Takeaways: Northwestern 64, No. 1 Purdue 58

Northwestern shocked college basketball on Super Sunday by upsetting No. 1 Purdue, 64-58, at a wild, electric Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Boo Buie scored a game-high 26 points, and in a night where Purdue had national player of the year candidate Zach Edey, Buie was the best player on the floor.

Chase Audige was ice cold for the first 36 minutes of the game, and then took over down the stretch in a five-point sequence over two possessions where he changed the landscape of the game completely.

Edey led Purdue with 24 points and eight rebounds, but Northwestern was able to fluster him with traps to force turnovers down the stretch and complete the comeback.

The Wildcats have been much maligned for their performance in the clutch and at the end of games, but no one could ask for a better comeback performance than they put together today. In the final six minutes of the game, Northwestern went on a 19-5 run, and a 12-1 span over the last 2:52.

It was a joyous scene as the clock hit zeroes. Northwestern fans stormed the court and Collins took a moment postgame to recognize what the victory meant for him, the program and the fulfillment of why he came to coach here.

"One of the reasons why I wanted to come here was to get the opportunity to create historical games," he said. "How often in your life do you have an opportunity to create history?"

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern's historic win over the No. 1 team in the country:

Northwestern's defense came up clutch yet again: Purdue seemed to be comfortable for most of the game, holding a five- to eight-point lead for much of it. Then Northwestern's defense turned it up a notch. Four different players got a steal in the final 2:33 of the game, flipping the game from the Wildcats being down one to a six-point win over the No. 1 team in the country.

Purdue came out throwing haymakers, shooting 5-for-9 from three and taking a 26-16 lead. They were responsible with the ball in the first half with just three turnovers, and seemed on their way to win No. 23.

Then the Wildcats turned up the heat. Purdue missed their next 13 threes throughout the game, and turned the ball over 13 times in the second half.

Edey finished with 24 points and eight rebounds, but there's no doubt Northwestern forced him out of his comfort zone and he turned the ball over six times. The 7-foot-4 center was consistently under pressure from Northwestern's trademark traps and committed five turnovers in the second half, often throwing passes to a spot rather than a player and sending the ball sailing out of bounds.

Northwestern has built their renaissance on defense, and today it took down the No. 1 team in the country.

Buie and Audige were phenomenal: When the lights were brightest, Northwestern's stars played their best. Buie deserves lead billing in the duo; he kept Northwestern in the game when their offense was stagnant, slashing through Purdue's defense for floaters and drawing contact for free throws on his way to 26 points.

Northwestern found themselves down 55-47 with 3:52 left in the game, several nails were in the coffin and Collins called timeout to muster one last push. Enter Audige.

Berry missed a shot out of the timeout, the ball pinballed around, Buie snagged a rebound and found Audige in the corner, and he drained it. Fletcher Loyer got the inbound and brought the ball up the floor, but Audige picked him up at two-thirds court, applied pressure and picked his pocket.

The runway was clear, Audige put on a show with a double-clutch slam and Welsh-Ryan went up for grabs. Purdue's lead was down to 55-52, the game was back on.

It looked like Buie's heroic performance would come up short, but this team answered the bell and delivered the biggest win in the history of the new Welsh-Ryan Arena.

"I know I'm biased, but I'd be hard pressed to see a better backcourt out there," Collins said. "Not only the way these guys play, but the way they lead, how hard they play."

Northwestern students are building a culture: Northwestern's student body showed up in force and stormed the court the second the buzzer sounded. The culture on campus around this team continues to grow, and this is becoming a special season.

"I've had a chance to play or coach in pretty much every great or iconic venue in college basketball," Collins said about the crowd. "Nothing was better than what you saw today, which is pretty special. Thank you to the students in the crowd for supporting us."

The student-ticket portal for the Purdue game almost immediately crashed from the traffic and the student ticket allotment was used in full for the third straight time. Students were outside of the stadium more than 90 minutes before tip in a line stretching almost to the parking lot to get in and take their seats.

Even with a hostile, plentiful and loud contingent of Purdue faithful in the upper deck, Northwestern's student section held their ground and built an incredible home atmosphere to host the No. 1 team in the nation.

"I cant even emphasize how big that crowd was, and the students," said Audige. "It’s been everything for us to be where we’re at right now.

Nicholson and Verhoeven went to war: Northwestern went toe-to-toe with Purdue on the glass, narrowly losing the rebounding battle, 35-30.

Seven-foot-4, 305-pound Edey played 35 minutes and pulled down only eight rebounds. The Wildcats threw out plenty of different looks at Edey and the Boilermakers, and Matt Nicholson, who might have been undersized for the first game in his life, and Tydus Verhoeven went to war.

Verhoeven ceded seven inches and 80 pounds, Nicholson four inches and 50 pounds on every play, but they still held serve with the biggest player in the Big Ten. The big-man duo finished with just five combined rebounds, but that stat sells their effort massively short. They battled for every board, tipped loose balls out of the paint to teammates and made Edey's life miserable.

They were both absolutely essential to the win.

The Wildcats all but punched their ticket to the NCAAs: Get your dancing shoes out, because this win has all but sealed Northwestern's berth to the Big Dance.

The Wildcats are 18-7 (9-5 Big Ten) with wins over No. 1 Purdue, at Indiana (who has since risen to No. 18 in the AP Top 25), at Michigan State, at Ohio State, Illinois and a sweep of Wisconsin. They are winners of eight of their last 12, six of their last eight and three straight.

Big Ten play has been a cautionary tale for this team since 2016-17. Northwestern's history is riddled with long losing streaks and lost seasons. This year, Northwestern used Big Ten play to add to their resume and to build momentum, not to have it fall apart and lose steam.

"They were great," Collins said about his team. "And we got to come back tomorrow, There's still a lot to play for.

"This was not a championship game. It was a great, great win and I'm really happy for everyone around the program."

The Wildcats stand tied for second in the Big Ten and will play Indiana on Wednesday night for sole possession of that distinction. The game is already sold out. If Northwestern picks up another win or two, they will go to their second NCAA tournament in school history.