GoldandBlack Analysis and Wrap Video: Purdue's loss at Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — No. 1 Purdue suffered a shocking loss, in more ways than one, Thursday night at Rutgers.

Below, our GoldandBlack.com post-game analysis and Wrap Video.

Things have come relatively easy for Purdue offensively this season, and so so often turnovers and squandered possessions have quickly been rendered irrelevant. But the Iowa game served as a reminder that stuff changes in Big Ten play, when every possession matters a little more, that always being especially true on the road.

Everything did matter more tonight, because Purdue was far from its best self at Rutgers, and not even good enough to really be able to say it deserved to win, but it was good enough to escape, and nearly did.

The end of the game — as can be said about virtually every close basketball game — magnified everything that transpired before it. Every turnover, every missed free throw, every defensive lapse, every three that rimmed out.

That's the nature of basketball, but that nature can be controlled to a certain extent by limiting mistakes, and Purdue's struggles to maximize its possessions got it beat tonight.