On Tuesday night the #1 Purdue Boilermakers will face off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena (Nebraska’s Arena). Due to the weather in Nebraska, the arena could be very empty, this might be the best-case scenario for Purdue. Purdue enters the matchup with a 14-1 record, and Nebraska enters the matchup with a 12-3 record.

Nebraska has easily been the most surprising team in the Big Ten, one year after finishing with a record of 16-16, the Cornhuskers have already won 12 out of 15 games. Fred Hoiberg and Matt Painter have both arguably been the 2 best coaches in the Big Ten this season, this matchup will include a lot of plays and great coaching. Fred Hoiberg has turned Nebraska into a potential tournament team this season, bringing in 4 impact transfers including Brice Williams, Josiah Allick, Ahron Ulis, and Rienk Mast. Nebraska could very easily turn into “America’s Team” during March Madness.

Nebraska’s Leading Scorer: SG Keisei Tominaga- 14.2 PPG, 1.1 STL, 1.1 AST
Nebraska’s Role Players: PF Brice Williams- 13.5 PPG, 5.3 REB, 2.4 AST / C Rienk Mask- 12.9 PPG, 9.1 REB, 2.9 AST
Juwan Gary- 12.1 PPG, 5.9 REB, 1.3 STL / C.J Wilcher- 7.9 PPG, 1.9 REB 0.8 AST

Purdue has won 7 games in a row since their lone loss to Northwestern on the road, Purdue also started the season 7-0, they are now 14-1, so if the streak is correct they should lose to Nebraska, but let’s hope the loss was a one-time thing. Purdue has been dominant this season, adding onto their 3 season undefeated non-conference streak, including wins over Tennessee, Arizona, Marquette, and Gonzaga. Purdue has also looked very good in Big Ten play, aside from their loss to Northwestern the Boilers have rolled through their competition, beating Iowa, Maryland, and #9 Illinois. Purdue will be looking to advance their record to 15-1, and their Big Ten record to 4-1. This might not seem like a very important game for Purdue, but if they lose this game they could potentially be 1.5 games behind Wisconsin in the conference race.

Purdue’s Leading Scorer: Zach Edey- 22.3 PPG, 10.6 REB, 2.3 BLK

Purdue’s Role Players: Braden Smith- 13.0 PPG, 6.7 AST, 1.8 STL / Lance Jones- 11.2 PPG, 2.4 AST, 2.3 REB
Fletcher Loyer- 10.9 PPG, 2.4 REB, 1.7 AST / TKR- 8.0 PPG, 4.3 REB, 1.3 AST / Mason Gillis: 5.7 PPG, 3.9 REB

Nebraska holds the home-court advantage, but there is a good chance that the arena will be very empty due to extreme weather in Lincoln. Purdue has scored 80+ points in 8 of their last 9 games, and with the recent emergence of Trey Kaufman-Renn, this team has just unlocked another weapon. Another streak that Purdue has going is Fletcher Loyer scoring 20+ points vs Nebraska, Loyer scored 27 and 22 in both games he has played against Nebraska, and hopefully he can extend that streak. Purdue averages 85.2 PPG (18th), 18.7 APG (12th), and 41.3 REB (20th), and Nebraska averages 77.8 PPG (121st), 15.8 AST (80th), and 39.7 REB (75th). Purdue should be able to hold off the Cornhuskers, but there is definitely a chance that Nebraska wins. If Nebraska wants to win they will have to hit their threes, they are the #1 in the Big Ten for 3-pointers made per game, and if they can hold Purdue cold from behind the arch, and successfully slow down Zach Edey then they could easily upset the Boilers.

Score Prediction: Purdue wins 83-67

Game Start: 9:00 PM EST @ Pinnacle Bank Arena

Where To Watch: Peacock (Sadly)

Radio Coverage: Varsity Network