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No Boilermaker took more than nine shots and none who cracked double figures shot less than 56 percent. Key player Safe to say, Byrd has found his stroke, as he did against West Virginia, making a couple threes that helped hasten along the blowout. He���s shooting the ball really well lately, but more so, just playing well. His four assists shouldn���t be overlooked, either, including the no-look dish that led to A.J. Hammons��� dunk to start the second half. Key stretch The Boilermakers turned the ball over too much in the game���s opening minutes, helping the Mountaineers stay close even though they couldn���t score. But with eight-and-a-half minutes left, Byrd made backto-back threes, then Sandi Marcius scored on a putback; Ronnie Johnson made two foul shots; and Davis scored a layup, keying the Purdue run that pushed its lead to a dozen. Considering Purdue���s defensive prowess on this day, that lead may as well have been 30. Key stat It���s not a stat, per se, but something to consider. braska for a Big Ten game, Purdue rolled on the road. The Boilermakers controlled the first half over the Cornhuskers, stifling the hosts with their tenacious defense, then opened the second half with a 13-2 run to claim a 20-point lead. But playing with a lead has not been Purdue���s strength this season, and along those lines, Nebraska made its run, scoring 17 out of 20 points during one stretch to get as Tom Campbell close as five with six minutes left. D.J. Byrd has found his stroke of late. He scored a game-high 17 points vs. West Virginia, hitting four three-pointers. Byrd and Terone Johnson then made Hammons scored four points important baskets, though, to on six shots. Ronnie Johnson push the Cornhuskers back and committed five turnovers. guide Purdue to its first road Big With those two profoundly Ten win. important freshmen not producKey player ing all that much, Purdue still Byrd shot Purdue to a win won by nearly 30. at the end and Terone Johnson scored 18, but Hammons was the PURDUE 65, guy who put the Boilermakers in NEBRASKA 56 that position in the first place. Jan. 16 ��� Devaney Center The center scored 14 points, In its first-ever trip to Ne- with eight rebounds and a gamechanging six blocked shots. More than anything, he exploited Nebraska���s greatest void. The Cornhuskers were without their best big man, Brandon Ubel, and rotund center Andre Almeida was no match for Hammons���height, skill or ability to run the floor. Key stretch Nebraska���s layup at 6:03 cut a Purdue lead that had peaked at 20 to just 51-46. But Byrd canned a three, then answered David Rivers��� jumper with another triple. Terone Johnson���s and-one then pushed the lead back out to nine and that did it. Key stat The two teams were even in points in the paint at the end of the night, but there���s no question Purdue was better around the rim at the defensive end. It outrebounded Nebraska 47-36 and blocked eight shots. TAKEAWAYS S Purdue���s not had a defensive presence around the basket like Hammons since JaJuan Johnson, obviously, but Hammons is even more imposing because of his stature. He���s not as athletic as the former Big Ten Player-of-theYear, but he���s better with posi- tioning and simply playing big. S Terone Johnson���s and Byrd���s toughness is really showing up since the start of the Big Ten season and it���s rubbed off on the entire team. S�� Best part of the West Virginia game, or at least one of them: Purdue not only protected a significant halftime lead, but nearly doubled it. Oftentimes, the Boilermakers have lost focus with big leads and done silly things. Not this time. S Another encouraging sign from the romp over the Mountaineers: Anthony Johnson and Marcius played well. Purdue hasn���t had the greatest productive depth this season. If some of this older players can make a move all of a sudden, that would help. S Davis has always found ways to score. That���s kind of his thing. But what���s been notable has been the 6-foot-5 guard���s ability to rebound in a sort of power forward���s role when Purdue���s playing small. He certainly doesn���t out-size anyone for rebounds, but just has this knack for reading the ball off the rim and being in the right place at the right time. The rookie has really been coming on lately. j GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 18��� ������ 8