No. 13 Michigan State takes advantage of eighth-ranked Purdue's turnovers

Michigan State found its shooting touch in the second half.

Purdue couldn’t keep up on either end and suffered a crucial loss in its quest to finish in the top four in the Big Ten standings.

The 13^th-ranked Spartans shot nearly 60% after halftime and held off the eighth-ranked Boilermakers, 76-74, snapping a seven-game losing streak at Mackey Arena.

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PURDUE COACH MATT PAINTER

PURDUE PLAYERS

MICHIGAN STATE COACH TOM IZZO

Purdue falls to 12-5 in Big Ten play, now trailing Michigan State and Illinois. The Spartans and the Fighting Illini are tied for second at 13-4.

The Boilermakers had a chance to tie with eight seconds to play, but Trey Kaufman-Renn missed a short hook shot. However, Cameron Ward was fouled on the rebound but missed his free throw attempt.

Purdue advanced the ball, and Matt Painter called a timeout with 3.4 seconds on the clock. After a Michigan State timeout, Braden Smith‘s long 3-point attempt bounced off the back of the rim as time expired.

The loss damages the Boilermakers’ chances of securing a triple bye in the upcoming conference tournament with three games to play. Purdue travels to Ohio State on Sunday and finishes the regular season at Northwestern and Wisconsin.

The last lead for the Boilermakers was 56-55 with 11:28 to play, but the Spartans didn’t back down.

They outscored Purdue 17-8 during the next seven minutes to open up a 72-64 advantage with 4:11 to play.

But the Boilermakers fought back, using a 10-3 run to close within 76-74 on Jack Benter’s lay-in with 1:35 to play.

Smith totaled 12 points and 10 assists. He surpassed the 1,000 assists in his career, becoming the fifth player in NCAA history to reach that mark. Kaufman-Renn finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Benter added 11 points off the bench on the strength of three 3-pointers.

Carson Cooper led the Spartans with 15 points, Kur Teng contributed 13, and Jeremy Fears Jr added 12 points and six assists.

“BIG PIECE OF THE GAME”

Only nine turnovers for the Boilermakers.

But the Spartans made each one count in their favor.

Michigan State scored 19 points off those turnovers, converting those mistakes into game-changing plays and momentum.

“That was a big piece of the game,” Painter said. “Not that they couldn’t score in the half court, but you’d rather have them earn them that way than us turning the basketball over and giving them 19 points on nine turnovers. That’s huge.”

The Spartans seemed to capitalize each time.

They made 6 of 8 field goals following a Purdue turnover, hitting four 3-pointers and one monster dunk by Coen Carr to put MSU up six at the 10-minute mark.

“They’re a good team, and they push in transition like the best in the country,” Smith said. “It’s difficult if they’re live ball turnovers for us to even get back because they’re just pushing it so quick. They’ve got guys running the floor.”

Michigan State needed to counter Purdue’s rebounding advantage, and the points off turnovers neutralized the board work by the Boilermakers, who also held a 16-6 margin in second-chance points.

“That was a big thing, and the other thing that hurt us, we got out-rebounded,” said Spartans coach Tom Izzo, who met with former Purdue coach Gene Keady for 90 minutes on Thursday. “Turnovers are big, and we didn’t let them get out as much and run, and I thought that was big.”

The Spartans were credited with 10 fastbreak points, but it felt like more. Purdue found itself at a disadvantage, facing 3-on-2 or 5-on-3 situations, or watching players like Carr have an open lane to the rim.

“When Coen Carr is in the equation, you’re up against it because he’s not human,” Painter said. “You throw that ball to him on the break like that, and he’s there like that, you’re just done. There’s nothing you can do at that point.

“You have to be able to take care of the basketball, not let them get in those positions. Easier said than done, but that’s what you have to be able to do.”

FOURTH HOME LOSS

The oddity of Purdue’s season continues.

Iowa State was first, followed by Illinois, Michigan, and now Michigan State. That’s four home losses, the most in one season since 2019-20. All the losses are to ranked teams, which grade well in the NCAA’s Net Rankings.

“It always sucks to lose a game,” Kaufman-Renn said.

The losses at Mackey Arena will be the reason why the Boilermakers aren’t closer to the top of the Big Ten standings. They’re 6-2 on the road with matchups at Ohio State and Northwestern coming up.

But the three home conference setbacks by a combined 19 points sting more.

“We try to win every game, and we go out there and play, whether that’s at home or away,” Smith said. “We are where we are because we’re not playing to the best of our ability.”

Purdue is losing to arguably the best teams in the league, and although it counts as one, home losses seem to inflict more damage as the season unfolds.

“It’s not easy to win at home, but it’s easier, and you’ve got to be able to take advantage of playing at home,” Painter said. “We just haven’t done that, but it hasn’t been for a lack of effort. We got beat by a good basketball team that’s well coached.

“I thought they were a little bit better than us, but if you make one more shot, and you feel great about yourself. But at the end of the day, you just have to keep working and keep getting better.”

BOARD BATTLE

One positive the Boilermakers can take out of Thursday’s loss is work in the rebounding department.

Michigan State rarely is outrebounded. Although the margin was 27-25 in Purdue’s favor, it’s significant as Painter’s team closes out the regular season and looks ahead to the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

“Every game has to be that way. You have to be able to rebound and get more possessions,” Painter said. “Michigan State’s been great when I looked at their stats, whether it was away or home, or the last five, or the full season, or conference, there’ll be something in a category where somebody’s not great in one of those areas. They’re great rebounders. The fact that we did that, but you get gauged on that final score, and they scored more than us.”

It’s no secret that Izzo emphasizes rebounding in his program. Before Thursday, the Spartans ranked No. 3 nationally in rebound margin (+12.7), No. 12 in rebounds per game (41.1), and 13^th in defensive rebounds (28.1).

Thursday was the second time this season Michigan State was outrebounded. UConn held a 38-34 advantage, and the Spartans were even with Duke.

“Going into every game, you want to see what they’re great at,” Kaufman-Renn said. “We did our job rebounding. We were plus-two on the boards against one of the best rebounding teams in the country.

“But the part we didn’t do was keep the ball in front of us, whether in ball screens or just off the dribble. They got where they wanted, and at that point, it’s kind of hard.”

The Spartans scored 40 points in the paint compared to the 32 for the Boilermakers.