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m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l purdue at .500 after four big ten games BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com PURDUE 60, PENN STATE 42 Jan. 13 • Mackey Arena Defense ruled the day for Purdue against Penn State as it exploited the gaping void left by Tim Frazier. Without their All-Big Ten guard — Frazier was lost to a ruptured Achilles after four games — the Nittany Lions had no answer for Purdue's defensive pressure on the pe- rimeter, rendering their offensive ineffective to the point they shot just 26 percent for the game and had to scramble in the game's final minutes just to crack 40 points. Ronnie Johnson led a defensive effort that held Penn State leading scorer D.J. Newbill scoreless for 33 minutes. Newbill, who's averaging better than 15 points per game, didn't score until Purdue was up 17 points late. "They did a great job of wearing us down and wearing him down, switching all screens and flash FORWARD Opponent: Nebraska Location: Lincoln, Neb. (Devaney Center) When: 9 p.m. ET, Wednesday Notables: In its first season under new coach Tim Miles, Nebraska's 0-4 in the Big Ten, but has been surprisingly competitive in losses to ranked Michigan and Michigan State. ... The Cornhuskers are without one of their best players after big man Brandon Ubel fractured his elbow against the Wolverines. ... Nebraska's 56 points against the Spartans marked the first time this season it scored more than 50 points against a Big Ten opponent. ... Nebraska played three of its first four conference games on the road in some of the league's toughest venues. ... This is Purdue's first trip to Lincoln since Nebraska joined the Big Ten. ... Nebraska used only seven players at Michigan State. it was very difficult to finish." With Frazier, Penn State had one of the best point guards in college basketball. Without him, it's been left with players playing out of position. "Coach (Matt) Painter told me he doesn't like pressure, so, 'Give him pressure and keep the ball out of his hands as much as you can,' " Ronnie Johnson said of Newbill. "And big (A.J. Hammons) helped down low on the drives. He was there, so he couldn't get the shot that he wanted most of the time." Purdue dominated defensively, yet couldn't shake Penn State until late in the first half, Tom Campbell when it scored nine straight Ronnie Johnson has been markedly improved of points before the Lions made a late and helped the Boilermakers to a relatively three-quarter-court shot at the easy win over Penn State in Mackey Arena on halftime buzzer to trail 30-22. Saturday. Penn State, which dropped to 0-4 in the Big Ten, made up dribble hand-offs," Lion coach for its offensive shortcoming Patrick Chambers said. "I give early by beating Purdue to ofthe Johnson brothers credit, but fensive rebounds and benefiting I give their team defense credit, from its 11 first-half turnovers. because they did a very nice job "It was more of Purdue beatkeeping us out of the paint and ing Purdue," Painter said. when you did get into the paint, Until late into the first half and into the second, when Purdue blew the game open with a 15-2 run highlighted by eight points by D.J. Byrd, who made 3-of-4 threes in the game and scored 12 points. Ronnie Johnson led all scorers with 13 points. Hammons recorded his first career double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five blocked shots. Fellow freshman Rapheal Davis started the game — all three of its active true freshmen started — and chipped in 10 points and five rebounds. Key player It's been a process, but Ronnie Johnson is getting better. That much was again evident against Penn State as the rookie point guard led all scorers and continued to display improved court sense, as his shot selection has gotten better and turnovers have been stemmed a bit. And he's become more of a defensive factor than he was earlier in the season, exerting pressure full-court on opposing ball-handlers. GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 17 • 8