• Box Score: Purdue 83, Nebraska 65
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Nebraska men's basketball team made zero use Wednesday night of momentum picked up four days earlier during a rare Big Ten victory.
Against Purdue, the Huskers fell behind by double digits less than nine minutes into the game, were down 17 points at halftime and lost 83-65 at Mackey Arena.
Nebraska (12-14, 4-11) was coming off a 23-point win over Illinois, but offered little resistance to the Boilermakers (18-10, 8-7), who are playing for a sixth NCAA tournament bid in seven years.
NU never led, and the only tie it forced after the opening tip was at 2-2.
The Huskers, who said they had worked extensively on defense in practice the past 10 days, saw Purdue make 17 of its first 25 shots and shoot 54.5 percent (30 of 55) for the game.
The 83 points allowed was just one off the most allowed this season (84 at Northwestern). Nebraska trailed by 23 points early in the second half and never got closer than 14 in the final 20 minutes.
“Offensively, we were OK,'' Nebraska coach Doc Sadler told the Husker Radio Network. “But we had no answer for them defensively.
“They shot the ball extremely well. They are a very difficult team to defend when you've got three perimeter shooters shooting as well as they were.''
Purdue got 29 points from senior forward Robbie Hummel, one of five Boilermakers in double figures. Nebraska's lone double-figure scorer was senior guard Bo Spencer with 19.
The loss dropped Sadler's road record in conference games in his six years at Nebraska to 9-38 (19.1 percent). Just three of those wins came against teams that finished the season above .500. A fourth is possible if Iowa tops .500 this season.
Nebraska's next game is on the road at 7 p.m. Saturday against No. 6 Michigan State.
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