WATCH: Rutgers upsets No. 1 Purdue on buzzer-beating half-court heave
For the third consecutive week, the AP No. 1 college basketball team has been upset — this time, it was Purdue losing at the hands of unranked Rutgers. And this time, the ending was even harder to believe.
Purdue forward Trevion Williams, who finished nine of 17 from the field for a team-high 21 points, banked in a contested layup with just four seconds left in the contest, giving the Boilermakers a 68-67 lead. Rutgers didn’t have any timeouts left; instead, the Scarlet Knights had to inbound the ball to senior forward Ron Harper Jr. and hope he could make some magic.
Harper caught the pass in stride and dribbled nearly half the length of the court with a defender draped on him before pulling up from halfcourt. Just before he left the “R” at halfcourt, Harper let it fly and made good on his tenth field goal in just 15 attempts. The three-point shot gave Rutgers a 70-68 win over Purdue, which could very well lose its top ranking after the loss.
Harper exploded for the Scarlet Knights Thursday, dropping 30 points while converting on five of seven three-point attempts and all five of his free throws. He also added 10 rebounds to his total, and the double-double meant leading Rutgers in both departments.
Harper had the help of three other double-digit Rutgers scorers in forward Mawot Mag, who scored 12 points on four-of-six shooting, forward Clifford Omoruyi, who had 11 points and guard Caleb McConnell, who had 12 points and five assists.
Purdue, on the other hand, was led by Williams, who made the last shot and came off the bench for the Boilermakers with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. Purdue had just received its first AP No. 1 ranking in program history; it failed to win a single game as the AP No. 1 team before collecting its first loss.