Why MSU's Plan for Purdue's Smith Likely to be Complex
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Figuring out how to contain one of the least containable players in the country is something coaches have to deal with once in a while.
The next 1,000-piece puzzle in front of Michigan State is Purdue's Braden Smith, who has several elite accolades by his name. Just from team-wide success, he's led his Boilermakers to a Final Four, two Big Ten regular season titles, a Big Ten Tournament title. Individually, he's the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, a consensus All-American, and the Big Ten's all-time assist leader (he's also six away from breaking 1,000).
"Smith is one of the premier players in the whole country," Tom Izzo said Tuesday afternoon. "He's been up for [National] Player of the Year, and everything he's gotten has been deserved. He's broken assist records, he's ranked nationally in a lot of things: he can score it, he can get steals, he can pass it, he can do it all."
There's really no right answer on how to stop Smith, but there are plenty of wrong ones. Izzo seemed to indicate on Tuesday as well that what MSU does try will probably be a more complex strategy than what it's tried with some of the other top-end point guards his team has faced.
Izzo Lays Out Potential Plan for Smith
Michigan State hasn't generally gone into a game wanting multiple guys taking turns defending one player. When the Spartans took on Illinois and its elite point guard, Keaton Wagler, everyone saw Jordan Scott play a huge role in MSU's win that night by holding Wagler to a 2-for-16 night from the field. Michigan State then had Jeremy Fears Jr. defending Ohio State's Bruce Thornton on Sunday, but Scott ended up picking up Thornton as his scoring output went all the way up to 32.
One guy isn't going to get the Braden Smith assignment for himself. He's too experienced and too good to only give him one guy to figure out over the course of a 40-minute game. The job has to be dispersed a little bit.
"Jeremy's got to be the guy that does it on a regular basis, but you don't cover Braden Smith with one," Izzo said. "Like I said, he's fun to watch film on. He really is. He's got a little shiftiness to him. Poor kid's only 170 pounds --- I say 'poor kid,' [but] he's tearing everybody apart. He's shooting it better; he's improved his three-point shooting, I think. He's going to be guarded by a bunch of people."
That doesn't mean that Izzo is going to be putting a bunch of players on islands with Smith, either. Izzo is going to want help from Michigan State's big men, likely Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, to try to clog things up for Smith. That was what Izzo says worked in last year's meeting against Purdue, where Smith had 17 points and eight assists, but he also had six turnovers.
MSU still has to be careful about devoting too many resources to Smith, though. The offense is definitely centered around him and his ability to distribute --- Smith is only behind Michigan State's Fears on the assists leaderboard at 8.7 per game --- but the Boilermakers boast other can-be-deadly weapons.
If the Spartans hypothetically send an undisciplined double-team Smith's way, he can perhaps find Trey Kaufman-Renn (13.3 points per game, 56.5% FGs) or Oscar Cluff (10.1 points per game, 72.1% FGs) in the paint for a good look, or he can find sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer (13.6 points a contest, 40.2% 3PTs) on the perimeter for a good look behind the arc. Purdue's offense is ranked second nationally on KenPom for a reason.
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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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