Nebraska Basketball: Men vs Rutgers and Women vs Purdue Game Thread

Men’s Basketball vs. Rutgers

Time: 6:00pm CST

Location: Pascataway, NJ

TV: BTN

Streaming: BTN2GO

Radio: KLIN, Huskers.com

Odds: Nebraska (-1)

I pretty much put everything I wanted in yesterdays preview. Jill does a nice job with the women’s game coming up below so read that and support both teams....after the men are done playing....of course.

Women’s Basketball vs Purdue

Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-6, 5-2) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (13-7, 4-2)

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. (CT)

Pinnacle Bank Arena (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Live Video: BTN Plus

Live Radio: Husker Sports Network; Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst); Lincoln - B107.3 FM; Omaha - CD 105.9 FM

Free Live Audio: Huskers.com/Huskers App

Live Stats

• Nebraska, which is a perfect 7-0 in true road games this season including 4-0 in the Big Ten, is coming off a 52-42 win at No. 25 Rutgers on Sunday. The win gave the Huskers back-to-back road wins since beating Michigan State (No. 19, semifinals) and Iowa (No. 23, championship game) in the 2014 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

• Purdue also posted back-to-back wins over ranked Rutgers (No. 21, Jan. 10) and at Iowa (No. 18, Jan. 13) teams two weeks ago, including a 47-33 win over the Scarlet Knights in West Lafayette, Ind., and a 76-70 win over the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.

• Purdue (No. 47) will be Nebraska’s fourth straight top-50 RPI opponent and sixth in the Huskers’ first eight Big Ten games. Both Nebraska and Purdue received votes in this week’s Associated Press Top 25.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-6, 5-2 Big Ten)
24 - Maddie Simon - 6-2 - Jr. - F - 10.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg
31 - Kate Cain - 6-5 - Fr. - C - 10.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg
3 - Hannah Whitish - 5-9 - So. - G - 13.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg
5 - Nicea Eliely - 6-1 - So. - G - 8.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg
34 - Jasmine Cincore - 5-10 - Sr. - F - 7.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg

Purdue Boilermakers (13-7, 4-2 Big Ten)
32 - Ae’Rianna Harris - 6-1 - So. - F - 12.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg
1 - Karissa McLaughlin - 5-7 - Fr. - G - 8.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg
10 - Andreona Keys - 5-10 - Sr. - G - 13.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg
11 - Dominique Oden - 5-8 - So. - G - 11.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg
40 - Lamina Cooper - 5-9 - So. - G - 9.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg

Scouting The Purdue Boilermakers

• Purdue comes to Lincoln riding a three-game winning streak after a 63-60 win over Northwestern in West Lafayette, Ind., on Thursday, Jan. 18. The Boilermakers have enjoyed five days off since the win over the Wildcats, which followed back-to-back wins at then-No. 18 Iowa (76-70, Jan. 13) and then-No. 21 Rutgers (47-33, Jan. 10) at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.

• The always tough and hard-nosed Boilermakers are holding opponents to just 59.9 points per game, including an impressive 54.7 points per Big Ten contest.

• Purdue has featured a plus-1.2 turnover margin but a minus-2.3 rebounding margin in conference play, while scoring just 57.8 points per league game.

Nebraska vs. Purdue Series History

• Purdue leads the all-time series with Nebraska, 7-3. The series dates to the start of Nebraska joining the Big Ten Conference in 2011-12. The series has featured some of the most thrilling games in school history, beginning with Nebraska’s 93-89 triple-overtime win at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., on Feb. 2, 2012.

• Later the same season, the two teams met in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with Purdue escaping with a 74-70 double-overtime victory.

• The following season, Purdue won for the first time in Lincoln, stealing a 69-66 overtime thriller on Jan. 5, 2013. In 2014, the two teams met again at Pinnacle Bank Arena, and the Boilermakers escaped again with a 77-75 win in regulation.

Husker Nuggets

• Cain’s 71 blocks rank No. 3 in the nation while her 3.6 blocks per game rank fifth in the country through games Jan. 21. No Nebraska individual has ever averaged 2.0 blocks per game in a career, and only two Huskers (Danielle Page, 2.4 bpg, 2007-08; Catheryn Redmon, 2.5 bpg, 2010-11) have ever averaged 2.0 blocks per game in a single season.

• Wednesday’s game with Purdue features the Big Ten’s top two shot blockers in Nebraska’s Kate Cain (71) and Purdue’s Ae’Rianna Harris, who ranks second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally with 64 blocks this season.

Jill’s Prediction

Purdue resembles Rutgers closely in terms of stingy defense. If Kate Cain can stay out of foul trouble and stays on the floor, Nebraska probably will pull this off. Nebraska’s length, deep bench, and ability to score from anywhere on the floor play in their favor. If Cain does get into foul trouble, I think Nebraska can still handle Purdue’s thin bench and lack of length with Maddie Simon and Darrien Washington (who is playing some good minutes for Nebraska now that she has finally been able to stay largely healthy) at post.

This is also exactly the kind of game that Nebraska can lose as defensive slogs are really hard to predict. Make no mistake, this game will be a defensive slog unless Nebraska makes a concerted effort to up the tempo and try to run Purdue off the floor. That would be a gamble for Amy Williams, but one she might take with her rapidly-maturing team. Look for Jasmine Cincore to have another “senior leader” night as a team like Purdue plays right into her wheelhouse. She probably won’t lead Nebraska in any statistical category, but she will make her presence felt in every corner of the court.

Nebraska 70 Purdue 66