Spartans Prove They Are Built for March With Win Over Purdue

The Michigan State Spartans proved that they are built for a March Madness run after an extremely impressive win over the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State's Tre Holloman scores and is fouled by Purdue's Raleigh Burgess during the first half on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The No. 14 Michigan State Spartans (21-5, 12-3) served up a third-straight loss for the No., 13 Purdue Boilermakers (19-8, 11-5) with a 75-66 win on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center. Besides earning their third ranked win of the year, the Spartans proved that they are built for March.

Coming into the game, it had all the makings of a let-down spot considering the Boilermakers had lost their lost two games and were looking to bounce back. The Spartans denied them that pleasure as they won almost every aspect of the contest.

Michigan State shot a phenomenal 58.3% from the field with 28 made shots. They shot ten more free throws than Purdue, knocking down 15 of their 21 attempts at the line. Despite making just four three-pointers, this team has found a way to win big games without hitting the big shot all year.

Even with the strong shooting that helped the cause, the Spartans displayed multiple other strengths that are necessary to be a winning team in the NCAA Tournament. They grabbed only 23 rebounds, yet still out-rebounded the Boilermakers by two with just seven second chance points allowed.

The turnover battle was where the Spartans thrived the most. They forced 12 Purdue turnovers while only coughing it up themselves eight times. Michigan State converted those dozen turnovers to an incredible 19 points. Rebounding and turnovers are two of the most important aspects of March.

Another winning portion of their game was exceptional ball movement. The Spartans had 20 assits on 28 made shots, several of which came from the dangerous pick-and-roll with junior center Carson Cooper.

When you move the ball often and efficiently, defenses tend to break down and open shots are much easier to come by. Michigan State earned several open looks from all over the floor because of their ability to tire out the Boilermakers' defense.

The Spartans will have another one of their toughest games of the season on the horizon as they travel just down the road to Ann Arbor to face the No. 12 Michigan Wolverines (20-5, 12-2) on Friday night.

If Tom Izzo's crew plays the way did against Purdue, this team will be in for a massive rivalry win and a strong tournament showing. A Big Ten title is still well in reach as the two rivals occupy the top two spots in the conference standings heading into the matchup.

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