NCAA Basketball Roundup: Duke wins rivalry clash, Gonzaga falls to Saint Mary’s

Indiana gets first win over No. 1 team since 2013

In an NCAA Basketball season with few certainties, Purdue getting all of the votes for No. 1 in the AP poll was a respect to its strength, as well as a lack of respect to the rest of the teams. The Boilermakers had a chance to make a statement, winning on the road at the only other ranked team in the Big Ten, the Indiana Hoosiers.

The home team also had one of the best players in the county in Trayce Jackson-Davis, averaging over 20 ppg and 12 rpg over the last 10 games. He went up against National Player of the Year favorite Zach Edey in one of the marquee matchups of the season. The star Boilermaker big literally did all he could to keep them in the game, going for 33 points and 18 rebounds.

But Indiana used its homecourt advantage to its favor, going out to a big lead early and keeping control for most of the game. Purdue did come back late but baskets but Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino gave them the 79-74 upset win over the No. 1 team. The Hoosiers’ star big had 25 points in the game, while the freshman guard Hood-Schifino had 16 points.

It’s a massive win for the Mike Woodson era and puts Indiana just one game back of Rutgers, who beat Michigan State earlier in the day. Considering that 10 teams are separated by just two games, the Hoosiers needed this one in order to stay in position for a top-4 place in the standings.

For Purdue, they’re still up two games on the Scarlet Knights in the standings and in line for a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But this was a test of how’d they do against an athletic opponent and they didn’t get a passing grade. We’ll see how they do against an elite scoring threat next in the Iowa Hawkeyes.