Purdue’s No. 1-ranked men’s team and the indomitable Connecticut women, ranked third, both played unranked opponents on Thursday night. The results might have seemed predictable.
The results were anything but.
Purdue was an 11½-point favorite for its trip to Rutgers, which entered with an uninspiring 4-4 record and a loss to Lafayette on its résumé. But after a 30-point individual effort — and a shot from nearly half-court at the buzzer — by Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers had a stunning 70-68 win.
UConn, meanwhile, carried a mind-boggling streak of 239 straight wins against unranked opponents into its visit to Georgia Tech (6-2) — a streak that dated to 2012.