MSU's Tom Izzo Details Team's Upset Win at Purdue
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. --- Michigan State basketball just picked up its most significant win of the season at a very opportune time.
"I think it's the best [road wins] in a couple of years, if you really look at it," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said after the game. "I have enormous respect for this program, this place, those players, and that coach, [Matt Painter]."
Mackey Arena has been the place where the Spartans have gone to die for more than a decade. Michigan State entered Thursday night with no wins in the building in 12 years. UCLA had gotten a win over MSU in West Lafayette (2021 First Four) more recently than the Spartans had gotten a win over the Boilermakers (February 2014).
No. 13 Michigan State broke through this time, upsetting eighth-ranked Purdue, 76-74. The victory propelled the Spartans up to 23-5 overall, 13-4 in Big Ten play, and in a good position to get a triple bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
Full Izzo Postgame Press Conference:
More on Thursday's Game
MSU won this game in a way that it normally hasn't this season. Purdue finished plus-2 in the rebounding department, second-chance points were 16-6 in favor of the Boilermakers, and they hit 12 threes. Those would normally both be indicators that the Boilermakers won this game relatively comfortably in front of their home fans.
Somehow, Michigan State pieced it together over a true 40-minute game. The team's scoring attack was as balanced as its been all season, as four players reached double figures. It also was as good at protecting the ball as it has been all season, only committing six turnovers. One of the keys was that MSU was opportunistic off Purdue's mistakes. The Boilermakers' nine turnovers aren't a ton, but the Spartans scored 19 points off those giveaways --- that's 2.11 points per turnover forced.
"They've got a hell of a team; it was just our night," Izzo said. "They made threes; we weathered the storm of all of those threes, and doing that on the road at Mackey Arena, I think was --- I'll give my team some credit on that --- it's impressive."
Michigan State isn't going to get that much time to savor this one, though. Izzo said he would enjoy it until he got off the plane in East Lansing, but the Spartans have another interesting road game against Indiana on Sunday. The Hoosiers played MSU close for a bit in East Lansing earlier this year and will now be playing desperate as an NCAA Tournament bubble team that just took a bad loss at home to Northwestern on Tuesday.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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