Nebraska's win over Purdue was its first victory over a top team since 1982. (AP/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Zach Edey and the top-ranked Boilermakers have stumbled again in the Big Ten.
Nebraska took a second-half lead and beat No. 1 Purdue 88-72 on Monday night. It was Purdue's second loss to a non-Big Ten ranked team this season and Nebraska's first loss to a No. 1 team since 1982.
Of course, that led to a wild celebration at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.
After a close first half, Nebraska went to the locker room with a huge run from Sam Hoiberg. The Huskers finished the period with a 13-0 run, seven of which came from Hoiberg, to take an 11-point halftime lead.
Hoiberg, the son of coach Fred Hoiberg, finished the night with nine points.
While that run was big, it was Nebraska's defensive performance that really made the difference. They almost completely eliminated Edey in the first half. The reigning national player of the year only had two points and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
Although Purdue quickly narrowed the game to a single point in the second half, that was as close as it had ever been. Nebraska then went on a quick 8-0 run, capped by another Hoiberg steal and layup, to regain the lead by double digits.
They almost held Purdue at bay the rest of the way, thanks largely to a trio of three-pointers from CJ Wilcher. While Fletcher Loyer cut the lead to seven points with a late three-pointer, Keisi Tominaga hit one of his own to send Nebraska into the U4 timeout with another 10-point lead.
From there, Nebraska just held on and took the 16-point win.
Edey finished with 15 points and seven rebounds for Purdue in the loss. Mason Gillis added 16 points off the bench and Loyer finished with 13 points.
The Boilermakers have lost twice to unranked teams in conference play so far this season. They lost to Northwestern in overtime in December, right after jumping to No. 1 in the national rankings. Purdue has had no problem getting past ranked opponents this year. The Boilermakers made it to the Maui Invitational in November, where they beat Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette, and then beat Arizona last month. They also beat No. 9 Illinois last week.
Purdue's loss marked the second major upset in college basketball on Tuesday night after Iowa State handed No. 2 Houston its first loss of the season in Ames. It is the first time since last season that both a No. 1 and No. 2 team have lost on the same day, although the top six teams lost on this day last year. With both losses on Tuesday, it should pave the way for No. 3 Kansas to jump to No. 1 in the rankings next week. Purdue hosts Penn State on Saturday. They won't face a ranked opponent again until they travel to Madison on Feb. 4 to play No. 15 Wisconsin.
Tominaga led Nebraska with 19 points in the win. He shot 5 of 9 from behind the arc and was one of seven players to make a 3-pointer. Rienk Mast added 18 points and Wilcher added 16 points off the bench.
Nebraska has now won six of its last seven games. The Huskers had won five straight before falling to No. 15 Wisconsin on Saturday. Tuesday night's win was their first win over a ranked opponent all season and will go a long way toward continuing their NCAA Tournament run in March. Nebraska is scheduled to face Iowa on Friday.