Purdue Will Once Again Defeat Nebraska

Purdue vs. Nebraska, 6:30 ET

The Big 10 has had a ton of teams this year that are likely to make the NCAA Tournament. I personally have them ranked as the second-best conference in the country. The expectation is that they will get somewhere between nine and 11 teams in the tournament. This week, we get all of the teams squaring off in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. We should get one of the best games of the day, and probably the entire week, with this one between Purdue and Nebraska. 

Purdue has been ranked all season, but they have been all over the place in the rankings. They are currently 18th, but I believe at one point they were the top-ranked team in the nation. They were the fifth-ranked team in the nation after starting the year 17-1. Then, they went three straight games with losses, losing to UCLA, Illinois, and Indiana. Purdue responded pretty well to those losses by winning three straight, but the team has lost four of its past seven games, with two of those coming against Northwestern. In that same stretch, they lost to Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. All of those teams, with maybe the exception of Ohio State, are very good and have been ranked most of the year. Is Purdue that good or were they just in better form at the beginning of the year? I somewhat think the Boilermakers were just a stronger team to start the year and now the other teams have surpassed them. 

Nov 25, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Rienk Mast (51) high fives guard Jamarques Lawrence (10) after defeating the Winthrop Eagles at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

(Dylan Widger-Imagn Images)

Nebraska was a team that had no expectations coming into this season, and they have certainly surpassed them. They started the year 20-0 for the year before they lost back-to-back games to Michigan and Illinois. Over the last 11, they went 6-5. The other three losses were to Purdue, Iowa, and UCLA. Overall, the five losses this season saw them drop three on the road and two at home. They have only played three neutral-site games this season. While the Cornhuskers have won them all, they didn't exactly play tough competition - Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Kansas State. Nebraska is not the best shooting team, but they collectively shoot 35% from deep, and 47% from the field overall. They have a good frontcourt that can cause fits for opponents on the interior. They can also shoot from the outside, so that stretches the floor, making it tough on defenses. 

The last time these two teams squared off, the game was in Nebraska. In that one Purdue came out on top in overtime, 80-77. However, Nebraska didn't have a lead in the majority of that game. The Boilermakers also shot really poorly in that game. They won by three after shooting 37% from the floor, 28% from deep, and 55% from the charity stripe. How Nebraska couldn't win that game is beyond me. I don't think it is much of a surprise that Purdue is the favorite here, and I think they likely win this one while covering the spread. That's the way I'm playing this. Give me Purdue to cover -3.5.

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