Nebraska @ Purdue preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 6, 2018 ) Nebraska 62, Purdue 74

Nebraska was well on track to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament while Purdue appeared bound for life on the bubble as the non-conference portion of their schedules came to an end, but each team's fortunes have flipped dramatically since then. The Big Ten's hottest team sets their sights on an eighth straight victory Saturday when the 15th-ranked Boilermakers host the reeling Cornhuskers.

Purdue fell to 6-5 following a Dec. 15 loss to Notre Dame before double-digit wins over Ohio and Belmont to close out 2018 got the team on a bit of a roll entering the new year, serving as a spark for a 10-1 stretch which has coach Matt Painter's squad one-half game out of first place in the conference. The Boilermakers posted their sixth straight victory of at least nine points Sunday against Minnesota, overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit en route to a 73-63 triumph. Nebraska won 11 of its first 13 and still had plenty of reason for optimism at 13-4, but a six-point home setback to Michigan State on Jan. 17 sent the team into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover. Things went from bad to worse when second-leading scorer Isaac Copeland Jr. was lost to a torn ACL four games ago, and the Cornhuskers fell for the sixth consecutive time Wednesday when they scored a season-low in points during a 60-45 loss to Maryland.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NEBRASKA (13-10, 3-9 Big Ten): Despite a 7-of-22 shooting effort on a night in which his team shot 21.1 percent versus the Terrapins, Isaiah Roby (11.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks) was a bright spot with 20 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and a season-high five blocks. More of the offensive load figured to fall on the shoulders of seniors James Palmer Jr. (19.0 points) and Glynn Watson Jr. (12.2) without Copeland (14.0), but the duo has shot a combined 18-for-84 from the field and totaled 59 points in the Cornhuskers' three full games following his departure. Palmer became only the 30th Cornhusker - and third-fastest - to reach 1,000 career points at Nebraska on Wednesday, doing so in his 56th game.

ABOUT PURDUE (16-6, 9-2): Carsen Edwards (24.5 points), who is vying to become only the third Big Ten player since 1992-93 to average at least 24 points, tallied 15 of his 17 points in the second half Sunday, providing 11 points and three assists during the Boilermakers' pivotal 21-2 run after Minnesota established a 13-point lead. Fellow senior guard Ryan Cline (12.9) is Purdue's only other double-digit scorer and has been red-hot beyond the arc during the winning streak, going 27-for-46 with multiple 3-pointers in every game. Freshman forward Trevion Williams (6.3) tied a season high with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting Sunday and has reached double figures four times during the Boilermakers' surge despite averaging 17.9 minutes.

TIP-INS

1. Purdue, which is 34-1 over its last 35 home games, is 6-0 all-time against the Cornhuskers at Mackey Arena, winning by an average of 14.1 points.

2. Nebraska is shooting 32.8 percent during the losing streak after converting 47.3 percent of its field-goal attempts through the first 17 contests.

3. The Boilermakers are averaging a Big Ten-best 10.6 made 3-pointers this season, good for 10th in Division I.

PREDICTION: Purdue 81, Nebraska 58