Category: Purdue Boilermakers

Expert score prediction: Nebraska vs. Purdue

How do you think the Huskers will do?

Nebraska closed out the first quarter of the 2024 season on a sour note, falling to No. 24 Illinois in overtime after one too many miscues once again caused their downfall.

The main two issues were not stopping Illinois’ passing game and botching one offensive drive that saw a touchdown and a field goal slip through its fingers. 

Now, the Huskers hit the road for the first time this season, needing to respond to the loss to the Fighting Illini. Their matchup against Purdue could do just that, as this is the Boilermakers’ third straight game facing an opponent coming off a rough loss at home. 

Notre Dame blew out Purdue 66-7 after losing to Northern Illinois, and then they lost to Oregon State 38-21 after the Beavers were demolished 49-14 by Oregon. 

The Husker’s offense could have a field day against Purdue both on the ground and the air. 

Oregon State decimated the Boilermakers in the run game, rushing for 341 yards off 51 attempts for four touchdowns while throwing ten completions off 18 passes for 104 yards. 

Now, Purdue is set to face Dylan Raiola, who’s averaging almost 21 completions and 241.8 passing yards per game. This, along with the Huskers averaging 140.5 rushing yards per game, gives the Boilermakers a big test defensively. 

But last week showed that Nebraska’s defense versus Purdue’s offense could be the deciding factor. The Huskers had no answers for Luke Altmyer in the Illinois loss, allowing the senior to throw 21-of-27 for 215 yards and four touchdowns, with most of his incompletions being simple drops by receivers. 

Hudson Card for Purdue was quiet in the loss to Oregon State, throwing for 7-of-17 for 56 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. 

The Boilermakers stuck to the ground game, going for 263 total yards and two touchdowns. Purdue scored two touchdowns late in the game on the ground after breaking out big runs against the Beavers.

Nebraska needs to keep Card from exploiting its passing struggles, but it can’t let the Boilermakers run it down its throats, either. If the Huskers’ offense continues to thrive and the defense delivers a solid bounce-back game, this first road game should favor Nebraska.

Score Prediction: Nebraska 31, Purdue 17

Nebraska men’s basketball in ESPN 2025 Top 100 recruit Antione West Jr’s final four

An ESPN 2025 Top 100 recruit is down to his final four schools heading into his final year of high school. Antione West Jr. announced that he is deciding between Purdue, Dayton, Ohio State, and Nebraska. Nebraska is in the mix to land a three-star …

An ESPN 2025 Top 100 recruit is down to his final four schools heading into his final year of high school. Antione West Jr. announced that he is deciding between Purdue, Dayton, Ohio State, and Nebraska.

Nebraska is in the mix to land a three-star shooting guard following a massive 2023-2024 season. The Huskers finished 23-11, the second most wins in school history, in a season that involved their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 and a semi-final finish in the Big Ten Tournament.

West, a 6-foot-3 guard, received an offer from Nebraska in October 2023. He is ranked No. 77 in the ESPN 2025 Top-100 recruit list. He is one of three Top 100 recruits with Nebraska in the hunt. Koa Peat is No. 4 on the list, while Jalen Wilson is No. 95.

The Toledo, Ohio, native is coming off a strong junior campaign. At Whitmer High School, he averaged 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He hit 49 percent of his shots from the floor and 70-of-187 from beyond the arc.

He also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career midway through his junior year. He helped the Panthers to the semi-finals and finished 25-3 on the season. He scored 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals in Whitmer’s state semifinal loss to Centerville.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Purdue Boilermakers looking to rise in early Big Ten ranking

Purdue Boilermakers looking to rise in early Big Ten ranking

It’s never too early for a “way too early” Big Ten power ranking! Things will change. Players will hurt the portal, players will transfer in, and injuries will happen but for the most part, we have a pretty good understanding of rosters after National Signing Day and so much transfer portal movement.

In each part of this series, we will unveil where each of the 18 teams in the new look conference begins. We started at No. 1 with the revamped Ohio State Buckeyes. Then, the Oregon Ducks come in at the second spot. Coming in at No. 3 were the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines, who are in a bit of a transition period.

At No. 4, we unveiled the Penn State Nittany Lions, who are returning a lot of talent from their 2023 roster. Then we made way for the old reliable, the Iowa Hawkeyes. At No. 6, another new addition to the conference, the USC Trojans. Next up at No. 7, the Wisconsin Badgers came in, followed by the Washington Huskies at No. 8 in the ranking.

Coming in at No. 9, another pretty consistent program with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They come into the 2024 season as a real wildcard. Speaking of wildcards, there may not be a bigger one than the Nebraska Cornhuskers. They come in at No. 10 on the ranking.

Following Nebraska is the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at No. 11, coming off a bit of a breakout season in 2023 under head coach Greg Schiano. A team in transition, but an exciting one, is the Indiana Hoosiers. At No. 13 is the Michigan State Spartans, who are another team in transition. Then you have the Purdue Boilermakers at No. 14 who enter the second year under former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters.

On offense, there are a lot of familiar faces returning to West Lafayette. The hope is that quarterback Hudson Card takes a nice step forward in year two, as well as leaning on running back Devin Mockobee. The offensive line should be a strong suit for the team, returning three starters in center Gus Hartwig, offensive guard Marcus Mbow, and right tackle Mahamane Moussa. Left tackle Corey Stewart was a big get in the transfer portal as well, coming over from Ball State. 

Walters will be counting on a good blend of development and transfer acquisitions to help take the unit to the next level. They are led by sophomore safety Dillon Thieneman, who was dynamic as a freshman. In 12 games, Thieneman recorded 106 total tackles and six interceptions. 

Full Big Ten Rankings

  1. Ohio State Buckeyes
  2. Oregon Ducks
  3. Michigan Wolverines
  4. Penn State Nittany Lions
  5. Iowa Hawkeyes 
  6. USC Trojans
  7. Wisconsin Badgers
  8. Washington Huskies
  9. Minnesota Golden Gophers
  10. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  11. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
  12. Indiana Hoosiers
  13. Michigan State Spartans
  14. Purdue Boilermakers
  15. TBD
  16. TBD
  17. TBD
  18. TBD

Huskers take down Purdue on the road 77-65

The Nebraska women’s basketball traveled to Purdue for a conference showdown with the Boilermakers.

The Nebraska women’s basketball traveled to Purdue for a conference showdown with the Boilermakers. Purdue took off in the first quarter, but the Huskers bounced back in the second before pulling away to win 77-65.

The Nebraska trio of Alexis Markowski, Logan Nissley and Jaz Shelley combined for 56 points in the game. Markowski led the trio, dropping 20 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. Nissley and Shelley both scored 18 points.

Nissley’s 18 points tied her season-high, which she earned by going 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. A majority of Shelley’s points came from the free throw line, going a perfect 10-for-10. This makes Shelley the 16th player in school history to go perfect at the free throw line with a minimum of 10 free throws made.

The Huskers move to 17-9 on the season and 9-6 in conference play. They will return home to host Northwestern on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. and can be viewed on the Big Ten Network.

Women’s basketball takes off in second half to take down Purdue 68-54

The Huskers returned home to play Purdue following two straight losses on the road.

The Huskers returned home to play Purdue following two straight losses on the road. Nebraska snapped its two-game skid by taking down the Boilermakers 68-54.

The Huskers battled it out with Purdue throughout the first half and entered the locker rooms up 32-29. However, Nebraska took off in third quarter, outscoring the Boilermakers 22-14 to enter the fourth up 54-43.

The Huskers finished the game with five players scoring double-digit points. Alexis Markowski and Darian White shared the top spot as Nebraska’s top scorer with both players delivering 14 points on the night.

Natalie Potts and Kendall Moriarty both finished runner-up in scoring for the Huskers in the win, dropping 11 points. Moriarty’s 11 points in the game also tied her career high. Jaz Shelley rounded out the double-digit scorers for Nebraska, tallying up 10 points on the night.

The Huskers move to 14-7 on the season and 6-4 in conference play. They will remain home to host Rutgers on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set 2 p.m. and can be viewed on B1G+ and Nebraska Public Media.

Purdue, not UConn, should be No. 1 college basketball team in country

The Purdue Boilermakers made a case to be the No. 1 college basketball team in the country over UConn with big win at Indiana.

The Purdue Boilermakers dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 in the Coaches Poll last week after falling on the road at Nebraska, clearing a path for the defending champion UConn Huskies to take over.

Voters almost always drop teams who lose and reward teams who don’t lose, which is why it wasn’t a surprise to see UConn climb multiple spots, but even at the time a comparison of the two resumes made it clear the Boilermakers should have stayed in the top spot. Both teams were 15-2 but Purdue had more Quad 1 wins (6) than UConn (4) and was favored in both KenPom and the NET rankings.

Purdue showed what they are capable of on Tuesday evening, heading to Assembly Hall in Bloomington to take on a quality Indiana program and handing them a 87-66 blowout loss.

National Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey dominated the Hoosiers, dropping 33 points and 14 rebounds while going 11-12 from the free throw line. Fletcher Loyer contributed 19 points on just 5-6 shooting, while Lance Jones added 17.

Purdue’s two losses are both on the road in conference play, one coming in overtime against Northwestern back in early December and the other at Nebraska last week. UConn’s losses are better, at Kansas and at Seton Hall, but Purdue’s overall resume should have kept them in the top spot last week.

A big win over Indiana and a chance to pick up another victory on the road at Iowa on Saturday could help Purdue climb back to number one, although it will depend how UConn does the rest of the week, on Wednesday at home against Creighton and at Villanova on Saturday.

Historic night in college basketball as No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Houston lose to unranked teams

The No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers and No. 2 Houston Cougars fell to unranked opponents in Nebraska and Iowa State in a wild Tuesday of college basketball.

It was as if college basketball knew the football season was over and they needed to make a big splash to get people’s attention. On Tuesday evening, one day after Michigan won the national championship over Washington, college basketball treated fans to a pair of historic upsets with No. 1 Purdue falling to Nebraska while No. 2 Houston fell to Iowa State.

There have been 648 all-time instances of the top two teams each playing an unranked opponent on the same night, and only eight times where both teams lost.

We’ll start with No. 1 Purdue, who is now 14-2 on the season but just 3-2 in Big Ten play after losing to Northwestern back in December. The Boilermakers and in particular Zach Edey were flustered by Nebraska’s pesky defense, with the reigning National Player of the Year only managing 15 points and seven rebounds on 6-10 shooting.

Although Purdue was able to knock down 13 three-pointers on 39.4% shooting, it was the Cornhuskers who dominated offensively – making 14 threes on a blistering 60.9% shooting and racking up 88 total points in their first win over a No. 1 team in 41 years.

Meanwhile, Houston took their first loss of the year in just their second-ever Big 12 regular season contest, falling 57-53 to an Iowa State team that is now 12-3 on the year and should find themselves ranked next week.

The Cyclones held Houston to just 38% from the field and 26.9% (7-26) from distance. Starting guards LJ Cryer and Jamal Shead were a combined 2-14 from three and 7-24 from the field while turning the ball over a whopping eight times.

Iowa State’s offense wasn’t great, but they went 18-22 from the free throw line and a strong game from sophomore Tamin Lipsey (14 points and four rebounds) was enough to pull off a major victory and prove this team deserves more respect going forward.

The madness may not be over as No. 3 Kansas, No. 4 UConn, and No. 5 Tennessee are all in action on Wednesday evening, and they all face tough road contests in conference play against Central Florida, Xavier, and Mississippi State, respectively.

Men’s basketball takes down No. 1 Purdue in historic upset

This is the first time Nebraska took down the No. 1 team in the nation since 1982.

The last time Nebraska men’s basketball squared off against Purdue in Lincoln, the No. 1 Boilermakers escaped in overtime, 65-62. This time around, the Huskers didn’t let No. 1 Purdue leave with a win. Instead, Nebraska achieved the historic upset, taking down the Boilermakers 88-72.

This is the first time Nebraska took down the No. 1 team in the nation since 1982. The Huskers held on to the lead for a majority of the game, including the entire second half. As a team, Nebraska finished 29-of-57 in total shooting, 14-of-23 in 3-point shooting and 16-of-19 in free throw shooting.

Keisei Tominaga appeared unstoppable in the win for the Huskers, despite only scoring 19 points. Tominaga went five-of-12 in total shooting but landed a season-high five-of-nine shots from beyond the arc.

Rienk Mast finished just behind Tominaga in scoring, dropping 18 points by going eight-of-17 in total shooting. C.J. Wilcher also delivered big in shooting, scoring 16 points off the bench and landing three-of-four shots from beyond the arc.

Nebraska now moves to 13-3 and are three wins from matching their season total last year. The Huskers will hit the road for their next matchup against Big Ten rival Iowa on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. and can be viewed on the Big Ten Network.

Huskers offer 2025 pass rusher committed to Purdue

Nebraska has offered a 2025 defenisve end committed to a fellow Big Ten program.

Shortly after offering class of 2025 defensive lineman Caden O’Rourke, Nebraska extended an offer on Thursday to 2025 defensive end Keylan Abrams out of Desoto, Texas.

Abrams is a three-star prospect on both 247Sports and Rivals, ranked as a top-100 player in Texas by both sites. This past June, Abrams made the decision to end his recruitment early by committing to fellow Big Ten program, Purdue. His only other offers come from Fresno State and Bowling Green.

Abrams is on the smaller side for a defensive end prospect, standing at just 6-foot-2 and 206-pound according to Rivals.

The Huskers currently hold four commitments in their 2025 recruiting class from athlete Caden VerMaas, running back Connor Booth, defensive tackle Tyson Terry, and athlete CJ Simon.

 

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Nebraska football overcomes miscues en route to 31-14 win over Purdue

A glance at the final score would make it appear as though Nebraska dominated in its win over Purdue. That is not the case.

A glance at the final score would make it appear as though Nebraska dominated in its win over Purdue. That is not the case. The Huskers delivered a strong showing in the victory over the Boilermakers, but it was anything but consistent.

The offense scored three touchdowns and a field goal, but also lost three fumbles, resulting in Purdue’s 14 total points. The second touchdown came off a fourth down strip fumble on Jeff Sims, which Purdue took 55 yards to the house. Special teams also put the ball on the ground a few times, losing the ball on the opening kickoff and nearly giving up the ball during a punt return. But despite the major miscues, Nebraska stood its ground.

Heinrich Haarberg went 6-of-11 in the air but threw for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas Fidone II and freshman Jaylen Lloyd were on the receiving end of those touchdown passes. Fidone hauled in a one-yard catch for a touchdown, while Lloyd was all alone for his 73-yard touchdown. Emmett Johnson scored the final touchdown, running up the middle for a 28-yard score to put the game away.

The Blackshirts were the shining light in the game once again for Nebraska. The Huskers held Purdue to under 100 yards in both rushing and passing. This is the first time Nebraska has accomplished this achievement since 2012 when it defeated Minnesota 38-14. The Blackshirts also recovered a fumble, snatched two interceptions and blocked a field goal and took it for a touchdown.

Tommi Hill hauled in both interceptions for Nebraska, while Quinton Newsome ran the blocked field goal back for a touchdown.

Nebraska is now 5-3 on the season, its first five-win season since 2019. The Huskers will travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State on Saturday, with a win punching their ticket to a bowl game. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and can be viewed on FS1.