For Purdue basketball fans who are literature buffs, Tuesday night’s game on the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers resonated in one of two ways.
Enthusiasts of Charles Dickens’ work may feel the Boilermakers’ effort was “A Tale Of Two Halves”; it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Others believe this squad was the spitting image of the main characters in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
Either way, Purdue survived the disjointed and choppy flow of their overall performance in Lincoln and prevailed in overtime, 80-77. The Boilers held a 21-point lead with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game, but were forced to hang on for dear life the rest of the way.
Trey Kaufman-Renn pulled down a career high 19 rebounds, 16 of them on the defensive end. Oscar Cluff (12 points and 14 rebounds) and Braden Smith (13 points and 10 assists) each registered a double-double, while Fletcher Loyer led Purdue with 18 points.
With the win, the 13th-ranked Boilermakers notched their 20th win of the season. That marks the 16th time they have won at least 20 games in a season under Matt Painter‘s watch. Nebraska, after winning its first 20 games, lost for the third time in its last four games and dropped to 21-3 overall.
The tradition at Pinnacle Bank Arena for Huskers fans is to remain standing until their club scores its first field goal. On Tuesday night, their legs were growing weary waiting for that first bucket.
Purdue bolted out to a 14-1 lead, and Nebraska loyalists did not take their seats until the 15:42 mark when Braden Frager hit a short jumper. C.J. Cox drilled a mid-range shot with exactly six minutes remaining in the half, which gave the Boilermakers their largest lead of the half at 36-19.
While Purdue was not scorching the nets with their 43% shooting from the field, they thoroughly dominated the glass in the opening twenty minutes. The Boilers grabbed 25 rebounds, nine on the offensive end, and held an eleven-board advantage at halftime and led 40-24 on the scoreboard.
Kaufman-Renn’s statistical line at the break was very odd. He came into the game averaging 12.4 points per game, but he did not attempt a shot in the first half. He did, however, grab nine rebounds in his first 14 minutes of playing time.
Painter was pleased with how his team started the game, especially away from home in a hostile Big 10 contest.
“That’s where a lot of our makes came from if you look at our numbers,” he said regarding Purdue’s first half performance. “Our numbers in the second half are very similar to their numbers in the first half. Just getting off to a good start and getting them on their heels a little bit. We knew they would make a run and get going.
“But yeah, that was good to see on the road. When you get into an environment like this against a top-10 team in the country, you let them get their heads up, it can be a blowout.”
Over the first six minutes of the second half, Purdue enjoyed much of the same successes it experienced in the first half. Gicarri Harris drilled a long three-pointer with 14:02 to go in the game to give the Boilers a commanding 52-31 lead.
That woke Nebraska out of its game-long slumber. Over the next nine minutes, Nebraska went on a 22-5 run and trailed by just four, 57-53, after Sam Hoiberg‘s layup with 5:20 remaining.
Purdue reeled off the game’s next ten points, and they appeared to be comfortably ahead by 14 points, 67-53, with just 2:45 left. From that point, Nebraska roared back to force overtime by scoring 15 points in that final stretch, compared to just one made free throw for the Boilers. In the second half, Purdue converted on just four of their ten free-throw attempts.
Loyer banged home a three-pointer to begin the extra session, and Cox did the same with 3:09 left to give Purdue a 75-70 lead. Jamarques Lawrence tied the game at 75 with a three-point basket of his own. After an empty Boiler possession, Pryce Sandfort gave Nebraska the lead with a layup at the 1:44 mark.
Cluff was fouled with just under a minute remaining, but he made only one of his two free throws, leaving the Boilermakers still one point down. Hoiberg missed his three-point attempt with Nebraska’s ensuing possession, and that set up Purdue’s memorable finish.
Kaufman-Renn rebounded Hoiberg’s miss with 29 seconds remaining. Loyer broke free for a three-point attempt that bounced off the rim into Smith’s waiting hands with 13 seconds left. The ball was then moved around the perimeter back to Loyer, who found Cluff in the middle of the lane. Cluff caught the ball, spun to his right, and used his left hand to lay the ball in while being fouled with six seconds to go.
Painter commented on the poise demonstrated by Loyer to find his big man in that spot.
“He got stuck. The ball got reversed to him, he drove and he didn’t have a shot. He couldn’t get to his pull-up or get to the rim. But he played on two feet and he’s under control. Oscar got the post-up, he got the ball to him and obviously got fouled.”
Cluff missed the and-1 attempt. Cox rebounded the miss but turned the ball over due to a held ball call. Nebraska had possession with 3.9 seconds left, but the inbound pass was intercepted by Harris. He calmly drained two free throws to give Purdue a three-point lead. The Cornhuskers attempted to advance the ball into scoring range, but their pass was easily thwarted, giving the Boilers a thrilling, top-10 victory.
Following the game, Painter was thankful to escape Lincoln with a win over a quality opponent.
“We were just one possession better than them,” he admitted. “I said we had 20 more possessions than them, and we needed all of them. Proud of them. It wasn’t easy.”
Being the results-based business that college basketball is, no section of the standings keeps track of close wins. Winning is the goal, no matter if it is by three in overtime or by thirty in regulation.
Boiler Nation may wake up on Wednesday feeling a bit conflicted. On one hand, their team blew a 21-point second-half lead and was forced to play an overtime period. On the other hand, their team made plays at the end and prevailed. They are not going to please everyone all the time, but Tuesday’s victory over a solid Nebraska team should be celebrated.
Up next for the Boilermakers is a road date against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday. Game time is set for 5 PM EST.
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