Purdue Basketball Game 17 Preview: Nebraska

Coming off a few days off after back-to-back road wins against Ohio State and Penn State, third-ranked Purdue returns home to complete this season’s two-game regular season series with Nebraska, who took the Boilermakers to overtime in Lincoln back in December. Here’s our in-depth GoldandBlack.com preview.

Where: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette)

When: Friday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m. ET

TV: BTN

Radio: Purdue Sports Network (WAZY locally)

In-game updates: GoldandBlack.com | Twitter @brianneubert

ABOUT THE TEAMS

Purdue: Roster | Schedule | Stats

Nebraska: Roster | Schedule | Stats

NUMBERS AND SUCH

Team	AP	Coaches	NET	KenPom	KenPom Win%
Purdue	3	3	3	6	91%
Nebraska	—	—	96	92	9%

ON PURDUE (15-1, 4-1 B1G)

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PROJECTED PURDUE LINEUPS

Starters

Center — 15 Zach Edey (7-4, 290, Junior)

Edey has been dominant this season, but against Nebraska in December, his dominance was limited mostly to the defensive end, as the Cornhuskers’ crowding of the lane held him to just seven shots. It will be interesting to see if Purdue can get him involved via pick-and-roll, as has been so effective this season.

Forward— 1 Caleb Furst (6-10, 230, Sophomore)

Quietly, Furst was outstanding against Penn State. Watch out for him and Purdue’s other 4 men shooting that far-side three in Purdue’s ball-screen offense if opponents keep trying to take the lane away from Zach Edey, which Nebraska will try to do.

Guard — 3 Braden Smith (6-0, 180, Freshman)

Smith’s been excellent the past two games. Excellent. He has had these games by the throat at times, and his scoring — and willingness to look for his scoring — has really opened other things up for Purdue offensively. It’s not just the attacking the basket, but Smith is 6-of-12 from three the past two outings.

Guard — 2 Fletcher Loyer (6-4, 185, Freshman)

As good as Loyer’s been all season, it was just a matter of time before he started making threes at a higher rate. Well, he’s 9-of-18 since Big Ten play resumed and has made some awfully big ones.

Guard/Forward — 25 Ethan Morton (6-7, 215, Junior)

Morton’s defensive skill set again comes to the forefront against Sam Griesel. He was a key piece to Purdue’s win at Penn State without him even taking a shot.

Rotational Reserves

Guard — 5 Brandon Newman (6-5, 200, Junior)

Forward/Center — 4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (6-9, 225, Redshirt Freshman)

Guard/Forward — 11 Brian Waddell (6-8, 195, Redshirt Freshman)

Guard — 14 David Jenkins Jr. (6-1, 200, Senior)

Forward — 0 Mason Gillis (6-6, 230, Junior)

Note: Freshman center Will Berg and wing Camden Heide will redshirt this season.

ON NEBRASKA (9-8, 2-4 B1G)

• Nebraska’s split its past four Big Ten games, after an 0-2 December conference slate. Notably, Nebraska blew out Iowa in Lincoln, but has since lost non-competitively to Michigan State and Illinois, neither of which have been well-oiled machines this season.

• The Cornhuskers are top-50 nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom, and don’t foul very much. That’s what stands out on their statistical profile more than anything.

NEBRASKA LINEUPS

Guard — 5 Sam Griesel (6-7, 216, Senior)

Griesel, a transfer from North Dakota State, is a rock-solid all-around player and one of the driving forces behind Nebraska’s improvement this season. He was just 2-of-14 against Purdue last time, but had just come back from illness. Ethan Morton had something to do with it, too.

Guard — 0 C.J. Wilcher (6-5, 208, Sophomore)

The Xavier transfer was a non-factor against Purdue the first time around, missing all six of his shots, but nevertheless, he’s a player the Boilermakers will have to keep tabs on for fear the high-volume gunner could go off from beyond the arc.

Guard — 25 Emmanuel Bandoumel (6-4, 187, Senior)

The athletic wing who transferred in from SMU showed in December he can make threes, nailing three of them against Purdue, three of his 15 this season. He’s a 22-percent shooter.

Center — 13 Derrick Walker (6-9, 245, Senior)

One of the better — and most overlooked — big guys in the Big Ten, the high-motor and strong-bodied post gets things done, on the glass and on the offensive end. He’ll be a handful for Purdue on the glass and when he faces the basket and drives against Zach Edey. He averages team-bests of 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds.

Guard — 4 Juwan Gary (6-6, 215, Junior)

The Alabama transfer averages nine-and-a-half points per game.

Bench

Guard— 30 Keisei Tominaga (6-2, 175, Sophomore)

Tominaga was the key figure in the run of outlier shooting that made the game in Lincoln as close as it was after Purdue led by as many as 14 in the second. He scored 19 off the bench, with four triples.

Guard — 10 Jamarques Lawrence (6-3, 185, Freshman)

Guard —12 Denim Dawson (6-6, 193, R-Freshman)

Center —32 Wilhelm Breidenbach (6-10, 231, Sophomore)

The big man’s been giving Nebraska good minutes and a considerable productivity off the bench lately. FYI: He can step out and shoot threes. He made two of ’em against Illinois.

THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE

rebounding	contain walker	patience
Nebraska’s 19 offensive rebounds in Lincoln were the product of superior hustle by the home team, particularly on long rebounds, but also the presence of Walker. Purdue too often allows second chances in bunches, but has generally gotten away with it.	Derrick Walker isn’t the most talented player in the Big Ten, but his creativity against size can be problematic for Purdue’s bigs. Some help may be in order for Edey when Walker faces and drives.	Even with Walker, Nebraska’s going to defend Edey mid-major style, swarming him with bodies and coming at him from all over. Purdue needs to be methodical to get him involved and to get the best threes it can get.

LIGHTNING-ROUND TAKES

• Nebraska’s second-half shooting in Lincoln was kind of fluky. Not sure it will be replicable on the road.

• The Cornhuskers are much better than they’ve normally been the past several seasons, mainly at the defensive end, but better gets you only so far in a league as competitive as the Big Ten. Nebraska will have a decision to make about Fred Hoiberg after the season.

PREDICTION: PURDUE 73, NEBRASKA 58

Nebraska shouldn’t be dismissed summarily here, but it would take a pretty comprehensive malfunction on Purdue’s part against a Cornhusker team that has no offensive weapons that really scare you. Turnovers and putrid shooting would have to be part of the equation, and those two things happened the first time around and Purdue still led by more than a dozen after halftime.