Purdue Boilermakers vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, 3/13/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Purdue Boilermakers vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

Date: Friday, March 13, 2026

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Nebraska (+4)

The Purdue Boilermakers (23-8) are en route to United Center on Friday where they will attempt to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers (26-5) in the Big Ten Quarterfinals. Nebraska opens this game as 4-point dogs. The over/under is 142.5.

The Purdue Boilermakers stepped onto the hardwood against Wisconsin and took a loss by a final of 97-93 in their last game. Purdue ended having earned a 50.7% FG percentage (34 of 67) and made 11 of their 25 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Boilermakers made 14 of 19 attempts for a rate of 73.7%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they earned a total of 29 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 20 dimes in this contest as well as forcing 8 turnovers and having 5 steals. In the matter of defense, Purdue let their opponent shoot 55.8% from the field on 29 of 52 shooting. Wisconsin recorded 19 assists and had 4 steals for this contest. On top of that, Wisconsin grabbed 17 rebounds (4 offensive, 13 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Wisconsin walked away from this one shooting 87.5% when shooting free throws by making 21 of their 24 shots. They also knocked down 18 of their 34 tries from three-point range. Regarding personal fouls, the Boilermakers finished with 18 and Wisconsin finished the game with 19 personal fouls.

Fletcher Loyer is a player who was a contributor in this contest. He racked up 23 points on 8 out of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 36 minutes and also totaled 3 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 61.5% from the floor and also totaled 2 dimes.

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Purdue will play this contest with a mark of 23-8 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 82.3 pts per game (53rd in the nation) while hitting 50.1% from the field. The Boilermakers are shooting 38.5% on 3-pointers (293 of 761) and 74.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Purdue is pulling down 35.5 boards per contest and has earned 610 assists on the campaign, which ranks 2nd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 9.1 times per contest and as a unit they commit 15.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Boilermakers are forcing 10.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.1 personal fouls. They are giving up 34.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 93rd in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (70.7). The Boilermakers defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.5% (783 of 1,761) and they concede 28.5 boards per contest as a team. They are 226th in college hoops in giving up assists with 441 relinquished on the season.

The last time they took the court, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took home the win by a final score of 84-75 when they faced Iowa. The Cornhuskers were able to pull down 23 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in the game. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 11 steals for this game. Iowa committed 18 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Cornhuskers to the charity stripe for a total of 27 shots. They were able to make 20 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 74.1%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, Nebraska converted 10 of their 27 tries (37.0%). When all was said and done, the Cornhuskers finished 27 for 54 from the floor which had them shooting 50.0%. The Cornhuskers allowed Iowa to convert 27 out of 56 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 48.2% for the matchup. They finished 36.7% from distance by connecting on 11 of 30 and finished the game at 10 out of 15 from the charity stripe (66.7%). In reference to how they rebounded, Nebraska permitted Iowa to pull down 31 overall (7 offensive).

Cale Jacobsen was important for the Cornhuskers for the contest. He recorded 15 points in his 30 minutes of playing time and had 2 assists in this game. He converted 6 out of 6 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 100.0%, and had 8 rebounds.

Nebraska has a mark of 26-5 so far this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cornhuskers are shooting 46.7% from the field, which ranks 94th in the nation. Nebraska has scored 2,415 points on the season (77.9 per game) and they grab 35.1 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 18.1 times per contest (13th in the nation) and they turn it over 9.7 times per game. The Cornhuskers commit 14.3 fouls every game and they connect on 75.5% from the charity stripe.

The Nebraska defense concedes 29.8% on 3-point attempts (265 of 888) and opponents are converting on 72.2% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 14.1 dimes and 34.6 total boards per game, which ranks them 239th and 199th in the nation. The Cornhuskers on the defensive side of the court are 18th in the country in points per game surrendered with 66.0. They are able to force 13.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 40.3% from the floor (22nd in college).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Nebraska (+4)

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