Connecticut upsets Indiana

Jim Calhoun looked at the scoreboard, hugged his players and never changed his usually rock-hard facial expression. The Connecticut coach wouldn’t give into his own emotions.

A day after he suspended two key guards for violating team rules, Calhoun’s Huskies turned in their grittiest performance of the season to pull an improbable 68-63 upset at No. 7 Indiana.

In Calhoun’s mind, the victory meant as much as any since winning his second national championship.

“To do what we did is certainly the greatest I’ve had and it’s going to get up there since the national championship team beat Georgia Tech,” he said.

“Quite frankly, they deserve more than a hug from me. They deserve one from the state of Connecticut, from the university, from our fans.”

Less than 24 hours before tipoff, Calhoun faced a quandary when he learned Jerome Dyson, a starter, and Doug Wiggins, a backup, had violated team rules.

Calhoun wouldn’t say what the players did but when he got the details, he decided to leave the players at home.

It appeared the loss of those two would doom the Huskies (14-5) against Indiana, which had won 13 in a row, 29 in a row at home and had the Big Ten Conference’s top offense.

But the Huskies did more than just compete. They buckled down with a short-handed lineup and outplayed the Hoosiers (17-2) in virtually every facet of the game.

Purdue 60, No. 11 Wisconsin 56 -- Coach Matt Painter often downplays wins. Not this time.

After the Boilermakers’ victory at West Lafayette, Ind., Painter was straightforward about the long-term implications it could have.

“You’re helping yourself get closer to your goals,” he said. “I talked to our guys about the situation that we’re in. If you want to get to the NCAA tournament, you have to beat teams without question that are going to the NCAA tournament, and Wisconsin is one of those teams.”

E’Twaun Moore scored 16 points, and Robbie Hummel had 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a game-winning block for Purdue (15-5, 6-1 Big Ten), which ended a 10-game winning streak by the Badgers (16-3, 6-1).

Rutgers 77, No. 13 Pittsburgh 64 -- Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn led a decisive second-half run and the Scarlet Knights (10-11, 2-6 Big East) pulled off their second consecutive upset of a top-25 team, stunning the Panthers.

It was the first time in school history that Rutgers had beaten such a highly ranked team on the road.

Chandler scored 18 points, Coburn had 17 and they led a game-altering 20-2 run in the second half as Rutgers handed Pittsburgh its biggest upset loss in Big East play in Jamie Dixon’s five seasons as coach.