Late Saturday, Purdue and Matt Painter told the world that the bench would get a bit thinner as the home stretch came into view. Basil Smotherman, had been cited for possession of marijuana paraphernalia back in July, and was subsequently suspended for Purdue's first game this season. Now, he will finish his college basketball career elsewhere. I don't think the lack of Smotherman's presence made any difference whatsoever earlier this evening in Lincoln, Nebraska though...as Purdue simply allowed Nebraska to set the pace and dictate the terms of Purdue's fifth loss of the season.

With around ten minutes left in the first half, Nebraska started playing more physical and kept knocking down shots. As foul trouble mounted for both Thompson and C. Edwards, Cline played significant minutes and seemed to struggle against Nebraska's screens and ball movement. The Huskers bullied Purdue's bigs, and dared the officials to call fouls nearly every possession...and the gamble paid big dividends as turnovers and one-shot possessions mounted against Purdue. At the half, Purdue was down six points...

Two minutes into the second half, in spite of allowing an open three pointer (again) by Nebraska, Purdue had tied the game. After some back-and-fourth basketball, Purdue flexed the lead out to seven points with nearly ten minutes left in the game. At this point, Swanigan had already earned his 18th triple double, and it felt like Purdue might pull away...but two minutes later, after a few empty possessions by Purdue, the lead was gone...and the game stayed close. At around the three minute mark, thanks to a pair of Mathias three pointers, Purdue had regained control and had a five point lead...pretty good position to be in. But as they have on a larger scale this season, this team sometimes doesn't know what to do with success.

When they needed a stop, they couldn't come up with it down the stretch...and after a few big plays by Nebraska's forwards, and two empty Swanigan possessions in the post, Nebraska sealed it, 83-80. Nebraska had lost five straight and had struggled offensively of late...Purdue cured their ails by getting out rebounded by five, allowing the 'Huskers to shoot around 70% from three for a stretch and playing sloppy offense in which they couldn't get any good looks.

If you didn't know it, you might think Purdue was unranked and Nebraska was ranked...but after tonight, I am not sure Purdue will be ranked any longer, come tomorrow afternoon.

Swanigan's 14 points 14 rebounds were good. His four turnovers were not. V. Edwards was all but a no-show in the first half, then started the second half with two quick buckets...before disappearing again. Boogie Edwards' 16 points, 3 assists and 3 steals were good. His six misses inside three weren't great. Mathias' 19 points brought Purdue back in this one, but he didn't add any assists, which is generally a bad sign for these Boilers. Haas had 11 points and 5 rebounds in just 13 minutes of play...I have no idea why he didn't play more in an effort to exploit Nebraska's lack of size.

Here's what we know in the wake of this one- Purdue is two games behind Maryland and Wisconsin in the conference standings...and sits in fourth place; kinda familiar. I'll be quite honest- I don't care about a B1G conference championship, by itself...BUT, their best chance of getting a top-4 seed rests in their ability to contend for that title. At 17-5, Purdue seems like a team with that record. They're not bad, solid, really...but surely they don't seem special as many in the media seem to think they are. My crystal ball's image of Purdue not leaving the first weekend of the NCAA tournament is getting clearer, sadly. There just aren't that many chances to impress the tourney committee from here out, yet there are plenty of chances to lose ground.

As of now, Maryland is the only remaining ranked foe on the schedule for the Forces of Good...but Northwestern should enter the rankings tomorrow after a convincing win over IU (as I type that game is on my TV in the background).

As J said on Friday, the next three games will define how this team is seeded in March...Here's to a few surprises.

Next up, Purdue welcomes the tourney-bound Purple 'Cats on Wednesday night at 8:30.