‘Proud of me?’ Valparaiso’s wild Purdue upset sparks touching TV moment

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Valparaiso basketball's double overtime upset of No. 24 Purdue was cool enough. But it held added significance for Big Ten Network analyst Bruce Weber, despite Weber's nearly two decades as a Boilermakers assistant coach.

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Weber, the former Illinois head coach, was on the call for BTN on Friday night as the Beacons shocked Purdue with a Justus McNair 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second overtime for the 83-80 win.

Coaching the Beacons was Roger Powell, who played two seasons under Weber at Illinois, winning the Big Ten title both years. Powell is in his fourth season as Valpo coach, and the Beacons are coming off their first winning season since 2019-20.

In the postgame interview, Weber and Powell shared a neat moment.

"To do it with my coach calling the game was really special. Having you at shootaround today meant a lot to me, and proud of me?" Powell asked Weber.

"I am proud of you. It was special. You weren't ready to be a head coach before, but you are tonight," Weber responded.

"I'm learning. I'm growing. But these guys are special. We've got a special bunch. A special group of guys that are tough. They never give up. That's a part of our program, our culture. We talk about grit and we showed a lot of grit today."

New-look Purdue is now 0-2 to start the season for the first time since 1976 and looks far off its usual level under longtime coach Matt Painter. Purdue opened the season with a 78-72 loss to Gonzaga in Las Vegas, and its loss to Valparaiso marks that program's first win over a Big Ten opponent since beating Penn State in 2004.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Proud of me?’ Valparaiso’s wild Purdue upset sparks touching TV moment

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