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Duke, Kentucky, Purdue, Villanova Lose as Top-25 Upsets Dominate Men's CBB Results

Jack Murray

It's not March yet, but the college basketball upsets are already plentiful.

Friday and Saturday's action saw four Top-25 teams fall short against unranked opponents.

Here's a roundup of the early December madness.

Northwestern 92, No. 1 Purdue 88 (OT)

The Boilermakers' struggles in Evanston continued Friday as the unranked Wildcats improved to 6-1 and handed Purdue its first loss of the season.

The Boilermakers entered halftime with an eight-point lead and even staved off a loss in regulation after Zach Edey scored near the buzzer to extend the game to overtime.

Northwestern takes down a top-ranked Purdue team for the second time in the 2023 calendar year and the Wildcats could be a candidate to be ranked soon.

Wisconsin 75, No. 3 Marquette 64

The Golden Eagles had an opportunity to stake a claim as the top team in Wisconsin but the Badgers were not going to make it easy. Wisconsin cruised to a 13-point halftime lead and kept Marquette at bay in the second half to secure the victory and give the Golden Eagles a second loss.

The Golden Eagles have now lost two of its last three games as they continue a gauntlet of an early season schedule.

Georgia Tech 72, No. 7 Duke 68

The Blue Devils start the conference slate with a loss as the Yellow Jackets earn a strong early season win. Georgia Tech took a four-point lead at the half and was even with the Blue Devils in the second half to secure the victory and improve to 4-2 on the season.

Duke has now lost consecutive games to unranked opponents and will need to have a quick turnaround to remain ranked near the top of the country.

Drexel 57, No. 18 Villanova 55

Villanova already has three losses on the season and will need to right the ship in order to stay afloat.

Drexel took a one-point lead at the half and continued on a similar place to clinch the victory. This was the Dragons' first victory over the Wildcats since 2006 and only their second ever.

Villanova has lost back-to-back games and Big East play will certainly be no cakewalk.

UNC Wilmington 78, No. 12 Kentucky 71

The Wildcats have been excellent to start the season, including a win over No. 8 Miami. However, the Seahawks had more to give Saturday, taking an eight-point lead at the half and holding on despite a late charge from Kentucky.

The loss was Kentucky's second of the season, with the other coming at the hands of No. 5 Kansas. Make no mistake: it's an early blemish for a team with high hopes this year.

   

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