Nebraska basketball looks to right the ship against Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 09: Dachon Burke Jr. #11 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers looks to pass the ball while being guarded by Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Mackey Arena on February 09, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 09: Dachon Burke Jr. #11 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers looks to pass the ball while being guarded by Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Mackey Arena on February 09, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Nebraska basketball looks to play the role of spoilers in this matchup.

Saturday afternoon basketball is upon us as Nebraska basketball takes on 15th-ranked Purdue in what should be an exciting start to the weekend. One team still has a lot to play for, while one team can play the role of spoilers.

Nebraska basketball did not have a great game at all against Penn State on Wednesday. It looked like they were sleepwalking. They fell behind early and never recovered. James Palmer lead Nebraska basketball in scoring with 24 points on the evening. He shot seven-of-20 from the field and nine of 13 from the free-throw line. It was a rough game for a Nebraska team that really needed this win to stay in the postseason hunt. Now, they will do their best against a tough Purdue team in the friendly confines of Pinnacle Bank Arena.

In their last game, Purdue basketball narrowly defeated Indiana by a 48-46 score. Ryan Cline led the Boilermakers in the scoring department with 11 points on the evening. He went four-of-10 from the field but still managed to get the job done. Carsen Edwards, who is usually efficient, did not have his best night, going four-of-24 from the field ending up with nine points. Even still, the team effort led Purdue to victory.

Nebraska basketball has to watch out for the dynamic scorer on the court that is Edwards. The last time these programs met on February 9, Edwards did it all. He shot eight-of-16 from the field and was a perfect nine-of-nine from the free-throw line.Cline is another player that Tim Miles and company should really focus in on. He is second on the team in scoring with 12.2 points per contest. He certainly did his part in the last meeting between these teams. He chipped in 10 points and was four-of-nine from the field and two-of-five from the free-throw line.

In the Kenpom rankings, Nebraska basketball sits at No. 44 while Purdue checks in at No. 10. The Cornhuskers are definitely the underdogs in this game as Purdue looks to continue their winning ways. A win here would definitely boost Nebraska basketball’s confidence.

Game Information

Game 28: Nebraska vs Purdue

When: 3:00 PM CST

Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln Nebraska

TV: BTN

Stream: BTN 2 Go

Radio: Huskers IMG Radio

Key to the Game

Once again, Nebraska basketball is going to have to watch for the three-point shot. In 26 games,  the Boilermakers have made 264 three-pointers. Breaking down to an average of 10.2 three-pointers per contest, that number leads the conference. In the last game between these two teams, Nebraska basketball did pretty well defending the three-pointer. They held Purdue 28-of-20 from behind the arc. They will need to put a defensive performance together like that again if they want to have a chance at ruining the Boilermakers Saturday evening.