 Matt (Painter) did one hell of a job.'' The Spartans (13-4, 5-1 Big Ten) came into the game as a 4 1/2-point favorite, averaging 81.3 points per game - 16th in the country - and a reputation for physical play.But Purdue bottled up Michigan State at every turn and eventually the Spartans buckled.Cassius Winston, the league's preseason pick for player of the year, finished with 10 points, five assists and nine turnovers. His teammates weren't any better.Michigan State finished with season-lows in field goals (18), 3-pointers (two), field goal percentage (35.3) and 3-point percentage (12.5) while accumulating a season-high 18 turnovers. The 32 rebounds matched the Spartans' second-lowest total of the season, and the 42 points were their fewest since a 42-41 loss at Illinois on Jan. 31, 2012.Naturally, the Spartans' eight-game winning streak ended.''I just thought they never really quite got into a rhythm,'' Painter said. ''I don't want to put that on them or give us the credit. A lot of times it's something in between.'' The Boilermakers (10-7, 4-3), meanwhile, extended their home winning streak against conference foes to 15 and now have two victories over top-10 teams this season - both by 29-point margins.Purdue scored the first five points, then extended the lead to 19-4 with a 12-0 run. Trevion Williams, who finished with 16 points, helped fuel another big run, 13-2, that made it 34-14 with 3:23 left in the first half.Michigan State never recovered despite trimming the deficit to 37-20 at halftime and 39-27 early in the second half.The Boilermakers responded with two 3-pointers to take a 45-29 lead with 14:11 to play and Michigan State couldn't get closer than 11 again.''We've shown flashes, especially at home that we can play well,'' Painter said. ''We haven't been consistent enough.'' BIG PICTUREMichigan State: Clearly, the Spartans are better than they demonstrated Sunday. They were completely out of sync against Purdue's defense. They were beaten physically and were careless with the ball. The real danger is it could become a guide for how other opponents can beat Michigan State.Purdue: The Boilermakers' usually strong defense might have been at its best against the Spartans. It's actually tough to imagine them performing much better. But, offensively, they may have found a solution to their woes by divvying up the scoring chores. Time will tell whether Painter has a fix - or whether it was merely an aberration.STAT PACKMichigan State: Committed seven turnovers before forcing the first by the Boilermakers. ... The Spartans missed their first 10 3s and finished 2 of 16. ... The Spartans have lost four straight in West Lafayette. ... Rocket Watts had 10 points. Xavier Tillman finished with eight points and eight rebounds.Purdue: Williams also had seven rebounds and four assists. ... Evan Boudreaux had 11 points and five rebounds while Sasha Stefanovic and Eric Hunter Jr. each finished with 10 points. ... Purdue had a 21-8 advantage in points off turnovers. ... The Boilermakers broke a tie for the second-longest home winning streak against conference opponents in Mackey Arena history. They won 19 straight between January 1968 and February 1970. ... The Boilermakers have won five of their last six home games against top-10 foes.QUOTABLEMichigan State: ''I laugh every day with my staff about how everybody wants to be the head coach,'' Izzo said. ''It ain't as much fun as you think it is. Hell, I don't want to be the head coach today.'' Purdue: ''Collectively, we had to build a wall (around Winston),'' guard Nojel Eastern said. ''We know the type of player he is, we know what he's capable of and we had to have a team effort while still playing by our principles.'' UP NEXTThe Spartans will try to rebound at home Friday against Wisconsin.Purdue faces another daunting challenge Saturday, at No. 12 Maryland.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Jan 10, 2020After some early struggles, No. 8 Michigan State appears to have hit its stride in Big Ten Conference play.The surging Spartans (13-5, 5-0) take an eight-game winning streak into Sunday's road matchup against Purdue.A tougher stretch on the road awaits. After playing four of its first conference games at home, Michigan State will play three of its next four games on the road. After returning home to face Wisconsin following its trip to Purdue, Michigan State will play back-to-back road games at Indiana and Minnesota."It's a good time to go on the road and see where we are," Michigan state coach Tom Izzo said. "I still think five losses will win this league." Michigan State started the season 5-3 with nonconference losses to Kentucky, Virginia Tech and Duke before it started to click in December. MSU senior point guard Cassius Winston, dealing with the tragedy of his brother's suicide when the season began in November, is back playing at a high level.Winston had a 32-point outing in a win over Michigan last Sunday, then scored 27 points and dished out six assists on Wednesday night in Michigan State's 74-58 win over Minnesota."I wasn't forcing it as much and I was playing a little more free," Winston said.Winston is now at 1,702 career points, one of just 11 Michigan State players in school history to score more than 1,700 points in his career.Michigan State and Purdue were co-champions of the Big Ten last season. While the Spartans have found themselves with a veteran-laden roster,Purdue still searches for answers offensively. The Boilermakers rank 12th in the Big Ten in scoring offense (68.8 points per game), last in field-goal percentage (41.5) and eighth in 3-point field-goal percentage (33.2). Purdue has been held under 60 points in five of 16 games this season, including a 63-37 loss at Illinois.Purdue (9-7, 2-3) is looking to bounce back at home after an 84-78 double-overtime loss at Michigan on Thursday night. Sophomore forward Trevion Williams scored a career-high 36 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds in the loss. Williams was the first Purdue player since Bob Ford (1971) to score more than 35 points and grab more than 20 rebounds in the same game."They played him one-on-one in the post, so we just kept trying to get the ball inside to him,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said.Williams needed to step up with junior center Matt Haarms sidelined four minutes into the game with a hip injury. The status of the 7-foot-3 Haarms remains uncertain heading into Sunday's game.Ultimately, Purdue was unable to overcome 11 turnovers in the first half and 15 overall. The Boilermakers are looking for an offensive identity after losing Big Ten leading scorer Carsen Edwards and sharpshooter Ryan Cline from a team that reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last season."We were lucky to only be down four points at halftime, because we weren't very good,'' Painter said. "We had 11 turnovers in the first half and our decision-making was really poor.'' --Field Level Media
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