Nebraska Falls Just Short in Overtime Thriller vs. Purdue After Costly Late Slip
Nebraska basketball’s recent stretch has been a rollercoaster, and Tuesday night’s showdown with Purdue was the wildest ride yet. After clawing back from a 22-point deficit to force overtime, the Huskers had a chance to steal a win on the road. Instead, a heartbreaking slip in the final seconds sealed their fate in an 80-77 loss.
Let’s set the scene: Nebraska had the ball, trailing 78-77 with 4.1 seconds left in overtime. It was their game to steal, their moment to finish off a gutsy comeback.
Jamarques Lawrence took the inbounds pass and turned upcourt-but suddenly lost his footing near the Purdue bench. The ball was turned over, and Purdue was fouled immediately after recovering it.
Two free throws later, the Boilermakers had iced the game.
It was a brutal way to end what had been a gutsy, resilient performance from the Huskers. And for fans trying to make sense of the final moments, a closer look at the video tells the full story.
The clip, posted by Kevin Sjuts, shows Lawrence beginning to lose balance even before he fully secures the ball. The floor in that area-where Purdue had just huddled during a timeout-appeared slick.
So slick, in fact, that Sam Hoiberg also slipped while rushing over to help Lawrence up. It’s likely the cleanup crew missed the spot during the break, and Nebraska paid the price.
The loss drops Nebraska to 21-3 overall and 10-3 in Big Ten play. And while that record is still impressive, it puts them two full games behind Michigan with just seven left in the regular season. A Big Ten regular-season title might be slipping out of reach, but this team isn’t going quietly.
If anything, the last four games-despite a 1-3 record-have shown how dangerous this group can be. Two of those three losses came by a combined five points.
They pushed Purdue, one of the league’s toughest teams, to the brink on the road. That’s not the mark of a team fading down the stretch-it’s a team that's still very much in the fight.
With a few corrections and a little luck, Nebraska could be a serious problem in the Big Ten tournament. The margin between heartbreak and heroics is razor-thin this time of year, and the Huskers are right there on the edge.