Nebraska vs Purdue Picks and Odds (Jan. 14)

• No. 7 Purdue is a 20-point favorite over Nebraska on Friday
• Nebraska is 1-9 in its last 10, 5-5 ATS
• Read below for analysis and a betting prediction

No. 7 Purdue (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten) is a 20-point home favorite against Nebraska in a Big Ten game at 6:30 pm Friday on FS1. The Boilermakers will play tor the second time in 11 days after a their game against Michigan scheduled for last Tuesday was postponed because of Covid in the Wolverines’ program.

Nebraska (6-11, 0-6 Big Ten) is 0-5 in true road games this season, 2-3 ATS. The Cornhuskers have not beaten a Power 6 team this season.

Nebraska vs Purdue Odds

Odds from FanDuel on Jan. 13.

Since Feb. 1, 2021, Purdue and Loyola Chicago are the only teams without a loss of 10 points or more. The Boilermakers’ six losses have been by one, two, three, five and nine points, the nine-point losses both in overtime.

Purdue has lost to Rutgers 70-68 and Wisconsin 74-69 this season.

Three Boilermakers named to @WoodenAward Midseason Top-25 Watch List.

✅: Only school with 3 players on list. pic.twitter.com/9Zj1NM8nTS

— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 5, 2022

Purdue Goes Deep

Purdue is the only team in the nation to have three players — Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams — on the midseason Wooden Award watch list announced last week. Duke, Gonzaga and UCLA have two.

The Boilermakers are so deep that one of those players, senior 6’10 Williams, has made only four starts this season as sophomore 7’4 Edey as has become a go-to presence in the low post. After four straight starts, Williams came off the bench for 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists in a 74-67 victory at Penn State last Saturday.

Sophomore 6’4 guard Ivey (16.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists) leads the team in scoring and has become a clamp-down defender while shooting 50 percent from the field, 43.8 from distance. He is projected to be a high lottery pick in the 2022 NBA draft should he leave school.

Edey (14.9 points, 7.4 rebounds) has done that work in short bursts while averaging only 17.1 minutes per game as the Boilers go to a smaller group. When Edey is on the floor, the Boilermakers get him the ball. His footwork around the basket is smooth, and he shoots 70.6 percent from the foul line.

Senior 6’5 guard Sasha Stefanovic is the other double-digit scorer (11.3 points, a team-high 4.0 assists) on a team in which nine players average at least 17 minutes a game. Stefanovic has made a team-high 39 threes, and Purdue is shooting 40.8 percent from distance.

The Boilermakers are ranked No. 5 in KenPom adjusted efficiency margin and are No. 1 in offensive efficiency while ranking third in Division I in both field goal percentage (50.7) and three-point field goal percentage (40.8).

#B1G in the Polls 📈

Where's your team checking in this week? pic.twitter.com/vVyRvnr7Ra

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 11, 2022

With four players including freshman starter 6’10 Caleb Furst (5.4 points, 5.0 rebounds) averaging at least five rebounds per game, Purdue is third in Division I with a plus-12.9 rebound margin.

Huskers in a Funk

Since losing a 14-point second half lead in a 104-100 four-overtime loss at North Carolina State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 1, Nebraska has been reeling.

The Huskers’ only victory since is an 88-74 home win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 22, and they have not beaten a Power 6 team this season

Freshman guard 6’4 Bryce McGowens, one of the top 2021 high school recruits, is averaging a team-high 15.9 points and 5.5 rebounds, and  Arizona State transfer guard 6’4 Alonzo Verge is averaging 14.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists.Other than those two, only junior 6’8 Derrick Walker (10.2 points, 6.3 rebounds) is offering much help.

The Huskers are on the complete opposite side of Purdue on the rebounding spectrum. They have a minus-9.0 rebound margin, the fourth-lowest in Division I, and they have not helped themselves on the offensive end, shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 29.0 from distance.

💥 @BryceMcgowens5 COMING THROUGH!@HuskerHoops is keeping this one close. pic.twitter.com/KpwmVihL7O

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 12, 2022

Nebraska vs Penn State Prediction

Purdue has won four of the last five (2-3 ATS) and seven of the last nine (5-4 ATS) in the season series. The Boilermakers are 7-0 straight up Mackey Arena, 4-3 ATS. Purdue beat the Cornhuskers 75-58 in Lincoln in their only meeting last season. Purdue is 4-5 ATS at home this season.

Nebraska has lost its last 21 against ranked teams.

Nebraska has lost its six Big Ten games by an average of 17.3 points per game, although it has covered three of the last four, including an 81-71 home loss at Illinois on Tuesday in which it ha a 12-point lead in the first half. Purdue has covered only one of its last eight games, and with road games at Illinois and Indiana next week could do just enough to win.

The pick: Nebraska +20 (-110)