Purdue earns first Big Ten road win by holding off Nebraska in Lincoln

LINCOLN — Pushed to its breaking point after a 14-point lead had slipped away, fourth-ranked Purdue steadied itself, probably grew up some in the process, and fought off Nebraska, 65-62, in overtime Saturday in Lincoln. The Boilermakers improve to 10-0 and 2-0 in the Big Ten.

Freshman Fletcher Loyer scored a game-high 22 points in his first Big Ten road game, so often answering Nebraska’s bursts with important responses in a game in which Zach Edey‘s scoring was neutralized more than ever this season.

Edey was constantly swarmed by Cornhuskers, after the catch and before, and managed only seven field goal attempts in 43 minutes. But he did grab 17 rebounds and block seven shots.

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FLETCHER LOYER: THE RESPONSE

With the ball essentially taken out of Edey’s hands by ganging up on him and the Boilermakers’ inability to shoot the Cornhuskers out of it — Purdue was 7-of-29 from three — the visitors needed someone to usher them through difficult moments.

That player: Fletcher Loyer.

“Fletcher wanted the ball,” Coach Matt Painter said. “The get in that (situation) and the crowd gets going — and Nebraska’s fans are great — they get loud. … We haven’t really been in these environments, in these hornets’ nests and (seen) how they are, and he wanted the ball. Fletch was great.”

Purdue led by as many as 11 in the first half, but Nebraska rallied to tie the game at 19-all just inside the six-minute mark. Loyer responded with a driving bucket, then an and-one to trigger a run of 10 straight Purdue points.

Right after the Boilermaker lead peaked at 14 in the second half, Nebraska scored 10 in a row, but as soon as it got within four and Pinnacle Bank Arena came alive, Loyer knocked down a jumper off the dribble.

Most importantly, overtime.

Nebraska led this game for just 39 seconds, because both one-point leads the Cornhuskers took in OT were immediately claimed back by Loyer baskets.

“I saw opportunities and knew I could knock down big shots,” Loyer said. “When I saw an open lane or an open guy, I knew I just had to make the right play to help the team win.”

Loyer’s actions were a bit more revealing of his mentality than his words might be.

With less than six minutes to play in regulation, Loyer took a handoff, drove an open lane and dunked the ball with one hand, to push a two-point Purdue lead back to four.

Painter said he’d never seen Loyer dunk before.

“I’ve dunked before,” Loyer joked. “I just don’t do it often.

“I save it for the right time.”

That was the story of his whole game.

His classmate, Braden Smith, finished things off, making four free throws on as many tries in the final 28 seconds of overtime. He’s a freshman, too.

“I just went through my routine and did what I normally do in practice,” Smith said. “Nothing changes about it. Just another free throw.”

PURDUE OVERCAME A LOT

A lot of things lined up for Nebraska to pull a monumental upset here, but Purdue overcame a number of issues that belied its winning formula to this point.

Purdue’s been excellent on the defensive glass this season, but Nebraska very nearly matched the Boilermakers on the boards, 46-44. Nineteen of the Huskers’ rebounds came at the offensive end, including at least four during a frantic string of misses late in regulation, at least four offensive rebounds coming right after the rebounds of back-to-back misses went off Purdue. That was essentially six second chances with the game on the line. (Purdue got the ball finally, Brandon Newman made two free throws, then Keisei Tominaga forced OT with nine seconds to play.)

Nebraska took 14 more shots than Purdue.

Meanwhile, Purdue was only 12-of-20 at the foul line and missed at least two one-and-ones. It squandered numerous chances to score at the rim, three such misses clustered together as the Boilermakers clung to a two-point lead.

A lot of things happened in this game that might normally add up to a loss.

“It means a lot,” Edey said. “(Painter) was saying that when you can learn through winning and you don’t have to take that loss, that’s a big thing. And road wins are never easy in the Big Ten and it doesn’t matter what a team’s record is or what people might think of a team.”

NEBRASKA IS BETTER

Rarely in recent years have people viewed Nebraska as a quality win. They’ve been the worst team in the league over and over and over again, with new bands of transfers showing up every year and generally looking as much like a pick-up team that a program.

This team’s different.

“They defend,” Painter said at the beginning of his obligatory spiel for out-of-town media about why the team they cover is good.

There’s a long way to go this season, but as of today, this is a Quad 1 win for an already strong Boilermaker résumé, in additional to all the developmental value this game and all its circumstances may have.

“Nebraska deserved to win the game just as much as we did,” Painter said.