Valparaiso beat Purdue 83-80 in double overtime in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Friday, November 6, after Justus McNair made a three-pointer as time expired. The loss left Purdue 0-2 for the first time since the 1976-77 season, turning a narrow finish into a rare early-season setback for the Boilermakers.

The ending came after Valparaiso had already forced extra time once. Rakim Chaney hit a buzzer-beating three to tie the score at 70 and send the game to a second overtime. With the teams level at 80 in the final seconds, McNair’s corner shot settled it; Chaney, a freshman, scored a career-high 35 points.

More than a close finish

Purdue entered as a 19.5-point favorite, making the result a substantial upset. It also ended a 23-game November home winning streak for the Boilermakers. The defeat was Purdue’s first at Mackey Arena against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent since 1978.

Those records give the loss a wider significance than a single game decided by one shot. Valparaiso’s two late threes turned a game that Purdue had been expected to win comfortably into the team’s second defeat of the season. The first buzzer-beater kept Valparaiso alive; the second completed the comeback.

A difficult start in a changing season

Purdue had opened its campaign with a loss to No. 15 Gonzaga. The Valparaiso defeat therefore made the Boilermakers 0-2 before they had recorded a win. The team had been ranked 28th in the preseason AP Poll, ending a run of 79 consecutive weeks in the Top 25.

The early results come as Purdue adjusts to the departures of Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. The three had helped the team reach the Elite Eight in their final season together. That roster change is part of the season’s context, though the available facts do not establish it as the cause of either loss.

What comes next

Purdue’s next scheduled game is a home matchup with Illinois State on Monday. The Boilermakers will enter it looking for their first win of the season after a defeat that ended a home streak and extended their opening run of losses to two.