Nebraska Basketball Game Day: Purdue

Here is what you need to know going into Nebraska’s first Big Ten rematch of the season at No. 3 Purdue tonight at Mackey Arena…

Who, What, Where, When

Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-8, 2-4) at Purdue Boilermakers (15-1, 4-1)

Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 – 6:00 p.m. CT

Mackey Arena (14,804)

TV: BTN

Radio: Huskers Radio Network

Internet: FOX Sports App

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Nebraska projected starters

Sam Griesel	G	Sr.	6-7/216	Scored a team-high 12 points in the loss to Illinois.
Emmanuel Bandoumel	G	Sr.	6-4/187	Held to a season-low 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting against Illinois.
C.J. Wilcher	G	So.	6-5/208	Posted 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 turnovers in the loss to Illinois.
Wilhelm Breidenbach	F	So.	6-10/231	Had 11 points vs. Illinois. He or Denim Dawson could start tonight.
Derrick Walker	F	Sr.	6-9/245	Held to season-lows in points (5) and minutes (19) vs. Illinois.

Purdue projected starters

Braden Smith	G	Fr.	6-0/180	Freshman averaging 9.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game.
Fletcher Loyer	G	Fr.	6-4/185	Freshman who ranks second on team in scoring at 12.4 points per game.
Ethan Morton	G	Jr.	6-7/215	Scoring 4.6 points and leads the team with 3.8 assists per game.
Caleb Furst	F	So.	6-10/230	Averages 7.6 ppg on 56.5% shooting with 4.9 rpg.
Zach Edey	C	Jr.	7-4/290	National POY frontrunner. Tops B1G at 21.9 ppg & 13.2 rpg; 2nd at 2.1 bpg.

Keep Zach Edey in check

Pretty much everything Purdue does runs through center Zach Edey. One of the main reasons why Nebraska nearly upset the Boilermakers last month in Lincoln was because it kept him in check as well as any opponent this season. The 7-foot-4, 290-pound junior leads the Big Ten in scoring (21.9 ppg) and rebounding (13.2 rpg) and ranks second in blocked shots (2.1 bpg). However, in the first meeting with the Huskers, Edey was held to a season-low 10 points on just seven shot attempts. He still made his presence felt with a whopping 17 rebounds and seven blocks. But as far as taking the game over as a scorer, NU couldn’t have defended him much better. For Nebraska to have any chance tonight, it will need every bit of that effort against one of the most daunting challenges in basketball.

Get Derrick Walker going

It’s a lot to ask for 6-foot-9 Derrick Walker to carry the load against a player like Edey. But if Tuesday night’s blowout loss to Illinois proved anything, it’s that Walker is critical to Nebraska’s offensive success. Two early fouls held the sixth-year senior to just six minutes in the first half, and he didn’t score his first points until 12:50 remained in the game. Walker set season lows in both points (5) and minutes played (19). It was zero coincidence that the Huskers also matched their season-worst point total (50). The other game in which NU was held to 50 was at St. John’s when Walker wasn’t even in the lineup. In other words, Walker has to be the driving force for Nebraska’s offense to compete against anyone in the Big Ten, let alone the third-ranked team in the country on the road.

Handle the hornet’s nest

If you ask every coach in the Big Ten what the most challenging road environment is, almost all of them would say Mackey Arena. Much of that is due to Purdue annually being one of the conference’s top teams. While the 14,804-seat venue isn’t the largest capacity in the league, its domed aluminum roof and rowdy student section make it one of the loudest gyms in the country. Nebraska has never won in West Lafayette and is 0-7 at Mackey since joining the Big Ten. The average score over that span is 79.2-63.7. Now the Huskers must travel there again for a Friday night game with students back on campus. You can bet the Boilermakers haven’t forgotten their overtime scare in Lincoln, and NU will have their full attention. Nebraska must prevent the game-changing runs that have defined every previous trip to Purdue.

Quotable

“I’ll say this, we do have guys that are going to go out and compete. But Juwan, he gives you so many different things with the versatility. One guy is not going to make up for what we’ll miss without Juwan. We’re going to have to do it by committee. It is what it is. It’s a next-man-up mentality. We don’t know exactly how many games (Gary) will miss; we just know he will know he will not play tomorrow. So everybody’s got to be ready to step up.”

NU head coach Fred Hoiberg on replacing forward Juwan Gary, who will miss tonight’s game with a shoulder injury.

Prediction

Purdue (-15.5) 81, Nebraska 65

Robin’s overall season record: 11-6

Robin’s record vs. the spread: 8-9

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