Video: No. 1 Purdue Upset by Rutgers on Ron Harper Jr.'s Half-Court Buzzer-Beater
December 10, 2021
Ron Harper Jr. sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer to propel the unranked Rutgers men's basketball team to a 70-68 home win over No. 1 Purdue on Thursday.
Harper Jr. had made a two-point jumper with 14 seconds left to give Rutgers a 67-66 lead.
Purdue retook the lead after a Trevion Williams layup with four seconds left, but Harper capped his 30-point, 10-rebound night with the game-winning three for one of college basketball's biggest upsets this season.
The Boilermakers led for much of the second half and took a 57-47 lead with 8:37 remaining after a Sasha Stefanovic three-pointer, but Harper and the Scarlet Knights chipped away at the edge before earning the win over their Big Ten opponent.
Williams had 21 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Boilermakers, who made just 7-of-26 three-pointers.
Caleb McConnell complemented Harper's effort with 12 points, five assists and five rebounds for Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights had lost four of five games leading into the Purdue matchup, including an 86-51 defeat to Illinois on Friday. However, they bounced back in a big way to move to 5-4 on the year (1-1 Big Ten).
Purdue, which is now the third No. 1 team to fall after Gonzaga and Duke each fell from the top posts earlier this year, dropped to 8-1 (1-1 Big Ten).