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Despite comeback efforts, early deficit sinks Nebraska in 43-37 loss to Purdue

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2 years ago

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Despite comeback efforts, early deficit sinks Nebraska in 43-37 loss to Purdue


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In some unspecified time in the future this season, Nebraska’s second-half magic will run out.

However till it does, the Huskers are a lock for a dramatic second-half turnaround each time they hit the sphere.

For the third week in a row, Nebraska confronted an early deficit solely to storm again within the second half with an inconceivable comeback.

However this time, the Huskers have been unable to come back away with a win.

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Nebraska got here roaring again from a 17-point deficit earlier than its valiant second-half comeback try fell quick in a 43-37 loss to Purdue on Saturday at Ross-Ade Stadium.

Trailing by 14 factors, a quick-fire landing was simply what Nebraska (3-4, 2-2 Huge Ten) wanted popping out of halftime.

And it’s simply what Nebraska acquired.

Individuals are additionally studying…

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Quarterback Casey Thompson missed an opportunity to attach with Trey Palmer for an extended completion, however he didn’t miss on his subsequent two throws. Thompson instantly responded with a 30-yard go to Travis Vokolek earlier than discovering Palmer for a 37-yard passing rating, making it a one-score sport as soon as once more.

Nebraska acquired a break when a Purdue (5-2, 3-1) field-goal try from 41 yards out sailed large proper, that means the Boilermakers couldn’t make it a two-possession sport once more.

Needing to capitalize on that Boilermaker miscue, Nebraska turned to its most dynamic playmaker, Palmer, who took a reverse 60 yards up the sideline for an on the spot crimson zone alternative.

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Thompson had a golden alternative to tie the sport at 27-all, however his go supposed for a wide-open Alante Brown sailed out of the again of the top zone. As a substitute, Nebraska needed to accept a brief Timmy Bleekrode area purpose that minimize its deficit to 27-23.

That missed alternative instantly value Nebraska as Purdue drove down the sphere for a landing of its personal. A pair of lengthy Aidan O’Connell throws powered the Purdue drive, which ended with a 28-yard go to TJ Sheffield that included a pair of missed tackles from Nebraska.

Understanding that no different participant on the sphere may match Palmer’s breakaway pace, Nebraska instantly dialed up a play to go proper again to him. Thompson let his go fly, and it got here down safely in Palmer’s arms because the wideout rumbled into the top zone for a 72-yard rating.

As soon as once more, it was a one-score sport with Purdue main 34-30.

However, may Nebraska lastly break by?

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To try this, it first wanted to maintain Purdue out of the top zone. Nebraska did simply that, because the Boilermakers tacked on a 37-yard area purpose with 10:00 left within the contest.

Nevertheless, a mistake of its personal doing sunk Nebraska’s comeback possibilities. Palmer hadn’t damaged away from the Purdue protection when Thompson despatched a throw his method, and Purdue’s Reese Taylor got here down with the interception.

Purdue then marched 62 yards down the sphere in simply over two minutes, with a 2-yard landing go from O’Connell to Charlie Jones partially sealing Purdue’s successful effort.

That’s as a result of Palmer nonetheless had a giant play or two left in him. Thompson once more launched a throw downfield supposed for his speedy goal, who hauled within the go and broke away for a 64-yard acquire. Grant scored a 1-yard dashing landing two performs later, as Nebraska’s landing drive took below a minute off the clock.

Trailing 43-37 with slightly below six minutes left, Nebraska nonetheless had an opportunity.

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Nevertheless, O’Connell transformed a pivotal fourth-down attempt close to midfield and Purdue ran out the clock.

Nebraska’s second-half comeback was wanted because of a disastrous six-minute stretch late within the first half that got here after the Huskers tied the sport at 10-10.

Purdue’s Jones took benefit of soppy defensive protection by hauling in a fast slant and turning upfield for a 31-yard passing landing and 17-10 lead.

On the primary play of the following drive, Purdue stored its momentum going. A Thompson go supposed for Vokolek didn’t clear Purdue inside linebacker Clyde Washington, who snatched the ball out of the air for an interception.

The Nebraska protection restricted Purdue to a 37-yard field-goal try, which the Boilermakers transformed to increase their result in 20-10.

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And when Nebraska tried to muster one other response, the Huskers acquired in their very own method once more. The Purdue go rush sacked Thompson on back-to-back downs, forcing Brian Buschini to punt from deep in his personal territory.

The punt arrange Purdue with prime area place, and the Boilermakers took benefit of it by handing the ball to working again Devin Mockobee on seven consecutive performs. Mockobee ultimately punched within the 1-yard dashing landing, finishing a 17-point Purdue explosion that took simply over 5 in-game minutes.

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Nebraska

Merry Christmas: Nebraska wins Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii

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6 hours ago

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December 26, 2024

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Merry Christmas: Nebraska wins Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii


Merry Christmas: Nebraska wins Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii

For the first time since the San Juan Shootout in 2000, the Nebraska men’s basketball program has an in-season tournament championship.

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Led by Brice Williams’ 25 points (6-of-6 at the free-throw line), seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, the Huskers picked up a 78-66 win over the Oregon State Beavers on Christmas Day.

NU (10-2, 1-1 in Big Ten) now gets to leave Honolulu with the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic title.

“As we said to our guys, we just don’t get a whole lot of opportunities in your life to play for championships, and this was a big tournament for us,” head coach Fred Hoiberg told Huskers Radio Network after the game.

Notable perks to a tournament win like this includes picking up a true road win over host Hawaii and a Quad 1 victory (for now) on a neutral site over Oregon State, which came into the game with a NET rating of 43 (Nebraska’s was 52).

“Just really proud of the guys for finding a way to muster up the energy and play, I thought, our best stretch of basketball those last five minutes,” Hoiberg said.

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That five minutes Hoiberg reference had a lot to do with strong defense and Williams.

NU’s defense held OSU to just 40% shooting overall for the game, and the Huskers out-rebounded OSU 31-24 to become only the second team to out-rebound the Beavers this season. But OSU did connect on nine 3s that helped them hang around. Four different OSU players each made two triples.

But from the 5:32 mark of the second half when nursing a 61-56 lead, Williams took over and showed everyone he was the best player on the court. The 6-7 guard scored 11 points in the stretch, including five game-sealing free throws. He outscored OSU 11-10.

Williams has scored 57 points the last two games, with tonight’s 25 and Monday’s 32. He averaged 22 points per game in three games and earned tournament MVP honors.

“I was just aggressive, I wanted to let my defense lead to offense,” Williams said after the game. “I came out hot and my team kind of took it from there.”

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The game was a low-scoring, back-and-forth affair that featured scoring runs and scoring droughts for both sides. Neither team ever took control until Williams did his thing.

NU never trailed by more than four points in the first half and took a 34-32 lead into the break. There were 13 lead changes in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.

Multiple Huskers stepped up late to help NU take command. Sam Hoiberg made his third 3 of the season to put NU up 48-47. Andrew Morgan was another bench player who made an impact as his and-1 paint bucket extended the Husker lead to 51-49.

One player who had maybe his best night as a Husker was Berke Buyuktuncel. The 6-10 big who’s been playing through minor injuries showed off a variety of skill sets that made him one of the top international prospects coming out in his signing class.

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Buyuktuncel finished with a career-high 16 points and made three 3s, also a new career mark. He played defense and rebounded too, collecting six with one offensive board which turned into an and-1 putback.

Buyuktuncel scored eight points in both the first and second half.

“Both ends. I thought two days ago, versus Hawaii, we finished off the game with him at the five, and he battles those fives as well as anybody on our team,” Hoiberg said of Buyuktuncel. “Him knocking down those shots in the first half, that’s a game changer for us. Hopefully he can get it going and it’ll give him confidence. When Berke can knock down threes, that’s just opens up a whole other new opportunities for us to run different plays to get him going.”

Buyuktuncel had success bullying his way into the paint and finishing. His and-1 where he grabbed an offensive board and sank the putback while being fouled pushed NU to a 54-51 lead. Not long after, he was running the court with Williams and hit a transition layup to put NU up by six points, 57-51.

Those plays helped a 10-2 run that extended the Husker lead to 61-53. But the Beavers never went away and NU’s offense went cold. During one stretch, it missed six of seven shots. That allowed OSU to cut its 8-point deficit in half.

But then Williams put the Beavers away. NU went on an 11-3 run to end the game.

Williams, along with Buyuktuncel, were named to the all-tournament team. Williams averaged 22 points on 56% shooting along with 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in NU’s three games.

Hoiberg becomes the second head coach to win the Diamond Head Classic twice. His first win came while he was coaching Iowa State in 2013.

UP NEXT

Nebraska has one non-conference game left before diving into Big Ten play the rest of the season. The Huskers host Southern on Monday night with a late tip of 8 p.m.

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Southern is currently 5-7 and riding a three-game losing streak. Earlier this season, Southern led Texas A&M at halftime, 39-25, before losing 71-54.

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NBA Draft: Nebraska’s Brice Williams Emerging as Promising Scorer in 2025 Draft Class

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18 hours ago

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December 25, 2024

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NBA Draft: Nebraska’s Brice Williams Emerging as Promising Scorer in 2025 Draft Class


As one of the most underrated scorers in this year’s draft class, Nebraska senior wing Brice Williams has quietly put together a strong case to be selected in the upcoming draft. He had a solid first year with the Cornhuskers last season after transferring from Charlotte, but he has truly broken out through the first 11 games of his final year of eligibility. While his offensive game has been efficient and effective so far, there are still several aspects of his all-around play that need continued improvement as he enters conference play.

Let’s break down Williams’ play so far this season, focusing on how his scoring potential could draw interest both as a whole and in his most recent outing against Hawaii.

Through his first 11 games of the year, Williams has averaged 19.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals on promising shooting splits of 49.6%/45%/90.3%. While his ability to score from all over the floor has been very intriguing, he has also made noticeable strides in drawing fouls, leading to almost guaranteed points from the free throw line. Continuing to post big scoring nights in conference play could be the key to his rise up draft boards, and his most recent performance against Hawaii offers hope that he could be ready.

In Nebraska’s 69-55 victory over Hawaii at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Williams finished with a season-high 32 points, along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals. He did an excellent job of staying in attack mode throughout the game, constantly hunting for open space to get off shots. His efficiency on high volume stood out as he shot 55.6% from the field while tying a season-high with 18 attempts. Williams also connected on 4-of-5 attempts from three-point range and earned eight attempts from the free throw line, where he did not miss.

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This game highlighted his off-ball movement, as he navigated to his spots on the perimeter and found clear lanes to the rim. He knocked down several threes by losing his man on screens, taking one dribble to solidify his looks and hitting the jumpers with impressive touch. While his movement off the ball looked strong, his mechanics on catch-and-shoot opportunities were also clean and consistent.

Outside of his scoring ability, Williams has areas to improve if he wants to earn a shot at the next level. While he has enough athleticism to elevate for jumpers and defend at a serviceable level in college, he will need to find other ways to become a more versatile player. His passing and rebounding have flashed at times this year, but the consistency has been lacking. These concerns also extend to his defense; while he can stay with ball-handlers at a decent rate, his lack of ground coverage and switchability remain concerns.

In summary, Brice Williams has proven to be one of the more underrated offensive prospects in this year’s draft class. His scoring ability, particularly his efficiency and versatility as a shooter, positions him as a potential high-ceiling player who could contribute immediately at the next level. While there are areas of his game—particularly his passing, rebounding and defense—that need further development, his recent performance against Hawaii demonstrates that he has the potential to be a game-changer when he’s locked in. If he can continue to improve in these areas and maintain his offensive production throughout conference play, Williams could very well see his stock rise as the draft approaches.

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Nebraska lands Kentucky wide receiver

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1 day ago

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December 25, 2024

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Nebraska lands Kentucky wide receiver


Nebraska football landed a commitment from former Kentucky Wildcats receiver Dane Key on Tuesday afternoon. He is the tenth overall player to join Nebraska from the transfer portal.

He recorded 47 catches for 715 yards and two touchdowns last season. He had two games of at least 100 receiving yards in 2024. The first game was against Ohio on September 21. He caught seven passes for 145 yards in a contest. He followed that up with an eight-catch, 105-yard performance against the Ole Miss Rebels the following week.

Key gives the Huskers a veteran body in the wide receiver room. There is young talent to be had at the position. He will be able to provide production right now, as well as help bridge the gap between the freshman and upperclassmen wide receivers.

It will be interesting to see Key’s role in this offense moving into 2025. This was a solid get for a wide receiver room that continues loading up. The program landed another solid weapon for quarterback Dylan Raiola.

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