Disastrous end to first half dooms Purdue basketball at Nebraska

LINCOLN, Nebraska — Last month, Purdue basketball looked like a surefire repeat Big Ten champion.

On Jan. 9, the Boilermakers find themselves in an early hole in the conference standings.

Turnovers and a disastrous final three minutes of the first half cost No. 1 Purdue basketball in its 88-72 road loss to Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Tuesday.

UPDATE:Purdue women's basketball game vs. Maryland rescheduled

Purdue (14-2, 3-2) spent the entire second half trying to crawl out of a double-digit halftime deficit.

The Boilers got as close as 51-50 before Josiah Allick's 3-pointer started a 12-2 run. Nebraska (12-3, 3-2), which had four players with at least 12 points and shot 14 of 23 from 3-point range, never trailed again.

Where does she rank?Where does Caitlin Clark rank among top women's players to visit Purdue's Mackey Arena?

It was over when

The final 3:17 of the first half was all Nebraska and Purdue, already playing poorly, but treading water against a Nebraska team having its own turnover woes, dug its grave.

The Huskers went on a 13-0 run over a span of 2:03, sparked by three 3-pointers, including two by Keisei Tominaga.

Mason Gillis was Purdue's saving grace for much of the first half, hitting four 3s and scoring 13 points. But Gillis' performance was a wash with Nebraska's late run.

Zach Edey watch

Turns out, Zach Edey is human.

For the second straight game, Edey wasn't much of a factor in the scoring column. And for the second straight game it happened after two first half fouls put Purdue's 7-foot-4 center on the bench.

Edey drew his second foul with 3:44 to go in the first half when Juwan Gary beat Edey off the dribble, scored a layup and got fouled, completing the three-point play to tie the game at 28.

Edey finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

3 stars

Rienk Mast, Nebraska: Mast, who came in averaging 12.9 points per game, scored 14 in the first half. Mast proved to be a matchup problem for Edey inside and with his ability to score from the perimeter. Mast scored 18 points to go with four rebounds and three assists.

Mason Gillis, Purdue: By halftime, Gillis already had a season high with 13 points in 12 minutes. Gillis' 16 points was the only reason Purdue was competitive in the first half.

Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska: Tominaga always seems to get hot against Purdue. He had four first half 3s. The senior guard then added his fifth 3 that was the dagger, a stepback from the wing with 4:04 to go that gave the Huskers an 80-70 lead. Tominaga scored a game-high 19 points to go with four assists.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

Purdue basketball stats vs. Nebraska

PURDUE (14-2): Kaufman-Renn 0-0 0-1 0, Edey 6-10 3-5 15, Jones 4-12 0-0 10, Loyer 3-9 4-4 13, Smith 3-8 2-2 10, Gillis 5-12 1-2 16, Heide 2-3 0-0 5, Morton 0-2 0-0 0, C.Furst 1-1 1-1 3, Colvin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 11-15 72.

NEBRASKA (13-3): Gary 4-8 3-6 12, Mast 8-17 0-0 18, Lawrence 0-2 0-0 0, Tominaga 5-12 4-4 19, Williams 2-6 4-4 9, Hoiberg 4-5 0-0 9, Wilcher 4-5 5-5 16, Allick 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 29-57 16-19 88.

Halftime—Nebraska 41-30. 3-Point Goals_Purdue 13-33 (Gillis 5-10, Loyer 3-6, Smith 2-5, Jones 2-8, Heide 1-2, Morton 0-2), Nebraska 14-24 (Tominaga 5-9, Wilcher 3-4, Mast 2-5, Allick 1-1, Gary 1-1, Hoiberg 1-2, Williams 1-2). Rebounds_Purdue 31 (Edey 7), Nebraska 27 (Williams 11). Assists_Purdue 17 (Smith 7), Nebraska 22 (Williams 9). Total Fouls_Purdue 16, Nebraska 17