Purdue Info
Head Coach: Matt Painter (20th season)
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Conference: B1G
Nickname: Boilermakers
Mascot: Boilermaker Special, Purdue Pete
Line: Purdue by 8.5
Typical Rotation Depth: 9
KenPom rank: 16
Nota bene:
- Nebraska has never won at Mackey arena. The one road win Nebraska has over Purdue was in 1956 when Jerry Bush's Nebraska team won 65-62
- 7'4" freshman center Daniel Jacobsen is out for the season. With 7'2" sophomore center Will Berg barely playing, this is Purdue's smallest team in over a decade
- Purdue relies on its big 3 of Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Fletcher Loyer for scoring. No other active Boilermaker is scoring more than 6 points per game.
- Purdue's non-con schedule rank is 14th in KenPom
- Elkhorn North product Jack Lusk is a walk-on transfer for the Boilermakers after starting his college career at D-III Millikin University
Player to watch: Braden Smith
The Preseason B1G POTY has been living up to they hype, leading the B1G in assists while ranking 2nd in steals and minutes played. Smith is currently shooting 42.2% from 3.
Player to watch: Trey Kaufman-Renn
Purdue's leading scorer and rebounder is a smaller starting center than Purdue traditionally plays but has been dominant offensively, scoring in double digits in every game played this season. TKR is a threat to get to the FT line where he shoots just 57.4%.
Player to watch: Fletcher Loyer
Loyer is still making 3s for Purdue, hitting on 45.5% of them this season. Loyer actually has more takes from 2 this season and is a 3 level scorer.
Purdue Roster
| Player | # | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | Summary |
| Trey Kaufman-Renn | 4 | JR | F | 6-9 | 210 | 17.7 Pts 6.3 Reb 2.3 Ast |
| Braden Smith | 3 | JR | G | 6-0 | 180 | 15.4 Pts 4.7 Reb 8.9 Ast |
| Fletcher Loyer | 2 | JR | G | 6-4 | 185 | 13.9 Pts 2.1 Reb 1.8 Ast |
| Myles Colvin | 5 | SO | G | 6-5 | 200 | 5.7 Pts 3.1 Reb 0.7 Ast |
| C.J. Cox | 0 | FR | G | 6-3 | 200 | 5.4 Pts 2.4 Reb 0.8 Ast |
| Camden Heide | 23 | SO | F | 6-7 | 205 | 5.4 Pts 3.7 Reb 0.4 Ast |
| Caleb Furst | 1 | SR | F | 6-10 | 215 | 4.7 Pts 2.8 Reb 0.3 Ast |
| Gicarri Harris | 24 | FR | G | 6-3 | 200 | 3.2 Pts 1.8 Reb 1.1 Ast |
| Raleigh Burgess | 34 | FR | F | 6-11 | 240 | 2.6 Pts 1.8 Reb 0.4 Ast |
| Will Berg | 44 | SO | C | 7-2 | 260 | 2.5 Pts 1.9 Reb 0.5 Ast |
| Daniel Jacobsen | 12 | FR | C | 7-4 | 230 | 6.5 Pts 3.5 Reb 0.0 Ast |
| Brian Waddell | 11 | JR | F | 6-7 | 185 | 1.6 Pts 0.6 Reb 0.8 Ast |
UNL Game Notes
Roster/infirmary report
Possible starters for Nebraska
3 Guard Brice Williams 6-7 214 lbs Senior
4 Forward Juwan Gary 6-6 226 lbs Senior
24 Guard Rollie Worster 6-5 210 lbs Senior
34 Center Braxton Meah 7-1 264 lbs Senior
9 Forward Berke Büyüktuncel 6-10 244 lbs
Bench
0 Guard Connor Essegian 6-4 190 lbs Junior
1 Guard Sam Hoiberg 6-0 185 lbs Junior
2 Guard Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 lbs Senior
23 Forward Andrew Morgan 6-10 242 lbs Senior
31 Guard Cale Jacobsen 6-4 195 lbs Sophomore
12 Guard Gavin Griffiths 6-7 193 lbs Sophomore
5 Forward Braden Frager 6-7 220 lbs Freshman
8 Guard Jeffrey Grace III 6-3 200 lbs Junior
20 Forward Justin Bolis 6-8 225 lbs Sophomore
25 Guard Nick Janowski 6-4 208 lbs Freshman
35 Forward Henry Burt 6-7 222 lbs Sophomore
Out for year
51 Forward Rienk Mast 6-10 260 lbs Senior
Hoiberg Presser
The Skinny:
Despite losing Zach Eddy, Purdue finds themselves towards the top of the B1G yet again powered by their big 3. Purdue still works their inside-out offense with Boliermaker post players kicking out to perimeter shooters as needed. The Huskers will need plenty of juice to scramble in this game and one has to question how much they'll have in what could be a sleepy Sunday crowd.
One way that Nebraska can keep up with Purdue is on the offensive boards. Between Purdue's relative lack of size and methodical pace, opportunities for second chance points should be available.
It seems that that a path to victory against Purdue is to make the role players beat you and it seems inevitable that the Huskers will throw double teams against Trey Kaufman-Renn all day long. Trying to take away both Smith and Loyer seems problematic given Purdue's patience.
Mackey Arena has been a house of horrors for the Huskers since joining the conference. The closest Nebraska has been to beating Purdue there was back in 2014 when the Boilers finished under .500. However, this is arguably the best conference team Nebraska has brought to Purdue. Is it enough?
Prediction: Purdue 84 - Nebraska 68
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