On Tuesday, Jan. 9, the number one ranked Purdue Boilermakers took a road trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take on the unranked but hot Nebraska Cornhuskers. Purdue came into the game at a very impressive record of 14-1 with Nebraska also sitting at a solid record 12-3.
Last year, these two teams faced off against each other and it was a very close game. Nebraska played one of their best games of the year, but was not able to outlast the Boilermakers going down in the final seconds of the contest by a score of 65-62. The Boilermakers were led by freshman Fletcher Loyer with 22 points and Senior Zach Edey with 11 points and 17 rebounds.
One of Nebraska’s key players Brice Williams suffered an ankle injury that left him questionable and a gametime decision for this game. Williams started the game despite his injury. Nebraska’s Junior Reink Mast also recently came back to play from a minor knee surgery that he got in December.
Out of the gate, a quick seven points from Nebraska center Reink Mast gave the Cornhuskers a 7-2 lead. Near the 10 minute mark, Nebraska surrendered the lead going into half going down 1 point behind good three point shooting from Purdue’s Mason Gillis. Nebraska managed to return to a good lead and went into the break with a jaw dropping 11 point lead of 41-30 after a 13-0 run by the Cornhuskers. Nebraska held the reigning unanimous national player of the year Zach Edey to a season low 2 points in the first half.
“I think the thing that gave us the chance was the start,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said in an interview with Nebraska Red. “We came out and threw the first punch, and that was important to set the tone for this game and go into halftime with the lead.”
Purdue came back from the halftime break with a little more intensity than the first half and cut the lead to within one point, but Nebraska picked up where they left off in the first half and went on an extensive run finishing the game with a 16 point victory at 88-72.
“Everyone came into this game very determined because we just dropped one to Wisconsin,” junior Reink Mast said in a post game interview. “This is definitely one of the best team efforts that I have seen in my career.”
Nebraska made 50.9% of their shots from the field during this game and a season high 60.9% from 3 point range in this game. Senior Keisei Tominaga led all scorers in this game with his 19 points as well as Mast right behind him with 18 of his own points, with Brice Williams dropping a near triple double recording 9 points, 9 assists, and 11 rebounds. Nebraska also had a lot of heat off the bench with senior CJ Wilcher scoring 16 for the Cornhuskers. The Boilermaker’s star center finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
“The scene was crazy,” junior Brice Williams said in a post game interview with Nebraska Red. “At the end of the day, it was fun and was very fun to be a part of. I’m going to remember it forever.”
This is the first time Nebraska had beat a number one seed in over 42 years. Not only did the Nebraska basketball team make headlines for knocking off the number one team in the nation, but the Cornhusker fans also made headlines by storming the court after the huge upset and partying with the fans on the court. Nebraska moves to 13-3 and looks forward to two road Big Ten games against the Iowa Hawkeyes and Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
