Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — Nebraska and Purdue meet Wednesday night in Big Ten men's basketball, but it might feel more like a nonconference game for both.
The schools last played 32 years ago, when the big names were All-Big Eight forward Andre Smith for NU and All-America center Joe Barry Carroll for PU. Also, they meet only once this season because of the Big Ten scheduling rotation.
The lack of familiarity has Purdue coach Matt Painter scratching his head a little.
"It is different," he said. "But now that we've both played enough games in conference, we can see how certain teams in our league played them, and they can do the same thing against us."
Painter said he was impressed by Nebraska's 80-57 shellacking of Illinois on Saturday.
"They were very good," he said. "It's when you play people, and they are playing very good basketball right now."
While Nebraska (12-13, 4-10) is trying to avoid a second losing season in three years, Purdue (17-10, 7-7) is working toward its sixth NCAA tourney bid in the past seven seasons.
The Boilermakers, who need three wins for a sixth straight 20-win season, are 51st in the RPI and 5-7 against top 50 RPI opponents.
"They will defend," Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. "Their toughness is something they are pretty proud of. And they've got guys who can shoot."
The Boilermakers don't like mistakes, either. They lead the nation in fewest turnovers at 8.7 a game.
Senior forward Robbie Hummel, who has come back from two ACL surgeries, leads Purdue in scoring (16.0) and rebounding (6.9). In a loss Sunday at No. 6 Michigan State, Hummel had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Purdue's second-leading scorer, junior wing D.J. Byrd, is set to return after a one-game suspension.
Byrd, averaging 12.2 points, was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication late last week. Another player, junior Kelsey Barlow who started 22 games, was kicked off the team after the same bar incident.
"We had a disappointing incident happen," Painter said. "We were playing good basketball and moving in the right direction, and then you have a distraction."
Contact the writer:
402-444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
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