The trip to Chicago was a quick one for Nebrasketball this year.
The 2-seed in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, Nebraska, was eliminated in the quarterfinals on Friday by the 7-seed Purdue, 74-58. The Boilermakers improved to 25-8, while the Huskers fell to 26-6.
- The Game
- The Stats
- What’s Next
- The Tournament Picture
- Video Analysis
- Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes
- Nebraska Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Schedule
The Game
The four full days off between games didn’t help Nebraska stop its problem of slow starts.
Purdue scored the first five points. After a Pryce Sandfort three-pointer, it was an 8-0 Boilermaker run to put Purdue up 13-3.
The Huskers struggled to score for much of the half, but did close the gap to two points with 10:39. However, they would make just one shot over the next six minutes of action.
Purdue Boilermakers guard Omer Mayer defends Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Sam Hoiberg. | David Banks-Imagn Images
Purdue, meanwhile, stretched the lead back to double digits, going into halftime up 41-28. The Boilermakers shot 53.6% in the first half to just 38.5% for the Huskers.
Nebraska had twice as many turnovers through the first 20 minutes (8-4). Purdue turned those into 17 points, giving up no points on their own turnovers.
In the first meeting between these two teams, on Feb. 10 in Lincoln, Purdue led by as many as 22 points early in the second half. This time, the largest lead in the early moments of the second half was 18 points.
Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Rienk Mast shoots against Purdue Boilermakers center Oscar Cluff. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
That was the difference with 17 minutes to play. Nebraska then scratched and clawed over the next 9:36 to get a Sam Hoiberg three-pointer, cutting the deficit to single digits.
Two minutes later, Purdue ripped off a 12-2 run to extend the lead back to 18 points, going into the under-four media timeout. The Boilermakers were able to coast the rest of the way and advance to Saturday’s semifinal.
The Stats
Nebraska shot 39.3% for the game, including 10-for-31 on three-pointers. Purdue made 44.8% of its shots, making 10-of-31 from deep.
The Boilermakers controlled the glass, grabbing 36 rebounds to 28 for the Huskers. Purdue had a small advantage on offensive boards (13-10), turning those into 19 points. Nebraska had just eight second-chance points.
Purdue did not have any points off turnovers in the second half. Nebraska, who didn’t have any in the first half, finished with five.
Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg applauds his team against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
After committing eight first-half turnovers, NU had just two in the final 20 minutes. Purdue finished with nine turnovers.
Boilermaker guard Fletcher Loyer led all scorers with 19 points.
Sandfort led Nebraska with 15 points, followed by Rienk Mast’s 11 points. Both players made a trio of three-pointers.
Hoiberg led Nebraska in both rebounds (8) and assists (4).
What’s Next
Nebraska will learn its seed and first weekend destination for the NCAA Tournament this weekend. The bracket will be revealed on Selection Sunday at 5 p.m. CDT on CBS.
The Tournament Picture
According to Bracket Matrix, the majority of bracketologists had Nebraska on the 3-line going into Friday. By the metrics, the Huskers opened the day at 12th in the NET, 19th in KPI, 7th in SOR, 9th in WAB, 17th in BPI, 12th in the KenPom, and 17th in the Torvik.
Most projections have Nebraska in Oklahoma City. That’s the closest tournament site to Lincoln. Houston is essentially guaranteed to be the other team at that site, so how the selection committee orders Nebraska with Iowa State, Purdue, Illinois, and Kansas will determine the second top-four seed in Oklahoma.
Video Analysis
Jack Mitchell and Kaleb Henry break down the game and what’s next.
Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to [email protected].
Nebraska Athletics Postgame Notes
- Nebraska falls to 1-2 in the Big Ten Tournament against Purdue. Tonight marked the first meeting between the schools in the conference tournament since 2013.
- Nebraska falls to 2-4 in games against ranked opponents this season
- Pryce Sandfort finished with 15 points against Purdue and now has 571 points for the season. His 571 points moved him into 10th on NU’s single-season top-10 list. He moved past James Palmer Jr., who had 568 points in 2017-18.
- Sandfort hit a trio of 3-pointers to extend his single-season 3-point record to 113. He is now 10th on the Big Ten’s single-season list and one shy of eighth place on the list.
- Jared Garcia finished with six points off the bench, his highest offensive output since scoring a season-high 10 points at Illinois on Dec. 13. His two 3-pointers were also a season high
- Rienk Mast tallied 11 points and has now been in double figures 22 times this season.
- Nebraska finished with 10 3-pointers tonight and extended its single-season record to 337 entering the NCAA Tournament. It marked the 21st time NU had at least 10 3-pointers in a game this season.
Nebraska Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Schedule
- Oct. 18 Nebraska 90, BYU 89
- Oct. 27 Nebraska 91, Midland 50
- Nov. 3 Nebraska 86, West Georgia 53
- Nov. 8 Nebraska 96, Florida International 66
- Nov. 11 Nebarska 69, Maryland-Eastern Shore 50
- Nov. 15 Nebraska 105, Oklahoma 99 (Sanford Pentagon)
- Nov. 20 Nebraska 84, New Mexico 72 (Hall of Fame Classic)
- Nov. 21 Nebraska 86, Kansas State 85 (Hall of Fame Classic)
- Nov. 25 Nebraska 80, Winthrop 73
- Nov. 29 Nebraska 72, South Carolina Upstate 63
- Dec. 7 Nebraska 71, Creighton 50
- Dec. 10 Nebraska 90, Wisconsin 60
- Dec. 13 Nebraska 83, Illinois 80
- Dec. 21 Nebraska 78, North Dakota 55
- Dec. 30 Nebraska 86, New Hampshire 55
- Jan. 2 Nebraska 58, Michigan State 56
- Jan. 5 Nebraska 72, Ohio State 69
- Jan. 10 Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
- Jan. 13 Nebraska 90, Oregon 55
- Jan. 17 Nebraska 77, Northwestern 58
- Jan. 21 Nebraska 76, Washington 66
- Jan. 24 Nebraska 76, Minnesota 57
- Jan. 27 Michigan 75, Nebraska 72
- Feb. 1 Illinois 78, Nebraska 69
- Feb. 7 Nebraska 80, Rutgers 68
- Feb. 10 Purdue 80, Nebraska 77
- Feb. 14 Nebraska 68, Northwestern 49
- Feb. 17 Iowa 57, Nebraska 52
- Feb. 21 Nebraska 87, Penn State 64
- Feb. 25 Nebraska 74, Maryland 61
- Feb. 28 Nebraska 82, USC 67
- March 3 UCLA 72, Nebraska 52
- March 8 Nebraska 84, Iowa 75
- March 13 Purdue 74, Nebraska 58 (Big Ten Tournament)
- March 15 Selection Show 5 p.m. CBS
Home games are bolded. All times central.
