Gameday Preview: Purdue Boilermakers at Nebraska Cornhuskers

Purdue looks to start out 2-0 in the Big Ten in a key conference road game against Nebraska on Sunday in Lincoln.

It's always hard to win on the road in the Big Ten, but so far this year, it's been crazy. So far, the home team is 11-0 in these December matchups, but Purdue hopes to do something about that Sunday afternoon in Lincoln.

The Boilermakers are huge favorites against the rebuilding Cornhuskers, but Indiana was too on Friday night against Nebraska. The Hoosiers were favored by 17 points but needed overtime to finally get past Nebraska.

This is Purdue's first conference road game of the season, so there's no easy way to figure out what might happen in this game. The league started played two games in December two years ago, so it's nice for the Boilermakers to get off to a good start.

Here are the particulars:

• Who: Purdue Boilermakers (6-3, 1-0 in the Big Ten) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-6, 0-1 in the Big Ten)
• When: 4 p.m. ET, Sunday, Dec. 15
• Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.
• Line: Purdue is a 13-point favorite
• Rankings: Neither team is ranked in either the AP or Coaches poll. Purdue is receiving votes in both, however, and would be ranked No. 28 in the AP poll and No. 26 in the Coaches poll.
• Kenpom.com rankings: Purdue 6, Nebraska 150
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Announcers: Cory Provus, Shon Morris
• Radio: Purdue Radio Network
• Announcers: Larry Clisby, Rob Blackman, Ralph Taylor

Three things to know about Nebraska

1. STRUGGLES AT HOME: Nebraska has already lost three games in Lincoln this season, and none of them are to ranked teams. The losses are to UC-Riverside, Southern Utah and George Mason, not exactly household names.
2. SIGNS OF HOPE: In the Cornhuskers' 96-90 overtime loss at Indiana on Friday night, Nebraska started to find some offense from the perimeter. Their starters shot 12-for-27 from the 3-point line and scored a season-high 90 points. Considering that Purdue has held two straight opponents under 45 points, something has to give here.
3. QUICK TURNAROUND: Nebraska didn't leave Bloomington until after midnight on Friday, and was only able to have a walk-through on Saturday, so preparing for the Boilermakers has been a real challenge. First-year coach Fred Holberg is used to the quick turnaround after three-plus years of coaching in the NBA, but his players sure aren't.
   

Three things to know about Purdue

1. DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: Purdue beat No. 5-raned Virginia 69-40 last week and then opened the Big Ten season with a 56-44 win over Northwestern last Sunday. That's the first time since 1947 that the Boilermakers had held back-to-back foes under 45. 
2. REST VS. RUSH: Nebraska's quick turnaround almost seems unfair considering the Boilermakers haven't played since last Sunday. That should give Purdue a huge edge, but we'll also have to see if there is any rust with their shooters. It's also different on the road. 
3. VALUE BEHIND 2-0 STARTS: Matt Painter teams have started out 2-0 in the Big Ten on six occasions, and five of those six times, it meant a top-three or better finish in the league.