LINCOLN, Nebraska – Trey Kaufman-Renn and CJ Cox each left Pinnacle Bank Arena with war wounds.
Kaufman-Renn suffered a cut under his left eye. Cox had a noticeable laceration on his right cheek.
They embodied everything about the 45 minutes it took Purdue basketball to beat eighth-ranked Nebraska, 80-77, in overtime on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
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The Boilermakers should’ve never been in an extra session, having surrendered a 22-point second-half lead and missing four free throws in the final minute of regulation with its best three foul shooters.
Purdue couldn’t worry about that in the moment.
With Big Ten title hopes dwindling, the Boilermakers — despite all that had happened leading up to the final minute of overtime — showed championship-level poise that had coach Matt Painter taking a more positive spin on his team’s grit than a negative tone with losing a large lead.
“I thought our effort was great,” Painter said. “I thought we did a pretty good job executing.”
Only 11 turnovers in 45 minutes, nearly outrebounding the opponent with just two players (Oscar Cluff and Kaufman-Renn combined for 33 rebounds) and holding an elite 3-point shooting team to 37.5% all were positive signs to back up Painter’s positivity.
Purdue’s nearly catastrophic collapse showed signs of a team still reeling. In the same realm, the Boilermakers showcased their composure when many teams would’ve folded under the pressure from a red sea of 15,185 screaming fans.
The play that ultimately won Purdue the game surprised even the team’s star player.
Fletcher Loyer drove right, got stuck, spun to his left, turned back to his right and delivered a wraparound pass by his defender to Cluff, who spun left and banked in a left-handed hook shot with 5.2 seconds left.
Braden Smith was certain Loyer was going to attempt a shot. But Loyer stayed on two feet and maintained a coolness when the pressure was highest.
“We’ve got to be able to be even keel and keep our composure in those moments,” Smith said.
You take a top-10 road win any way you can get it, especially when the Boilermakers can ill afford to take any more losses if they hope to compete for a conference crown.
“Great win. Us as a team, we need to win all of the rest of the games to have a share or win the Big Ten,” Cox said. “This away game against a top-10 team in the country was a crucial win.”
When Cluff intercepted a long inbounds after Gicarri Harris’ two free throws with 1.5 seconds left, the Boilermakers could finally exhale.
At the same time, Purdue perhaps inhaled new life ahead of its final seven regular season games, now with a statement victory for its third win in a row.
It wasn’t perfect, but in some ways it was.
“Obviously, adrenaline is going crazy right now,” Cluff said. “It’s just the beginning honestly. We’ve got a huge couple of games coming up. I think this is the start of something. We’re going to keep rolling all the way until April.”
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Purdue basketball stays in Big Ten title race with win at Nebraska
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