Good evening, Ladies & Gentlemen. Tonight, the Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-8; 2-4) visit Mackey Arena to take on the #3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers (15-1; 4-1). Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 7:00 pm (Eastern time) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
Projected Starting Line-ups:
Nebraska - Wilhelm Breidenbach (Juwan Gary is listed as out with a shoulder injury), Derrick Walker, Emmanuel Bandoumel, C.J. Wilcher, and Denim Dawson (Sam Griesel out with a hip flexor issue).
Purdue - Caleb Furst, Zach Edey, Ethan Morton, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
The two teams recently played last month (December 10th) in Lincoln, with Purdue winning a tight one in overtime, 65-62. I expect the game style of this contest to be similar - Derrick Walker had some success inside against Purdue. Nebraska also attempted 32 3pt FG's - they got a big boost off the bench from Keisei Tominaga with 19 pts, and the Boilers will need to contain him when he's in the game.
I also don't expect Nebraska's starting guards to shoot as poorly as they did the last game - Griesel and Wilcher will look to get going more. Purdue will need to play with the energy and focus from the second half of the last game against Penn State last Sunday. Coach Matt Painter thought that may have been Purdue's best half of the year, which is high praise in light of some of the early big games Purdue won. And hopefully for Purdue, the good shooting from the Penn State victory is a sign of a turn around. They struggled in the game last month against the Cornhuskers shooting 23-58 (39.7%) overall, 7-29 (24.1%) from 3pt range, and 12-20 (60%) FT's. They also gave up 19 offensive rebounds to Nebraska and lost a double-digit second half lead. If Purdue can hit some of those shots they were missing, it will really put Nebraska in a quandary and can give the Boilers control of the game pace.
Look for Purdue to also try and establish a paint presence with Zach Edey and Caleb Furst and try to get more attempts at the line. I also expect Braden Smith to continue to assert himself. His last two games have been terrific. also, look for continued involvement from Purdue's bench as well. They've been a little up and down collectively the last month, but they'll definitely be needed tonight. As with every game, Purdue would also like to limit the turnovers, they had 12 the last game against Nebraska with a few of them fueling Nebraska runs. If they can do that and control the glass, Nebraska may not have enough offense to defeat Purdue.
Another item that will help the Boilers is that for the first time in a while, the students will be back in Mackey Arena - should be a more heightened home crowd advantage for Purdue. Can the Boilers keep it rolling and stay atop the conference? They're currently tied with Michigan State @ 4-1 and travel to East Lansing next for a game Monday afternoon. They'll definitely need to avoid looking ahead tonight and come out with a strong effort from the outset.
We'll see how they do in a couple of hours.
Boiler Up, my friends.
Projected Starting Line-ups:
Nebraska - Wilhelm Breidenbach (Juwan Gary is listed as out with a shoulder injury), Derrick Walker, Emmanuel Bandoumel, C.J. Wilcher, and Denim Dawson (Sam Griesel out with a hip flexor issue).
Purdue - Caleb Furst, Zach Edey, Ethan Morton, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
The two teams recently played last month (December 10th) in Lincoln, with Purdue winning a tight one in overtime, 65-62. I expect the game style of this contest to be similar - Derrick Walker had some success inside against Purdue. Nebraska also attempted 32 3pt FG's - they got a big boost off the bench from Keisei Tominaga with 19 pts, and the Boilers will need to contain him when he's in the game.
I also don't expect Nebraska's starting guards to shoot as poorly as they did the last game - Griesel and Wilcher will look to get going more. Purdue will need to play with the energy and focus from the second half of the last game against Penn State last Sunday. Coach Matt Painter thought that may have been Purdue's best half of the year, which is high praise in light of some of the early big games Purdue won. And hopefully for Purdue, the good shooting from the Penn State victory is a sign of a turn around. They struggled in the game last month against the Cornhuskers shooting 23-58 (39.7%) overall, 7-29 (24.1%) from 3pt range, and 12-20 (60%) FT's. They also gave up 19 offensive rebounds to Nebraska and lost a double-digit second half lead. If Purdue can hit some of those shots they were missing, it will really put Nebraska in a quandary and can give the Boilers control of the game pace.
Look for Purdue to also try and establish a paint presence with Zach Edey and Caleb Furst and try to get more attempts at the line. I also expect Braden Smith to continue to assert himself. His last two games have been terrific. also, look for continued involvement from Purdue's bench as well. They've been a little up and down collectively the last month, but they'll definitely be needed tonight. As with every game, Purdue would also like to limit the turnovers, they had 12 the last game against Nebraska with a few of them fueling Nebraska runs. If they can do that and control the glass, Nebraska may not have enough offense to defeat Purdue.
Another item that will help the Boilers is that for the first time in a while, the students will be back in Mackey Arena - should be a more heightened home crowd advantage for Purdue. Can the Boilers keep it rolling and stay atop the conference? They're currently tied with Michigan State @ 4-1 and travel to East Lansing next for a game Monday afternoon. They'll definitely need to avoid looking ahead tonight and come out with a strong effort from the outset.
We'll see how they do in a couple of hours.
Boiler Up, my friends.
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