No. 7 Purdue dominates Nebraska, Edey and Ivey lead scoring

Published Jan. 14, 2022 8:43 p.m. ET

Associated Press

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Zach Edey scored 22 points and Jaden Ivey added 17 on Friday night as the No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers routed Nebraska 92-65.

The Boilermakers (14-2, 3-2 Big Ten) have won two straight and six of their last seven. Coach Matt Painter also captured his 183rd victory in league play, which broke a tie with former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote for seventh in career wins among conference coaches.

Keisei Tominaga led the Cornhuskers with 11 points. Alonzo Verge Jr. and C.J. Wilcher each had 10 points for Nebraska (6-12, 0-7), which has lost five straight and 10 of 11 while dropping to 0-4 this season against ranked foes.

Purdue opened the game on a 23-4 run, which took less than 7 1/2 minutes. The Cornhuskers never recovered — or led.

Nebraska managed to cut the deficit to 29-17 on Bryce McGowens' 3-pointer with 7:16 left in the first half, but Purdue used a 10-2 spurt to make it 48-30. Wilcher closed the half with a long buzzer-beating shot to make it a 15-point game.

The Boilermakers extended the lead throughout the second half, moving Painter within two wins of matching Ward “Piggy" Lambert (371) for second on the school's career victory list.

Purdue also needs just six wins to become the first Big Ten team with 1,000 regular-season wins in conference play.

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: Coach Fred Hoiberg was already at a decided disadvantage inside and short-handed on the bench. So when three starters each drew two fouls before the first media timeout, it was pretty much over. Nebraska fell to 0-10 all-time at Mackey Arena and will try to be more competitive in the days ahead.

Purdue: A long break following Tuesday's postponement against Michigan helped the Boilermakers fine-tune their game. They were sharp and efficient, taking control inside early, and never relented. Sure, it was Nebraska but if Purdue follows this script, it could run away with the conference title.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Wins over Penn State and Nebraska may not be enough to push Purdue back into the top five next week but they're not likely to be out much longer. Expect the Boilermakers to stay in the top 10 for an 11th consecutive week, matching the second-longest streak in school history. Only a 17-week span from the 1986-87 preseason through the 1987-88 preseason poll was longer. They also had an 11-week streak from January-March 1988.

STAT PACK

Nebraska: McGowens had nine points and Derrick Walker added eight. Lat Mayen led the Cornhuskers with eight rebounds. ... Nebraska finished with 17 turnovers and was outscored 28-7 in points off turnovers. ... The Cornhuskers only have three road wins against top-10 foes in school history, the most recent coming at No. 9 Michigan State on Feb. 16, 2014.

Purdue: Preseason All-American Trevion Williams had 10 points and five rebounds after starting the game on the bench. ... Ivey had four rebounds and five assists, while Edey had nine rebounds and was 9 of 12 from the field. ... Sasha Stefanovic finished with nine points and three assists. ... Painter has won 200 career games in conference play, including the victories from his previous stint at Southern Illinois.

UP NEXT

Nebraska: Heads home to face Indiana on Monday.

Purdue: Visits Illinois on Monday.

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