James Palmer Jr.

6-6/207

Sr.

Scored 24 points vs. Penn State, giving him 26 games in double-figures this season. Also eclipsed 500 points for the year, becoming the eighth Husker to record consecutive 500-point seasons.

Isaiah Roby

6-8/230

Jr.

Finished with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and hauled in five rebounds in the loss at Penn State.

Tanner Borchardt

6-8/250

Sr.

Played just 18 minutes against Penn State, his lowest playing time in the past five games. Ended with two points, four rebounds, and four fouls.

Purdue projected starters
NAMEHT/WTYEARNOTES

Carsen Edwards

6-1/200

Jr.

Leads the Big Ten and ranks ninth nationally with 23.8 points per game. Scored a game-high 27 points in a win over Nebraska early this season.

Ryan Cline

6-6/195

Sr.

Ranks second on the team with 12.2 points and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

Nojel Eastern

6-6/220

So.

Posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in first meeting with Nebraska. Averaging 6.9 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game.

Grady Eifert

6-6/220

Sr.

Scored 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting with seven rebounds and four steals in the win over Nebraska. Averaging 5.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, and 1.0 spg this season.

Trevion Williams

6-9/280

Fr.

Averaging 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 59 percent from the field on the year.

info icon
Embed content not available

3 KEYS TO VICTORY

1. 'D' up

In the two wins over Minnesota and Northwestern, Nebraska seemed to find a new identity in its post-Isaac Copeland season as a team that won with aggressive and relentless defense. That strategy went completely out the window in Tuesday night's loss at Penn State. The Huskers put out one of their worst overall defensive performances of the Tim Miles era, giving up a whopping 95 points and allowing the Nittany Lions - one of the worst offensive teams in the country - to shoot a blistering 55.6 percent from the field and go 11-of-21 from 3-point range. It wasn't a matter of PSU just being red-hot and hitting a bunch of tough shots that night. It was more a result of NU being lackadaisical - a term the players themselves used after the game - and uninspired in their defensive rotations, on-ball defense, and overall want-to on that end of the floor. Purdue is in a different class than Penn State offensively, and if Nebraska plays with that kind of defensive effort again, the Boilermakers are going to have a field day.

2. Palmer and Watson must step up

James Palmer Jr. led Nebraska with 24 points against Penn State, which served as one of the only bright spots on the final box score. But once again many of those were empty points scored when the game was already well out of reach, and they came on another inefficient 7-of-20 clip. Then there was Glynn Watson, who seemed to be rounding back into form after a four-game slump with two straight double-figure scoring games coming into Tuesday night. But the fourth-year starter fell right back into his offensive woes, finishing with just six points on 2-of-10 shooting and only recording one assist in 34 minutes. Nebraska does not have the luxury of being able to survive when those two players aren't at their best. For the Huskers to even stand a chance against the four remaining top-25 teams on their schedule, Palmer and Watson need to take charge and play like the senior leaders they're supposed to be.

3. Edwards will get his, but keep everyone else in check

Purdue guard Carsen Edwards is just too good of a player to think Nebraska is going to completely shut him down today. He's the most lethal scoring weapon in the Big Ten and lived up to that billing with a game-high 27 points in the first meeting vs. NU earlier this season. So the Huskers need to concede that Edwards is going to get his. The key, however, is making sure none of the Boilermakers' role guys add to that with big nights of their own. Only one other player is averaging double figures for Purdue this season (Ryan Cline, 12.2 ppg), and Nebraska must keep it that way if it's going to keep pace this time around. Going back to the first game in West Lafayette, four Boilermakers scored 10 or more points, including a career-high 16 from forward Grady Eifert, who is only averaging 5.1 ppg and hasn't scored more than nine points in any other game in his career. The Huskers just don't have the firepower to let Edwards have that type of supporting cast again.

info icon
Embed content not available

QUOTABLE

"I think we were all on different pages. Players, coaches, I think we were all... we weren’t doing stuff we were doing in practice. And no one corrected it on the court. People weren’t talking to each other on the court."
Junior forward Isaiah Roby on what went wrong in Nebraska's loss at Penn State on Tuesday night.

PREDICTION

Purdue 75, Nebraska 61

Robin's season record: 16-10

vs. the spread: 12-14