More: Purdue 2018-19 roster | 2018-19 men's basketball schedule
More ($): Fearful Predictions — Purdue's 2018-19 season | Burning Questions
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019 • 8:30 p.m. ET | Mackey Arena (West Lafayette) | TV: BTN | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
In-game updates: Twitter.com — @GoldandBlackcom | @brianneubert
Our premium board game thread and pre-game thoughts can be found roughly an hour prior to tip-off
ABOUT THIS GAME
• Purdue's riding a seven-game winning streak, sharing the Big Ten lead with Michigan. The 15th-ranked Boilermakers have been outstanding in Mackey Arena all season, but last time out, did have to rally from 13 down with 14 minutes left to beat Minnesota.
• Things have gone off the rails in a hurry for Nebraska, which came into this season with high expectations, but now visits Mackey Arena riding a six-game losing streak, most recently a blowout loss at home to Maryland in which the Cornhuskers scored only 45 points.
Nebraska began trending downward before senior Isaac Copeland suffered a season- and college career-ending knee injury against Ohio State Jan. 26, but that certainly hasn't helped matters.
The 6-foot-9 senior forward was Nebraska's second-leading scorer, averaging 14 points per game.
• Nebraska is really struggling to score, scoring 60 points or fewer in three of its past four games, including just 51 against Wisconsin and 45 vs. Maryland.
For the entirety of the Big Ten season, Nebraska has shot 39.4 percent from the floor, second-worst in the league.
#15 PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (16-6, 9-2 B1G)
Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Projected Rotation
50 C Trevion Williams (6-9, 280, Fr.)
The past two games, Williams is 13-of-17 from the floor and averaging 13 points. His productivity and efficiency continue to be off the charts and fouls might be more of a concern if Matt Haarms wasn't playing so well, too. Williams hasn't had to play more than 20 minutes in a game since mid-January.
24 F Grady Eifert (6-6, 220, Sr.)
Eifert draws one of the more important matchups against Nebraska in forward Isaiah Roby, who Purdue is going to want to keep away from the rim.
14 G/F Ryan Cline (6-6, 195, Sr.)
In the midst of a shooting run that's vaulted him to the top of the Big Ten in three-point percentage, Cline's been outstanding for Purdue of late, one of the top shooters in college basketball. He now leads the Big Ten in three-point percentage in conference play, shooting 50.7 percent, on far-and-away the highest volume among those in the top 10.
20 G Nojel Eastern (6-6, 220, So.)
It will be interesting to see how Purdue plays it defensively, whether Eastern guards point guard Glynn Watson, who's struggling right now, or moves to the wing on defense to take James Palmer, like he did against Indiana's Romeo Langford and Minnesota's Amir Coffey.
3 G Carsen Edwards (6-1, 200, Jr.)
There's a long way to go still but the Big Ten's leading scorer is well on his way to the league scoring crown, averaging 22 a game, more than two points better than Cassius Winston.
KEY PLAYERS
32 C - Matt Haarms (7-3, 250, So.)
Haarms is playing the best basketball of his Purdue career right now, affecting games at both ends of the floor, impacting games with his energy and complementing Trevion Williams ideally.
1 F Aaron Wheeler (6-9, 200, R-Fr.)
2 G Eric Hunter (6-3, 170, Fr.)
55 G Sasha Stefanovic (6-4, 195, R-Fr.)
12 C Evan Boudreaux (6-8, 220, Jr.)
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (13-10, 3-9 B1G)
Staters (last game)
F - 15 Isaiah Roby (6-8, 230, Jr.)
Roby is big and athletic and Matt Painter has been talking him up as an NBA prospect. He can make threes, but the more pressing concern for Purdue will be limiting his dunks and putback, though he's only a 46-percent shooter. He averages around 11 and seven rebounds per game.
F - 20 Tanner Borchardt (6-8, 250, Sr.)
Borchardt's not much of a scorer, but he's a big body and a presence on the glass, a few games removed from an 18-rebound outing vs. Illinois.
G - 34 Thorir Thorbjarnarson (6-6, 206, So.)
The sophomore may or may not start again, but even if he does, he likely won't play starter-type minutes.
G - 5 Glynn Watson (6-0, 180, Sr.)
One of the better point guards in the Big Ten, the senior is struggling badly right now, just 5-of-32 overall and 0-for-3 from three-point range the past three games. He was 0-for-10 vs. Maryland. Doesn't mean Purdue will assume anything there.
G - 0 James Palmer (6-6, 207, Sr.)
The Big Ten's fifth-leading scorer in conference play, averaging 17.9 points, Palmer is one of the conference's toughest covers, a massive, slashing guard who's better than his 37-percent overall shooting suggests.
KEY PLAYERS
G - 12 Thomas Allen (6-1, 184, So.)
Moved out of the starting five for the Maryland game, Allen will play starter-type minutes. He averages eight-and-a-half points per game and is a solid defender.
G - 25 Nana Akenten (6-6, 218, So.)
The reserve guard averages 4.2 points off the bench.
PREDICTION: PURDUE 71, NEBRASKA 55
Purdue is riding a winning streak, but under a very reasonable set of circumstances could have lost each of the past two games. That might be helpful context in a game where it must keep its guard up, despite Nebraska's issues right now. The Cornhuskers have players in Palmer, Roby, Watson, etc. and that commands attention. Purdue's just been so successful at home and Nebraska so middling on offense ...
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