Purdue basketball HC Matt Painter sounds off after near collapse vs. Nebraska

Purdue basketball came into the season as the favorites to win the national championship, but things haven’t completely gone to plan for Matt Painter and company. The Boilermakers have struggled while playing in a very strong Big Ten conference, and while they still have a chance to win the league title, they haven’t had things all their own way.

Questions surrounded Purdue coming into Tuesday night’s clash with No. 7 Nebraska, especially off of a close home win over a bad Oregon team. However, Painter’s squad quickly silenced those doubters, jumping out to a 16-point halftime lead.

Purdue seemed to be cruising to the finish line, holding a double-digit lead with less than three minutes to go in Lincoln. Then, disaster struck. A combination of blown assignments on defense and missed free throws allowed the Cornhuskers to come all the way back and force overtime, even after missing a free throw that would have completed the stunning comeback. The Boilers still escaped with an 80-77 win, but they have plenty to clean up.

After the game, Painter put a positive spin on the second-half collapse.

“Obviously, we didn’t want to go into overtime, but the fact that we did—and that we got through it and showed some fight there—I think that’s definitely going to help us.”

Bill Raftery with @BoilerBall HC Matt Painter after the Boilermakers' win against No. 7 Nebraska. pic.twitter.com/0eD76ewAxw

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 11, 2026

“Obviously, we didn’t want to go into overtime, but the fact that we did—and that we got through it and showed some fight there—I think that’s definitely going to help us,” Painter said.

Purdue was still able to buckle down and win with its rebounding and some clutch 3-point shooting, but the free-throw shooting will be a point of emphasis for Painter coming out of this one. That Achilles heel almost cost the Boilermakers in their win over Oregon as well, so this isn’t a new issue.

Despite Purdue’s relative struggles this season, it is still sitting at 20-4 and is well within protected seed range in the current Bracketology. This win will only help that cause, and Purdue is also still just two games behind Michigan for the lead in the Big Ten with a game against the Wolverines still left on the schedule. If they can clean up these end-of-game woes, everything is still in front of the Boilermakers with less than a month to go until the postseason.

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