Ron Harper Jr. made a 40-foot 3-pointer as time expired to lift undermanned Rutgers to a shocking 70-68 upset of No. 1 Purdue on Thursday night in Piscataway, N.J.
Harper hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 13.1 seconds left to put Rutgers ahead 67-66, but Trevion Williams’ running bank shot with 3.4 seconds to go gave the Boilermakers a one-point lead. Harper took the inbounds pass, dribbled past midcourt and let fly with a shot that beat the buzzer. Harper finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights (5-4, 1-1 Big Ten), who knocked off a top-ranked team for the first time in program history, were without star guard Geo Baker (hamstring), who missed his fourth consecutive game. The Scarlet Knights also had been dealing with a flu bug that limited many of their players during practice, according to coach Steve Pikiell.
The heavily favored Boilermakers (8-1, 1-1) were ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history, while Rutgers was coming off a 35-point drubbing at Illinois six days before.
No. 5 Gonzaga 80, Merrimack 55
Preseason All-American Drew Timme scored a game-high 22 points on 8-for-8 shooting as the Bulldogs defeated the visiting Warriors in a nonconference game in Spokane, Wash.
The Bulldogs (8-2) rebounded from a 91-82 loss to then-No. 16 Alabama on Saturday in Seattle. Freshman 7-footer Chet Holmgren had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds and added four blocked shots for Gonzaga. Julian Strawther also had 15 points.
Jordan Minor led Merrimack (4-7) with 17 points and seven rebounds.
No. 23 Seton Hall 64, No. 7 Texas 60
Bryce Aiken hit a crucial 3-pointer and a pair of free throws over the final 33 seconds as the Pirates outlasted the Longhorns in a Big East-Big 12 Battle contest in Newark, N.J.
The game was tied at halftime and went back and forth in the second half before the Pirates took a 58-56 lead on Jared Rhoden’s jumper with 5:29 remaining. Texas missed eight shots in a row before Timmy Allen’s layup with 52 seconds left pulled the Longhorns to within a point.
Aiken then canned his only 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to put Seton Hall up by four before another layup by Allen pulled Texas to within 62-60 with 24 seconds to go. Aiken netted two free throws with 14 seconds to play, and that was enough to get the Pirates to the finish line.
No. 17 Iowa State 73, Iowa 53
Izaiah Brockington poured in 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting to help the host Cyclones cruise past the Hawkeyes.
Tyrese Hunter added 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Cyclones (9-0), who matched the third-best start in program history. Brockington fell one point shy of his career high and collected 10 rebounds as Iowa State snapped a three-game slide against the Hawkeyes.
Jordan Bohannon scored 17 points, but Keegan Murray had just nine on 4-of-17 shooting for Iowa (7-3), which lost its third straight game. Murray entered the contest as the nation’s leading scorer at 23.9 points per game.
–Field Level Media