Nebraska rolls over Zach Edey, No. 1 Purdue to grab dominant 88-72 upset win

Zach Edey and the top-ranked Boilermakers have stumbled in the Big Ten again.

Nebraska flew ahead in the second half and knocked off No. 1 Purdue 88-72 on Tuesday night. It marked Purdue’s second loss to an unranked team in the Big Ten this season, and Nebraska’s first over a No. 1 team since 1982.

Naturally, that led to a wild celebration at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.

After a tight first half most of the way, Nebraska went into the locker room powered by a huge run from Sam Hoiberg. The Huskers closed the period on a 13-0 run, seven of which belonged to Hoiberg, to grab an 11-point lead at halftime.

Hoiberg, the son of head coach Fred Hoiberg, finished with nine points on the night.

While that run was big, it was what Nebraska did defensively that truly made the difference. The Huskers shut down Edey almost completely in the first half. The reigning National Player of the Year was held to just two points and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Though Purdue cut the lead to a point quickly in the second half, that was as close as it got. Nebraska then ripped off a quick 8-0 run, capped by another Hoiberg steal and layup, to get back up by double digits.

It kept Purdue at arm's length pretty much the rest of the way, thanks largely to a trio of clutch 3-pointers from C.J. Wilcher. While Fletcher Loyer cut it to seven points with a 3-pointer late, Keisei Tominaga hit one of his own and sent Nebraska into the under-4 TV timeout with a 10-point lead.

From there, Nebraska (13-3) held on to take the 16-point win.

Tominaga led Nebraska with 19 points. 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 had 16 off the bench.

Edey finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in the loss for Purdue. Mason Gillis added 16 off the bench, and Loyer finished with 13.

The Boilermakers (14-2) have lost twice to unranked teams in conference play this season. They lost to Northwestern in overtime in December right after they jumped to No. 1 in the national rankings. Purdue has had no issue getting past ranked opponents this season. The Boilermakers rolled through the Maui Invitational in November, beating Gonzaga, Tennessee and Marquette, and then they beat then-No. 1 Arizona last month. They 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's the first time since 2022 that both a No. 1 and No. 2 team lost in the same day, though the top six teams lost on that day in historic fashion. With both losses Tuesday, it should pave the way for No. 3 Kansas to jump to No. 1 next week.

Purdue will host Penn State next on Saturday. It won’t play a ranked opponent again until traveling to Madison to play No. 15 Wisconsin on Feb. 4.

Nebraska has won six of its past seven games. The Huskers had won five in a row before falling to No. 15 Wisconsin on Saturday. The win Tuesday was their first over a ranked opponent all season and will go a long way come March when it comes to their NCAA tournament résumé. Nebraska is set to take on Iowa on Friday.