No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston falter in massive college basketball upsets

It is the first time since 2022 that the two top-ranked teams fell in men's college basketball

NCAA Division I men’s college basketball suffered a shake-up at the top of The Associated Press poll on Tuesday night as No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Houston were both upset.

Houston was the first of the top teams to falter. The Cougars fell at the hands of Iowa State, 57-53. Houston was the last unbeaten team in men’s college basketball.

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Tre King celebrates

Iowa State forward Tre King celebrates at the end of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey scored 14 points as freshman Milan Momcilovic made a jumper with 30.2 seconds remaining in the game.

"We're a young team, we're learning every game," Lipsey said. "But we're going to come out and fight every game no matter who we're playing, no matter where we're playing. Just don't doubt us."

Attention then turned to the Big Ten Conference, where the Cornhuskers topped the Boilermakers 88-72, in what would be the program’s first win over a No. 1 since they defeated Missouri 67-51 about 41 years ago.

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Nebraska fans

Nebraska fans rush the court following the team's 88-72 victory over Purdue in an NCAA college basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

"I’m just so proud of the guys for coming out and getting off to a really good start," Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. "This is a huge win for our program, to come out here and knock off what I think is the best team in the country. It shows us what we’re capable of doing."

Nebraska forward Rienk Mast scored 18 points to help the team.

"It doesn’t get much bigger than this one, the No. 1 team, the reigning National Player of the Year," Mast said. "I just see that as a challenge and luckily, the shots were going in in the beginning and gave the team a little spark and everybody started believing."

Rienk Mast vs Zach Edey

Nebraska's Rienk Mast, left, is defended by Purdue's Zach Edey during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

It was the first time since Feb. 26, 2022, that a No. 1 and No. 2 fell on the same day. That year, Gonzaga and Arizona both lost their respective games. It was the eighth time since the 2009-10 season the top teams fell on the same day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

Authored by Ryan Gaydos via FoxNews January 10th 2024