This afternoon, it's the 4th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers visiting Lincoln to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a Big Ten conference game in Pinnacle Bank Arena. Purdue is 9-0 (1-0 in conference) coming off a win over Hofstra earlier this week, and Nebraska is 6-4 (0-1 in conference) coming off a loss on the road to Indiana earlier in the week. Nebraska did upset Creighton on the road the previous game before that.
Tip is scheduled for approximately 2:15 pm (Eastern time) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
Projected Starting Line-ups:
Purdue - Caleb Furst, Zach Edey, Ethan Morton, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
(Matt Painter mentioned he wasn't sure of Mason Gillis' status and if he could give it a go in practice yesterday - will try to update with any change in status)
Nebraska - Juwan Gary, Derrick Walker, Emmanuel Bandoumel, C.J. Wilcher, and Sam Griesel
(Griesel was out @ Indiana due to illness, but he is expected back in the line-up today)
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This is a spot in the schedule where sometimes Purdue has struggled in the past, heading into semester finals. Combine that with the first road conference game against an improved opponent, and this will be a good challenge for the Boilers. Nebraska senior, Derrick Walker, is one of the better match-ups up front against Zach Edey. Walker can be physical and has given Purdue problems in the past. Sam Griesel, if he's back in the line-up, will help with the offense. The transfer from North Dakota State had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Creighton.
I expect Purdue to try and exploit its strengths - Zach Edey in the paint, and if Nebraska throws double/triple teams at him, they'll have some good opportunities from the perimeter. Also expect Purdue to try and work the glass to its advantage; that's been a major edge for them so far this year. Purdue's backcourt will certainly get tested. Braden Smith is coming off a good game while Fletcher Loyer struggled early. At least one of them has seemed to have a very productive game throughout the season - will be very interesting to see how they handle the most hostile environment they've seen yet this year. Purdue got off to a really good start against Hofstra; a repeat of that would be very timely. Purdue is also going to need to limit the turnovers - they've generally been ok in that department for the most part, but they've had the occasional unfocused stretches as well.
This game could likely come down to how well Purdue executes, including if they can work for the right opportunities on offense and make a decent percentage, and how well they deal with any adversity on the road. Are they up to the challenge? We shall see starting in less than an hour.
Boiler up, my friends.
Tip is scheduled for approximately 2:15 pm (Eastern time) with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
Projected Starting Line-ups:
Purdue - Caleb Furst, Zach Edey, Ethan Morton, Fletcher Loyer, and Braden Smith
(Matt Painter mentioned he wasn't sure of Mason Gillis' status and if he could give it a go in practice yesterday - will try to update with any change in status)
Nebraska - Juwan Gary, Derrick Walker, Emmanuel Bandoumel, C.J. Wilcher, and Sam Griesel
(Griesel was out @ Indiana due to illness, but he is expected back in the line-up today)
____________________________________________
This is a spot in the schedule where sometimes Purdue has struggled in the past, heading into semester finals. Combine that with the first road conference game against an improved opponent, and this will be a good challenge for the Boilers. Nebraska senior, Derrick Walker, is one of the better match-ups up front against Zach Edey. Walker can be physical and has given Purdue problems in the past. Sam Griesel, if he's back in the line-up, will help with the offense. The transfer from North Dakota State had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Creighton.
I expect Purdue to try and exploit its strengths - Zach Edey in the paint, and if Nebraska throws double/triple teams at him, they'll have some good opportunities from the perimeter. Also expect Purdue to try and work the glass to its advantage; that's been a major edge for them so far this year. Purdue's backcourt will certainly get tested. Braden Smith is coming off a good game while Fletcher Loyer struggled early. At least one of them has seemed to have a very productive game throughout the season - will be very interesting to see how they handle the most hostile environment they've seen yet this year. Purdue got off to a really good start against Hofstra; a repeat of that would be very timely. Purdue is also going to need to limit the turnovers - they've generally been ok in that department for the most part, but they've had the occasional unfocused stretches as well.
This game could likely come down to how well Purdue executes, including if they can work for the right opportunities on offense and make a decent percentage, and how well they deal with any adversity on the road. Are they up to the challenge? We shall see starting in less than an hour.
Boiler up, my friends.
