Purdue 79, Nebraska 61: Anthony Johnson scored a career-high 17 points and the Boilermakers shot 13 of 25 from the 3-point line to cruise past the fading Cornhuskers in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

Terone Johnson added 16 points while Ryne Smith went 5 of 8 beyond the arc to lead the 3-point explosion and finish with 15 points for Purdue (21-11), which will qualify for the conference tournament quarterfinals for the sixth straight season.

The sixth-seeded Boilermakers will face No. 3 seed Ohio State in quarterfinal action on Friday.

Purdue, which used a 17-0 run in the first half to grab an early 13-point lead, let the Huskers (12-18) crawl back within 39-35 early in the second half.

However, Hummel hit a layup and a 3-pointer two possessions later, and the Boilermakers pulled away from that point, leading by as many as 20 points late.

Bo Spencer had 22 points – his ninth 20-point game – for Nebraska, which closed its season with losses in nine of its final 10 contests.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Purdue entered this game averaging 8.7 turnovers – the best mark in the country – had six turnovers at the break, but committed just two in the second half. … The Boilermakers’ 13 3-pointers increased their season total to 259, breaking the school record set by the 2007-08 team. … Nebraska surrendered at least 10 3-pointers in consecutive games for the first time this season.