CHICAGO (AP) — Fletcher Loyer scored 19 points, Braden Smith collected 10 more assists and No. 18 Purdue beat No. 11 Nebraska 74-58 on Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
C.J. Cox and Oscar Cluff each had 12 points for the Boilermakers, and Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Smith set a Big Ten Tournament record and matched a career high with 16 assists in an 81-68 victory over Northwestern on Thursday. The senior guard needs 22 more assists to break Bobby Hurley's NCAA record of 1,076 in 140 games for Duke from 1989-93.
Purdue (25-8) advanced to the Big Ten semifinals for the fourth time in the last five years, bouncing back nicely after closing the regular season with four losses in six games. It will play UCLA on Saturday after the surprising Bruins held off No. 8 Michigan State for an 88-84 win.
Pryce Sandford scored 15 points for Nebraska, which dropped to 6-14 all-time in the Big Ten tourney. Rienk Mast finished with 11.
Nebraska (26-6) went 10 for 31 from 3-point range and 12 for 25 from inside the arc.
The Cornhuskers trailed 48-30 with 17 minutes left, but they trimmed the deficit to 58-50 on Cale Jacobsen’s driving layup with 6:53 remaining.
The Boilermakers responded with a 14-2 run, capped by Loyer’s 3 and a dunk by Cluff with 3:26 to go. Cox also connected from long range during the decisive stretch.
Purdue beat Nebraska 80-77 in overtime in their regular-season meeting on Feb. 10. Kaufman-Renn grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the victory, helping the Boilermakers to a 54-37 advantage on the glass.
Purdue enjoyed a 37-29 rebounding advantage this time around, and outscored Nebraska 26-18 in the paint.
Purdue lost 69-67 at UCLA on Jan. 20, snapping a nine-game win streak for the Boilermakers.
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Purdue center Oscar Cluff, left, rebounds the ball against Nebraska forwards Pryce Sandfort (21) and Rienk Mast (51) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Big 10 Conference tournament, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Purdue players celebrate after center Oscar Cluff (not shown) scored a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Big 10 Conference tournament, Friday, March 13, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sky-high ticket prices won’t be the only thing emptying the wallets of soccer fans attending World Cup matches at some U.S. venues this spring.
Fans trying to get to MetLife Stadium from New York City can expect to shell out $150 for a round-trip train fare for each match, transportation officials confirmed Friday.
That’s nearly 12 times the regular $12.90 fare for the roughly 15-minute, 9-mile (14-kilometer) ride from Manhattan’s Penn Station to the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. On-site parking won’t be available for most fans, so New Jersey officials anticipate that around 40,000 fans will use mass transit for each match.
The home stadium for both the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets is set to host eight World Cup matches, including the tournament final on July 19. Group stage matches for soccer powerhouses Brazil, France, Germany and England, along with other nations, begin June 13.
New Jersey officials said the upcharge was necessary to cover the cost of hosting the World Cup on its return to the U.S. for the first time since 1994.
NJ Transit officials said they planned to spend $62 million transporting fans to and from the stadium over the duration of the tournament. Outside grants had defrayed only $14 million of those anticipated expenses. A fare increase was needed to cover the rest, according to NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri.
“This isn’t price gouging,” he told reporters Friday. “We’re literally trying to recoup our costs.”
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, called on FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, to cover the transportation costs.
“If it won’t, we will not be subsidizing World Cup ticket holders on the backs of New Jerseyans who rely on NJ TRANSIT every day,” she said in a statement.
But FIFA has bristled at the suggestion that it should shoulder New Jersey's transit costs. On Friday, it pointed to other U.S. host cities, including Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston, that are keeping their transit rates unchanged.
One notable exception is Boston, where express buses from various locations to Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, will cost $95, officials announced this week.
Thousands of fans have also already snapped up $80 round-trip train tickets from the Massachusetts capital to the commuter rail station near the stadium, which is located in Foxborough, a town some 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Boston. That’s four times the $20 riders are normally charged for a round-trip ticket during game days and other special events at Gillette.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, one-way fares will remain $1.75; in Atlanta, they’re locked at $2.50; in Houston, a single ride will still cost $1.25 and in Philadelphia the base fare for the subway will remain $2.90. Kansas City is running shuttles from locations around the city to Arrowhead Stadium that cost just $15 round trip.
Some of those cities have noted that the U.S. government has provided some $100 million in transit grants to provide enhanced bus and rail service during the games.
The soccer federation on Friday warned that New Jersey's transit pricing could have a “chilling effect."
It argued that no other global event has been asked to absorb the costs of “arbitrarily set” transit prices and noted that the agreements signed with World Cup host cities back in 2018 called for free transportation for fans to all matches.
“Elevated fares inevitably push fans toward alternative transportation options,” FIFA said in a statement. “This increases concerns of congestion, late arrivals, and creates broader ripple effects that ultimately diminish the economic benefit and lasting legacy the entire region stands to gain from hosting the World Cup.”
The huge fare increase has also drawn protest from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Charging over $100 for a short train ride sounds awfully high to me,” the Democrat posted on X earlier this week. The surge pricing was first reported by sports outlet The Athletic.
Alternatives to taking the train to MetLife Stadium will also be pricey.
Shuttle buses with a capacity for about 10,000 riders will set off from the midtown Manhattan bus terminal and other locations for $80 roundtrip.
Some 5,000 parking spots at the nearby American Dream Mall are also being sold in advance, currently priced at $225.
MetLife Stadium has a huge parking lot, but for World Cup matches much of that space is being used for a fan village, shuttle buses, a staging area and FIFA staff, officials said.
When the stadium hosted the NFL's Super Bowl under similar conditions in 2014, New Jersey Transit struggled to accommodate an estimated 33,000 passengers leaving the game. Platforms at a train transfer station became jammed with passengers unable to get space on trains. Some waited for hours to get on board.
AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Gainesville, Florida, contributed to this report.
Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo
FILE - An NJ Transit train leaves the Secaucus Junction station in Secaucus, N.J., Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - PSG fans cheer before the start of the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)
FILE - Fans play with a ball outside the Metlife Stadium prior to the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, File)
