Date: Sunday, Dec. 15, 2019

Time: 4 p.m. ET

Venue: Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Neb.)

TV: BTN

Radio: Purdue Radio Network

Purdue Particulars: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

More: Purdue primer and GoldandBlack.com coverage

Nebraska Particulars: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

GoldandBlack.com in-game updates: @GoldandBlackcom | @brianneubert

Lincoln serves as the site for Purdue's first Big Ten road trip and hopefully this year's Nebraska trip is blizzard-free, because the Boilermakers have to get out of town in a hurry, heading to Columbus in advance of Tuesday night's game at Ohio University.

Nebraska is in the midst of a rebuild under Fred Hoiberg and expected to finish at the bottom of the Big Ten, but the Cornhuskers showed a distinct pulse in forcing overtime at Indiana Friday night.

Purdue hasn't played in a week. This was finals week in West Lafayette, and the program's Crossroads Classic results over the years suggest that's not always been an easy act to follow. The calendar and schedule broke this year to where the Crossroads is Purdue's third game after finals.

• The Boilermakers have fared well since the Emerald Coast Classic, routing No. 5 Virginia, then beating Northwestern to open Big Ten play 1-0.

They've played the past two games with a different starting five than they had prior, with big men Matt Haarms and Trevion Williams starting together.

Nebraska will be the first team Purdue has played since the shakeup that will want to play fast.

Nebraska Particulars: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

• Nebraska lost 96-90 in overtime at Indiana Friday night, a bit of a surprisingly competitive game for a Cornhusker team viewed as likely the worst in the Big Ten this season, in a venue at IU that's traditionally one of the league's hardest places to win.

Led by Dachon Burke's 25 and Haanif Cheatham's 21, though, Nebraska gave Indiana real problems offensively off the dribble and made 12 threes, including an end-of-regulation buzzer-beater to force the extra session.

The short turnaround time for the Cornhuskers, though, may be an issue. Nebraska is thin and four of its starters played 40 or more minutes at IU, and after flying back to Lincoln early Saturday morning, Sunday's late afternoon tipoff comes fast.

• Key contributor Jervay Green is suspended indefinitely, as announced prior to the Indiana game. He was averaging 10.3 points per game.

• Thorir Thorbjarnarson is the only current Cornhusker left from last season who's appeared in a game. Guard Dachon Burke was on the roster for Tim Miles' final season, but sitting out after transferring from Robert Morris.

Hoiberg, the former Chicago Bulls coach, built Iowa State with transfers prior to his stint in the NBA, and that'll be his aim in Lincoln, too. That was largely Miles' blueprint, as well.

• Nebraska is young and smaller up front and in part because of it, it's been the worst defensive rebounding team in the Big Ten by a wide margin this season, which could be something to watch against a Purdue team that's been pretty good on the offensive glass.

Nebraska has really struggled, as was expected coming into the season, and very much piecing things together. Getting them early in the season may turn out to be a break. Purdue's defending well, but will be challenged by athleticism off the dribble by this team, and Nebraska showed at IU it can make shots. Purdue needs to weaponize its bigs in every sense, though, and if it can, then Nebraska shouldn't have an answer. Purdue is the better and more experienced team, but has yet to reach a place, offensively in particular, where anything can be taken for granted.

GoldandBlack.com Prediction: Purdue 74, Nebraska 65

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