[7] Purdue 92, Nebraska 65 (Postgame Notes)
The Boilermakers opened the game on a decisive 23-4 run in their 92-65 rout over Nebraska. Zach Edey scored 22 points and Jaden Ivey added 17 to lead Purdue's scorers.
"Looking back at the games we lost, I just felt we were getting disrespect from a lot of people saying we can't do this or can't do that," Ivey said. "I just came out fired up today and I've got to do that every night."
The Boilermakers (14-2, 3-2 Big Ten) have won two straight and six of their last seven. Coach Matt Painter also captured his 183rd victory in Big Ten play, which broke a tie with former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote for seventh in career wins among conference coaches.
Keisei Tominaga led the Cornhuskers with 11 points. Alonzo Verge Jr. and C.J. Wilcher each had 10 points for Nebraska (6-12, 0-7), which has lost five straight and 10 of 11 while dropping to 0-4 this season against ranked foes.
But the Cornhuskers never had a chance and never led after getting into early foul trouble and digging that big deficit in the first 7 1/2 minutes.
"They were in the bonus by the first media timeout in both halves," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. "It's awful hard to (win) when you're giving up extra shots to those guys."
Nebraska did manage to trim the deficit to 29-17 on Bryce McGowens' 3-pointer with 7:16 left in the first half, but Purdue went on a 10-2 spurt to make it 48-30. Wilcher closed the half with a long buzzer-beating shot to make it a 15-point game before pulling away in the second half.
"I just want them to understand how hard it is to win one game in the Big Ten," Painter said after moving within within two wins of matching Ward "Piggy" Lambert (371) for second on the school's career victory list. "Penn State was a hard game for us, this was a hard game for us, the next game will be a hard game for us. You just have to be able to keep that discipline."
Purdue also needs six wins to become the first Big Ten team with 1,000 regular-season wins in conference play.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: Hoiberg was already at a disadvantage inside and short-handed on the bench. So when three starters each drew two fouls before the first media timeout, it was pretty much over. Nebraska fell to 0-10 all-time at Mackey Arena and hopes to be more competitive in the days ahead.
Purdue: A long break following Tuesday's postponement against Michigan helped the Boilermakers fine-tune a few things. They were sharp, efficient, took control inside early, and never relented. Sure, it was Nebraska but if Purdue follows this script, it could run away with the conference title.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Wins over Penn State and Nebraska may not be enough to push Purdue back into the top five next week but they're not likely to be out much longer. Expect the Boilermakers to stay in the top 10 for an 11th consecutive week, matching the second-longest streak in school history. Only a 17-week span from the 1986-87 preseason through the 1987-88 preseason poll was longer. They also had an 11-week streak from January-March 1988.
STAT PACK
Nebraska: McGowens had nine points and Derrick Walker added eight. Lat Mayen led the Cornhuskers with eight rebounds. ... Nebraska finished with 17 turnovers and was outscored 28-7 in points off turnovers. ... The Cornhuskers only have three road wins against top-10 foes in school history, the most recent coming at No. 9 Michigan State on Feb. 16, 2014.
Purdue: Preseason All-American Trevion Williams had 10 points and five rebounds. ... Ivey had four rebounds and five assists, while Edey had nine rebounds and was 9 of 12 from the field. ... Sasha Stefanovic finished with nine points and three assists.
- Purdue improved to 14-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten with a 92-65 win over Nebraska in front of 14,804 fans at Mackey Arena – the 34th consecutive sellout in Mackey Arena.
- Purdue is now 14-2 (or better) for the fifth time under head coach Matt Painter, and for the first time since the 2017-18 season (14-2).
- The win was Purdue's 14th straight in the regular season in games played on the weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).
- Purdue improved to 18-6 against Nebraska, including 8-0 at Mackey Arena. Purdue's eight wins have come by a combined 131 points (16.4 PPG).
- Purdue has scored at least 80 points in 10-of-16 games this season after doing so in just 6-of-28 games last season.
- Purdue improved to 133-16 since the start of the 2014-15 season when attempting more free throws than its opponent.
- The Boilermakers are 52-2 since the start of the 2017-18 season when scoring 80 or more points.
- Over the last 100 Big Ten games, Purdue is 70-30, the best mark in the Big Ten (since the start of the 2015-16 season).
- Matt Painter won his 369th overall game at Purdue. He needs two wins to tie Purdue legend Ward "Piggy" Lambert for fifth on the all-time wins list among Big Ten coaches.
- The 92 points were the most in a Big Ten game since scoring 104 against No. 17 Iowa on Feb. 5, 2020. The 27-point margin of victory was the largest since that same game (104-68).
- The win was Matt Painter's 200th in a conference game (183 at Purdue, 17 at Southern Illinois).
- Purdue improved to 135-15 under Painter when winning the turnover and rebound battles in the same game.
- Purdue forced a season-high 17 turnovers, resulting in 28 points off turnovers.
- Purdue's sophomore class combined for 55 of the 92 points scored.
- Purdue's big man tandem of Zach Edey and Trevion Williams tallied 32 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, shooting 14-of-20 from the field.
- Zach Edey recorded his sixth game this season (in 16 contests) of 20 or more points in 20 or fewer minutes. Since the 2009-10 season, no college basketball has had more than three of those games in a season.
- Caleb Furst's 10 points were the most for him since scoring 12 against Villanova on Nov. 21, 2020 – a span of 11 games.
- Jaden Ivey surpassed 500 career points in the victory, scoring 17 points with five assists and four rebounds. He has scored in double figures in 13 straight games while making at least two 3-pointers in 11 of those games.
The Boilermakers opened the game on a decisive 23-4 run in their 92-65 rout over Nebraska. Zach Edey scored 22 points and Jaden Ivey added 17 to lead Purdue's scorers.
"Looking back at the games we lost, I just felt we were getting disrespect from a lot of people saying we can't do this or can't do that," Ivey said. "I just came out fired up today and I've got to do that every night."
The Boilermakers (14-2, 3-2 Big Ten) have won two straight and six of their last seven. Coach Matt Painter also captured his 183rd victory in Big Ten play, which broke a tie with former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote for seventh in career wins among conference coaches.
Keisei Tominaga led the Cornhuskers with 11 points. Alonzo Verge Jr. and C.J. Wilcher each had 10 points for Nebraska (6-12, 0-7), which has lost five straight and 10 of 11 while dropping to 0-4 this season against ranked foes.
But the Cornhuskers never had a chance and never led after getting into early foul trouble and digging that big deficit in the first 7 1/2 minutes.
"They were in the bonus by the first media timeout in both halves," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. "It's awful hard to (win) when you're giving up extra shots to those guys."
Nebraska did manage to trim the deficit to 29-17 on Bryce McGowens' 3-pointer with 7:16 left in the first half, but Purdue went on a 10-2 spurt to make it 48-30. Wilcher closed the half with a long buzzer-beating shot to make it a 15-point game before pulling away in the second half.
"I just want them to understand how hard it is to win one game in the Big Ten," Painter said after moving within within two wins of matching Ward "Piggy" Lambert (371) for second on the school's career victory list. "Penn State was a hard game for us, this was a hard game for us, the next game will be a hard game for us. You just have to be able to keep that discipline."
Purdue also needs six wins to become the first Big Ten team with 1,000 regular-season wins in conference play.
BIG PICTURE
Nebraska: Hoiberg was already at a disadvantage inside and short-handed on the bench. So when three starters each drew two fouls before the first media timeout, it was pretty much over. Nebraska fell to 0-10 all-time at Mackey Arena and hopes to be more competitive in the days ahead.
Purdue: A long break following Tuesday's postponement against Michigan helped the Boilermakers fine-tune a few things. They were sharp, efficient, took control inside early, and never relented. Sure, it was Nebraska but if Purdue follows this script, it could run away with the conference title.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Wins over Penn State and Nebraska may not be enough to push Purdue back into the top five next week but they're not likely to be out much longer. Expect the Boilermakers to stay in the top 10 for an 11th consecutive week, matching the second-longest streak in school history. Only a 17-week span from the 1986-87 preseason through the 1987-88 preseason poll was longer. They also had an 11-week streak from January-March 1988.
STAT PACK
Nebraska: McGowens had nine points and Derrick Walker added eight. Lat Mayen led the Cornhuskers with eight rebounds. ... Nebraska finished with 17 turnovers and was outscored 28-7 in points off turnovers. ... The Cornhuskers only have three road wins against top-10 foes in school history, the most recent coming at No. 9 Michigan State on Feb. 16, 2014.
Purdue: Preseason All-American Trevion Williams had 10 points and five rebounds. ... Ivey had four rebounds and five assists, while Edey had nine rebounds and was 9 of 12 from the field. ... Sasha Stefanovic finished with nine points and three assists.