Despite almost giving the game away from the free throw line, Nebraska survived to knock off Purdue 57-55 in first-round play at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago last night. The Huskers stretched a two-point halftime lead to eleven points in the early stages of the second half, and held the Boilermakers at bay, taking a four-point lead into the final minute. In those waning moments the Huskers missed four out of seven free throws, giving Purdue a chance to tie or win on their final possession, but two contested shots in the paint went beggings and the Big Red survived for their first ever Big Ten tournament win. Shavon Shields scored 19 points and Brandon Ubel added 16 to lead the Huskers to victory. The tenth-seeded Huskers face two-seed Ohio State in second-round action today at 5:30.