No. 7 Purdue Preparing For Nebraska After Road Win, Michigan Postponement
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue basketball, now the No. 7-ranked team in the nation, is coming off a resilient 74-67 victory over Penn State on the road. The win was the team's first true road victory of the season after defeating four opponents on neutral courts in nonconference play.
Despite a tightly-contested matchup on the stat sheet, the Boilermakers overcame early foul trouble and a Nittany Lions hot streak in the second half to take home the win. Senior forward Trevion Williams led the team with 21 points and nine rebounds while ending the game with four fouls.
Sophomore center Zach Edey also ended with four fouls and was only able to come away with six points in nine minutes of play. Sophomore forward Mason Gillis scored a career-high 14 points for the Boilermakers and connected on three of his four 3-point attempts.
Purdue was originally scheduled to play Michigan on Tuesday at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but the Wolverines are dealing with ongoing COVID-19 issues within their program. It would have been the second of four road matchups in five games.
On Dec. 28, the Big Ten updated its COVID-19 forfeiture policy for the remaining conference matchups of the 2021-22 season across all sports. Before then, teams that were unable to play due to COVID-19 were issued a forfeit. Now, programs will work with league offices to reschedule games for future dates, or they will be declared a no-contest.
Since Michigan fell below the required seven scholarship athletes to participate in the game, it was postponed. The matchup with only be declared a forfeit for the Wolverines if they are unable to reasonably demonstrate why it was unable to meet the safety threshold.
Purdue now turns its head toward a matchup with Nebraska on Friday at Mackey Arena. The Cornhuskers have struggled mightily this season, but they rank fourth in the Big Ten in turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- TREVION WILLIAMS JOINS SASHA LIVE! PODCAST: It's time for Episode 9 of the Sasha Live! Podcast on Wednesday night at Mad Mushroom Pizza in West Lafayette, with Purdue center Trevion Williams joining Sasha Stefanovic as a special guest this week. Come on down to watch the podcast, which starts at 7 p.m. ET and a large crowd is expected. The podcast is also available online. CLICK HERE
- BOILERS FALL TO NO. 7: Purdue dropped to No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after a home loss to Wisconsin. The team followed with a road victory over Penn State, its first true road win of the season. The Boilermakers were among five Big Ten programs ranked this week. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE, MICHIGAN GAME POSTPONED: Purdue basketball's road matchup with Michigan has been postponed due to ongoing COVID-19 issues within the Wolverines' program. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Nebraska at Mackey Arena. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE FENDS OFF PENN STATE: No. 3 Purdue stayed collected in a hostile environment to earn its first road win of the year, defeating Penn State on its own court. Trevion Williams scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Mason Gillis notched a career-high 14 points in the victory. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: Micah Shrewsberry grew up as an Indiana kid, and this week the first-year Penn State coach gets to host both Indiana and Purdue in Happy Valley in the same week. That's a lot of emotion for the former IU fan and Purdue basketball assistant coach. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE TRIO NAMED TO WOODEN AWARD MIDSEASON WATCH LIST: Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey and Trevion Williams were among 25 players named to the John R. Wooden award midseason watch list. No other program has more than two players recognized, and the trio has led Purdue to a 12-2 overall record. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.