Purdue beat Nebraska 73-55 on Friday night to improve to 16-1 on the season. The 18-point victory doubled as Matt Painter's 400th career win at Purdue, making him just the fifth Big Ten coach in history to win 400 games at one school. The others are Lou Henson (Illinois), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Gene Keady (Purdue) and Bob Knight (Indiana).
"[Painter is] one of the best in the business, and he does such a phenomenal job recruiting to his system," said Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg. "And he learned from a great one -- Gene Keady. I'm happy for him. Not happy he got his 400th against me, but happy for him."
More than two months into this season, it continues to look like Painter's 18th team at Purdue could end up being his best. The Boilermakers are sitting alone atop the Big Ten standings with a 5-1 league mark and merely a 65-64 loss to Rutgers away from being 17-0 thanks largely thanks to the play of Zach Edey, a 7-foot-4 center who is averaging 21.3 points and 13.2 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game. He's widely considered to be the leading candidate to eventually be named the CBS Sports National Player of the Year.
Fletcher Loyer was the star against Nebraska, though.
The freshman guard took 12 3-pointers, made six of them and finished with 27 points and three assists. He's now averaging 13.2 points for a Purdue team that KenPom.com is projecting to win the Big Ten by multiple games.
"Every time [Loyer] shoots it, we think it's going in," said Purdue forward Mason Gillis. "So we want him taking those open shots."
Purdue remains No. 2 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Boilermakers are scheduled to return to the court Monday when they play at Michigan State.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 31 points and four assists in Wednesday's 83-77 win over USF. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday at Tulane. | -- | 0-0 |
| 2 |  | Fletcher Loyer finished with 27 points and three assists in Friday's 73-55 win over Nebraska. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday at Michigan State. | -- | 0-0 |
| 3 |  | K.J. Adams finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 79-75 win over Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Iowa State. | -- | 0-0 |
| 4 |  | Marcus Sears finished with 26 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 84-69 win at Arkansas. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against LSU. | -- | 0-0 |
| 5 |  | Drew Timme finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds in Thursday's 75-74 win at BYU. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Portland. | -- | 0-0 |
| 6 |  | Markquis Nowell finished with 20 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 65-57 win over Oklahoma State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at TCU. | -- | 0-0 |
| 7 |  | Julian Phillips finished with 15 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 77-68 win over Vanderbilt. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 0-0 |
| 8 |  | UConn allowed the Golden Eagles to shoot 50.8% from the field in Wednesday's 82-76 loss at Marquette. The Huskies' next game is Sunday against St. John's. | -- | 0-0 |
| 9 |  | Adem Bona finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's 68-49 win over Utah. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against Colorado. | -- | 0-0 |
| 10 |  | Colby Jones finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 90-87 win over Creighton. The Musketeers' next game is Sunday against Marquette. | -- | 0-0 |
| 11 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 86-74 win at Oregon State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Oregon. | -- | 0-0 |
| 12 |  | Timmy Allen finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 79-75 win over TCU. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday against Texas Tech. | -- | 0-0 |
| 13 |  | Gabe Kalscheur finished with 25 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 84-50 win over Texas Tech. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Kansas. | -- | 0-0 |
| 14 |  | TCU squandered an 18-point lead in Wednesday's 79-75 loss at Texas. The Horned Frogs' next game is Saturday against Kansas State. | -- | 0-0 |
| 15 |  | Isaiah Wong finished with 22 points and three assists in Wednesday's 88-72 win over Boston College. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday at NC State. | -- | 0-0 |
| 16 |  | Ben Vander Plas finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 65-58 win over North Carolina. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday at Florida State. | -- | 0-0 |
| 17 |  | Noah Locke finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 83-80 win over St. John's. The Friars' next game is Saturday at Creighton. | -- | 0-0 |
| 18 |  | Oso Ighodaro finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 82-76 win over UConn. The Golden Eagles' next game is Sunday at Xavier. | -- | 0-0 |
| 19 |  | Matt Bradley finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 74-65 win over Nevada. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday against New Mexico. | -- | 0-0 |
| 20 |  | Arkansas shot 20% from 3-point range in Wednesday's 84-69 loss to Alabama. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 0-0 |
| 21 |  | Keyonte George finished with 32 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 83-78 win at West Virginia. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 0-0 |
| 22 |  | Kyle Filipowskii finished with 28 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday's 77-69 win over Pitt. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Clemson. | -- | 0-0 |
| 23 |  | Johnell Davis finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 77-73 overtime win at Florida International. The Owls' next game is Saturday against North Texas. | -- | 0-0 |
| 24 |  | Wendell Green Jr. finished with 23 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 82-73 win at Ole Miss. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Mississippi State. | -- | 0-0 |
| 25 |  | Terquavion Smith finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 73-69 win at Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack's next game is Saturday against Miami. | -- | 0-0 |
| 26 |  | Dain Danja finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Friday's 75-66 win over Michigan State. The Spartans' next game is Monday against Purdue. | -- | 0-0 |
