- Rutgers defeated No. 1-ranked Purdue 70-68 on a last-second, half-court shot by Ron Harper Jr. The loss ended Purdue's unbeaten start at 8-0, the best start since starting 11-0 in the 2015-16 season.
- The Boilermakers were playing their first game as the nation's top-ranked team.
- Purdue was one of the nation's last 10 unbeaten teams and the last remaining unbeaten team in the Big Ten.
- The Boilermakers haven't started conference play 2-0 since the 2016-17 season.
- Purdue was outscored at the free throw line 13-11, the first time all season Purdue was outscored at the charity stripe.
- Purdue fell to 133-15 under Coach Painter when winning the rebound and turnover battles. Purdue was +8 on the glass and +4 in turnovers.
- Purdue outscored Rutgers in second-chance points and points off turnovers by a 38-8 margin.
- Purdue shot a season-low 41.0 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from 3-point range.
- Trevion Williams recorded his 25th career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
- Purdue's two centers, Zach Edey and Trevion Williams, combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds while shooting 14-of-25 from the field. The rest of the team had 34 points while going 11-of-36 from the field.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Ron Harper Jr. hit a buzzer-beater from just inside half court, and Rugers shocked Purdue in its first-ever game as the nation's No. 1 team, winning 70-68 Thursday night.
Harper finished with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights, a do-it-all performance that concluded with the most stunning shot of the college hoops season thus far. Rutgers (5-4, 1-1 Big Ten) beat the top-ranked team for the first time in program history.
Purdue had gone ahead 68-67 on a layup by Trevion Williams with 4 seconds left. With no timeouts, Rutgers inbounded the ball to Harper, who dribbled across the half-court line and let it fly from the big "R" logo. The ball went through as time expired, and Rutgers fans stormed the court.Williams scored 21 points off the bench for Purdue (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten), which was a unanimous No. 1 in this week's AP Top 25, the program's first time atop the poll. Its stay will be brief.
Ron Harper Jr.'s buzzer-beater capped a wild finish in which the lead changed three times in the final 13.1 seconds.The lead changed hands three times in the final 13.1 seconds. Harper hit a turnaround jumper to put Rutgers ahead 67-66, its first lead since early in the second half.
Purdue had a 10-point lead with 8 minutes left before Rutgers began chipping away.
Caleb McConnell made a turnaround jumper in the paint to get Rutgers within 65-63 with 2:07 remaining, and Mawot Mag pulled Rutgers within one on a dunk off a pass from Harper with 1:05 left.
McConnell had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for Rutgers. Jaden Ivey scored 15 points for Purdue.
BIG PICTURE
Purdue: The Boilermakers were off to another strong start under coach Matt Painter, going 8-0 for the third time under his tutelage and looking like a Big Ten title contender. They'll have to regroup after crumbling under the scrutiny of the No. 1 ranking.
Rutgers: After making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 30 years last season, the Scarlet Knights had a rough start to the 2021-22 campaign, with losses at UMass and Big East bottom-feeder DePaul, as well as at home to Lafayette. Now they know they can beat anybody.