The Nebraska basketball team had a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a way that would have been the talk of the sport for days. Unfortunately, for a contest that saw the offense out of sync far too often and the defense having periods where it didn't appear to be on the court, they couldn't quite overcome their mistakes. All of that combined to give the Huskers an 80-77 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night.
The game, in the PBA, was the third contest in Nebraska's last four against Top 15 teams. Unfortunately, the Huskers went 0-3 in that stretch, though they did win the fourth game, at Rutgers. They also lost two of those games in the final seconds. So what did we learn from its latest loss against No. 13 Purdue? And what questions remain?
Nebraska continues to be a real contender despite the loss
There will be some who claim that losses to Michigan, Illinois, and Purdue mean the Huskers aren't for real. That they're a middle-of-the-road team that pulled off some upsets.
However, that they were down by 22 early in the second half and essentially outplayed Purdue for most of that second period shows this team can play with anyone. The loss itself is a heartbreaker, especially after pushing it to overtime. Still, the fight they showed, and their ability to make it so close after Purdue went on a late run itself, shows this team just needs to put it together sooner. And then hold the momentum once they get it.
Can Nebraska improve its rebounding?
When Nebraska was beating everyone easily, it was fun to talk about Sam Hoiberg being the leading rebounder. However, in the loss to Michigan, they were outrebounded 35-23. Against Illinois, it was a 40-27 deficit. And against Purdue, they were outrebounded 54-37.
It's incredibly hard to win games when the opponent is cleaning the glass that much more consistently than NU. In their last two wins, against Minnesota and Rutgers, they outrebounded the Golden Gophers, 39-31, and were only outrebounded by one (34-33) against the Scarlet Knights.
Something has got to change on the boards if Nebraska wants to finish off the regular season strong.
Rienk Mast is back
Before the Rutgers game, there was a lot of talk about Rienk Mast being in a shooting slump. Then, against the Scarlet Knights, he went 11-for-20 and scored 26 points. He wasn't as dominant on Tuesday night, but his 6-for-13 for 18 points was big. He might have gotten to improve on that had he not fouled out in overtime.
How does Nebraska find a way to close things out?
Against both Michigan and Purdue, the Huskers had a chance to close out the win and simply let it slip through their fingers. Against the Wolverines, they led most of the game, but went without a field goal in the final 3+ minutes to lose 75-72.
Against the Boilermakers, they trailed almost the entire game, then rallied from 22 down to send it to OT. They then rallied again to take a 77-75 lead with 1:31 left in the extra period. Unfortunately, they went scoreless to end the game, and Purdue rallied to win, 80-77. It's also worth pointing out that had Mast converted his and-1 near the end of regulation instead of missing the free throw, the game would have been an incredible come-from-behind NU victory.
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