Purdue entered Monday evening with a No. 1 ranking in the country and an undefeated 12-0 record. The Boilermakers woke up on Tuesday likely sore and disappointed after losing to Rutgers in West Lafayette in what will likely go down as one of the biggest upsets of this college basketball season.
From the outside looking in, it was a surprising loss for Purdue, which had already beaten No. 6 Gonzaga and No. 8 Duke this season.
One person who wasn’t surprised was Purdue head coach Matt Painter, though, who said he saw this coming from a Rutgers team that entered the game 9-4.
“We know what’s coming with Rutgers. What Rutgers did tonight didn’t shock the coaching staff,” Painter said after the game, according to 247Sports’ Robbie Weinstein. “We sold it and sold it and sold it, like, ‘Hey, man, these guys are coming.’ If we were going to war, we would stop by New Jersey and pick them up. Them cats, they play for keeps, and we explained that to them.”
It’s not like Purdue didn’t have a chance to win and stay undefeated. The Boilermakers actually hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 30 seconds to go up 64-62. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t stop Cam Spencer from nailing a three of his own down on the other end of the floor. Purdue had another chance but ultimately lost, 65-64.
