Fletcher Loyer had 19 points and seventh-seeded Purdue led for all but 27 seconds in a 74-58 win over No. 2 seed Nebraska in the Big Ten Conference tournament quarterfinals on Friday in Chicago.
The 18th-ranked Boilermakers (25-8) will face either No. 3 seed Michigan State or No. 6 seed UCLA in Saturday’s semifinals.
Loyer hit four of Purdue’s 10 3-pointers, with C.J. Cox draining three as part of his 12 points. Oscar Cluff added 12 points and nine rebounds and Braden Smith dished out 10 assists
It was the 38th 10-assist game for Smith, who has 1,055 for his career and trails Bobby Hurley by 21 for the NCAA record.
Nebraska (26-6) got 15 points from Pryce Sandfort and 11 from Rienk Mast, who combined for six 3-pointers. But the 11th-ranked Cornhuskers were only 10 of 31 from 3-point range, contributing to 39.3% shooting, and took only nine free throws while getting outrebounded by eight (37-29).
Purdue made the most of Nebraska’s 10 turnovers, scoring 17 points.
The Boilermakers led 41-28 at the break and had the lead up to 18 three minutes into the second half. Nebraska made five straight shots to get within 56-45 with 9:52 to go, and a 3-pointer by Sam Hoiberg made it an 8-point game with 8:24 left.
A 12-2 run put it away for Purdue, with five straight by Loyer to make it 70-52 with 4:12 remaining.
Purdue jumped out to a 13-3 lead thanks to three triples, including two from Cox. Nebraska’s 3-point shooting got the team back into it, with Jared Garcia’s 3 bringing the Cornhuskers within 21-19 midway through the first half.
Cox was fouled on a 3-pointer and made each free throw, putting the Boilermakers up 33-22 with 5:52 left. Two Loyer 3s extended the margin to 13 at halftime.
