Unranked Nebraska, Iowa State top No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston

With the college football season ending on Monday, college basketball took center stage on Tuesday — and immediately saw its top two teams suffer upsets at the hands of unranked opponents.

No. 1 Purdue fell at Nebraska, 88-72, while No. 2 Houston lost its first game of the season at Iowa State, 57-53.

According to ESPN Stats and Information research, Tuesday night was the first time since Feb. 6, 2016 that the top two teams in the AP poll lost to unranked opponents on the same day and only the eighth time in AP poll history.

The top-ranked Boilermakers entered Tuesday on a seven-game winning streak, including wins over Arizona, Illinois and Alabama. But Nebraska matched them shot-for-shot in the first half and finished the opening period on a 13-0 run to lead by 11 at halftime.

Purdue cut Nebraska’s lead to one within the first six minutes of the half, but the Cornhuskers immediately responded with a 14-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game with 11:53 remaining. Purdue wouldn’t get closer than six points the rest of the game and Nebraska finished the game on an 11-2 run.

The Cornhuskers shot 14-for-23 from 3-point range as a team, with seven different players making a shot from behind the arc. Keisei Tominaga led the way with 19 points, while Rienk Mast had 18 points.

It was Nebraska’s first win over an AP No. 1 team since Feb. 6, 1982 and the fourth win over an AP No. 1 team in program history. The first of those wins came on March 3, 1958 under head coach Jerry Bush, the grandfather of current head coach Fred Hoiberg.

Tuesday marked the fourth time in the last two seasons that a No. 1-ranked Purdue team has lost to an unranked opponent. Last season, the Boilermakers fell to Rutgers and Northwestern. Earlier this season, they again lost at Northwestern.

Purdue becomes just the second team in AP poll history to lose multiple games as No. 1 to unranked opponents in consecutive seasons, the other being North Carolina in 1985-86 and 1986-87, according to ESPN Stats and Information research.

Earlier in the night, Houston became the last team in men’s college basketball to lose a game this season, falling at Iowa State in the Cougars’ first conference road game as a member of the Big 12.

Kelvin Sampson’s team was introduced quickly to «Hilton Magic,» as the Cyclones jumped out to a 14-0 lead and forced 12 first-half turnovers.

Iowa State led the entire first half, but a 7-0 Houston run forced a 41-41 tie with 10:48 remaining. Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the game, with Houston taking its only lead of the game on a Jamal Shead jumper with 3:17 remaining.

With the game tied at 53 in the final minute, Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic caught the ball along the left baseline, turned and hit a contested fadeaway over two Houston defenders to give the Cyclones a two-point lead. Momcilovic would ice the game with two free throws with 10 seconds left.

«It was important that we came out and set the tone with the game,» Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said after the game. «We talked about, we need to throw the first punch, we need to be the aggressor, we need to be the team that sets the tone. And I think we set the tone right away. Certainly, there was points in the game where it almost felt like we were hanging on, but I think our guys were able to dig deep. I think it was setting the tone and being the aggressor, and then it was just a group of guys who are really connected and had resolve.»

With Purdue (14-2) and Houston (14-1) both losing, it opens the door for No. 3 Kansas (13-1) to return to No. 1, where the Jayhawks opened the season. Bill Self’s team, which received two first-place votes in this week’s AP poll, plays at UCF on Wednesday night before hosting No. 9 Oklahoma on Saturday.