Fletcher Loyer's shooting lifts Purdue basketball past Nebraska into Big Ten semifinal
· Yahoo Sports
CHICAGO — This time, Purdue men's basketball kept a Nebraska comeback at bay, at it send the Boilermakers to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
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The 7-seed Boilermakers won 74-58 in Friday's quarterfinal over the 2-seed Cornhuskers. Purdue (25-8) next plays either Michigan State or UCLA in Saturday's semifinals at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Here's what I liked and disliked, and what the Boilers' win means.
What I liked in Purdue basketball's win vs Nebraska in 2026 Big Ten Tournament
Purdue could in no way be overly confident with a 13-point halftime lead, having blown a 22-point early second-half lead in Lincoln last month. It needed to protect or extend its advantage over the first six or eight minutes of the second half. It couldn’t do the latter, but at the under-12 timeout, it still led by 13.
The Huskers had it down to eight before Braden Smith made a couple of heady plays. He leaned into Jared Garcia to draw a shooting foul late in the shot clock and made both free throws. Then he corralled an offensive rebound tipped by Trey Kaufman-Renn and found C.J. Cox for one of his patented corner 3s.
That pushed the lead back to, you guessed it, 13, with 5:37 to play.
∎ Fletcher Loyer came into Friday a 25% 3-point shooter in four career United Center games. He broke that curse, hitting 4 of 9 while scoring 19 points. However, he also consistently changed the game with hustle plays and situational awareness. His defensive rebound leading to free throws and corner 3 off an Oscar Cluff offensive rebound all but clinched it in the final five minutes.
∎ The Boilermakers' halftime leads in their first two games here were built on turning defense into offense. Against Nebraska they turned eight first-half takeaways into a 17-0 advantage in points off turnovers. The Huskers came into the game a top-40 team in both turnover creation on defense and turnover avoidance on offense. Purdue flipped the equation.
What I disliked in Purdue basketball's win vs Nebraska in 2026 Big Ten Tournament
Purdue rebounded at an insane level in that mid-February win in Lincoln. It grabbed 84.6% of available defensive rebounds and 40.4% of available offensive rebounds. Hard to expect a team to recreate a plus-17 rebounding edge.
However, a Nebraska team ranked among the nation’s worst in offensive rebounding grabbed six in the first half. Purdue limited the damage to five second-chance points. Then it choked off that issue altogether in the second half. Still, without that massive advantage in turnover-fueled-offense above, this could have opened a door for the Cornhuskers.
∎ The Boilers were fortunate some of Nebraska’s early open looks from 3 did not fall. The Huskers still made 6 of their first 12 attempts before cooling off to 3 for 13 the rest of the way.
What Purdue basketball's win vs Nebraska in 2026 Big Ten Tournament means
This was the sort of complete win the Boilermakers could not complete in Lincoln and which evaded them even Thursday against Northwestern. Both of the first two games here, though, have been examples of a team imposing its will on opponents — something coach Matt Painter specifically asked for only a few weeks ago.
Purdue also went 0-2 against its potential semifinal opponents. It moves into another stage of the weekend — one where it can get back on the court with those teams and answer previous shortcomings face-to-face.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue vs Nebraska basketball score today, Fletcher Loyer game stats