Tipoff: Michigan State at Purdue
•What: MSU at Purdue
•When: 4 p.m. today
•Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana
•TV/Radio: ESPN / Spartan Sports Network, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM.
•Records/Rankings: MSU is 16-10 overall, 8-5 in the Big Ten and unranked. Purdue is 21-5, 10-3 and ranked No. 16 in both major polls.
•Coaches: MSU — Tom Izzo is 540-215 in his 22nd season, all with the Spartans. Purdue — Matt Painter is 284-144 in 13 seasons, including 259-139 in 12 seasons with the Boilermakers.
•Series: Purdue leads 67-53 all-time. The Boilermakers won the first meeting this season, 84-73, on Jan. 24 at Breslin Center.
MSU
Pos. | Name | PPG |
C (44) | Nick Ward (6-8) | 13.2 |
F (22) | Miles Bridges (6-7) | 16.2 |
G (14) | Eron Harris (6-3) | 11.1 |
G (1) | Joshua Langford (6-5) | 6.0 |
G (11) | Tum Tum Nairn (5-10) | 3.8 |
Purdue
Pos. | Name | PPG |
C (50) | Caleb Swanigan (6-9) | 18.7 |
F (12) | Vincent Edwards (6-8) | 11.7 |
G (31) | Dakota Mathias (6-4) | 11.3 |
G (3) | Carsen Edwards (6-0) | 9.9 |
G (11) | P.J. Thompson (5-10) | 7.3 |
•MSU update: The Spartans have found their footing again after a humbling loss at Michigan last week, with home wins over Iowa and Ohio State. But MSU’s improved play really began with the first meeting with Purdue, Jan. 24 at Breslin Center — which might have had a different outcome if the Spartans had avoided foul trouble on its front line late in the first half. Miles Bridges is averaging 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds for the season and 18.3 points over the last nine games. He’s on track to be the first freshman in 25 years to lead MSU in scoring. Shawn Respert did so in 1991-92, averaging 15.8 points per game.
•Purdue update: The Boilermakers appear more than ever to be the Big Ten’s most realistic shot at a deep NCAA tournament run. They have the league’s best player in Caleb Swanigan — a national player of the year candidate – who’s averaging 18.7 points and 13 rebounds per game. Their backup center, 7-foot-2, 290-pound Isaac Haas, would start almost anywhere else. And what truly separates them from last year’s team is they’re leading the Big Ten in 3-point shooting at better than 41 percent.
•About the matchup: There is no way for MSU to adequately match Purdue pound for pound on the front line. What the Spartans have to avoid is a prolonged stretch when 6-5 former walk-on Matt Van Dyk is in the game — worse yet, at center. Van Dyk played five minutes at the end of the first half in the first matchup, with Kenny Goins and Nick Ward in foul trouble. Purdue coach Matt Painter recognized the Spartans’ size deficiency immediately and put both Swanigan and Haas in the game together. MSU’s eight-point lead quickly became a tie game at halftime. Swanigan finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds in the first meeting. The Boilermakers also hit 11 of 21 3s, many of them on kick-outs. Purdue has a pick-your-poison attack. But if you don’t eliminate one option better than the Spartans did, you have no chance.
•Prediction: This again is a measuring-stick game for MSU and likely its greatest challenge before the postseason. If the Spartans’ big men stay out of foul trouble, MSU avoids the turnover bug and a couple of its guards hit shots, MSU might have a shot. That’s a lot of things that have to go right against the Big Ten’s best team and in perhaps the environment most hostile to MSU in the Big Ten.
» Make it: Purdue 77, MSU 68
— Graham Couch