Five Takeaways: MSU falls to No. 3 Purdue despite Tyson Walker's herculean effort

The Spartans drop a heart-breaker to the Boilermakers...

In an absolute war between two of the best teams in the Big Ten, Michigan State came one basket shy of upsetting No. 3 Purdue.

The Spartans fell behind by as many as 13 points in the first half, but went on a huge run to end the first half and begin the second to take the lead over the Boilermakers. The game turned into a back-and-forth slugfest from there, but Purdue ultimately came out on top, 64-63, after Tyson Walker's buzzer-beating three-point attempt fell short as time expired.

Here are five takeaways from a heartbreaking loss for Michigan State:

1.) Defending Zach Edey

Michigan State had its hands full in the post with Purdue big man Zach Edey, but the Spartans defended him about as well as possible in the first half. Yes, the Boilermaker center had 17 points and nine rebounds by halftime, but Edey went just 7-of-16 from the floor, with each of those attempts coming inside six feet from the basket. MSU also limited Edey to just four free throw attempts in the first half.

Junior center Mady Sissoko took on the lion's share of the load vs. Edey, but freshmen Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler got a crack at the Purdue big man as well.

In order to win this game, I thought Michigan State needed to hold Edey to around 50 percent from the floor, and that's exactly what they did. Edey finished with 32 points on 13-of-26 shooting, and added 17 rebounds in a huge effort.

2.) MSU's 22-3 run keeps 'em alive

Things were looking pretty bleak for the Spartans through the first 14 minutes of the game. With his team trailing 24-11, head coach Tom Izzo called a timeout, furious after Sissoko was called for a foul after being tied up with Edey and flung to the floor.

Following that timeout, Michigan State went on a huge 14-3 run to close the first half, cutting its deficit to 27-25 at the break. Senior guard Tyson Walker came alive during the run, converting on five of his next seven shots after opening the game 0-for-4.

The Spartans then scored the first eight points after halftime to take a 32-27 lead. While Michigan State ultimately fell short of scoring a big upset, this game could have easily gotten away from them. Tom Izzo's club showed a lot of grit to work their way back into this game.

3.) MSU's guards came to play

With their obvious disadvantage in the post, Michigan State needed its backcourt to be special today. That's what the Spartans got from both A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker on Monday afternoon.

Hoggard was the floor general, handing out eight assists while also coming up with some timely baskets on his was to 14 points. The point guard, as usual, helped out on the defensive glass as well with three rebounds.

Meanwhile, Walker carried the scoring load for the Spartans and knocked down multiple MASSIVE jumpshots late in the game. The senior scored 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including four three-pointers on eight attempts.

Sophomore guard Jaden Akins deserves a nod as well. While he scored just five points, Akins grabbed six rebounds, handed out three assists and had two steals as well. The sophomore is rounding back into form on the defensive end after starting the season a step slow at that end due to his foot surgery.

4.) Spartans struggled from deep...again

Coming off an 0-for-7 showing from three-point range against Illinois and, outside of Walker, Michigan State once again struggled with its outside shooting against the Boilermakers.

Subtracting Walker's numbers, the rest of the Spartans shot just 2-of-11 from deep, and with Edey roaming the paint defensively for Purdue, that made it very difficult for MSU to score until Walker got hot late.

Michigan State remains one of the best defensive teams in the Big Ten, and probably the country, but the Spartans are very reliant on outside jumpers. When those don't fall at a more regular clip, this team is going to struggle to score, and that make's their margin for error very thin.

5.) Purdue kills MSU from the free throw line

To say there were some questionable officiating in this game is being diplomatic, at best. While we're never going to be ones to blame referees for the outcome of games, the way this game was called certainly had an impact.

Give Purdue credit, they took advantage of just about every opportunity they were given at the free throw line, shooting 16-of-18 from the charity stripe. Edey went 6-for-7 from the line, while Purdue freshman Fletcher Loyer knocked down several big attempts down the stretch, finishing 5-for-5.

As mentioned above, I think Michigan State defended about as well as they could have hoped to in this game. A couple whistles went against them, and that hurts, but the Spartans needed some other guys to make more outside shots to overcome that.

Up Next

Michigan State has another big home game coming on Thursday when they host No. 23 Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are 13-5 overall and are currently in second place in the Big Ten standings at 5-2 in league play.

The Spartans then hit the road on Sunday when they travel to Bloomington for a matchup with Indiana at Assembly Hall. There's never a night off in Big Ten play.