5 Thoughts From Purdue's 76-74 Loss to Michigan State
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A thrilling basketball game ended on a three-point shot by Braden Smith. The senior's shot was off the mark and No. 8 Purdue dropped a 76-74 decision to No. 13 Michigan State on Thursday night at Mackey Arena.
It was a dogfight from start to finish, with the Spartans pulling out a rare road win in West Lafayette. Here are a few thoughts from Thursday's Big Ten clash.
Michigan State capitalized on turnovers
If you want to simplify Thursday night's game down to one category, it comes down to points off turnovers. Purdue ended the contest with just nine turnovers, but Michigan State turned those into 19 points. It was an incredibly efficient performance from the Spartans.
Most nights, Purdue will live with nine turnovers. It will probably win most games with that number. But Michigan State has excellent athleticism and pushes the ball in transition extremely well. The Boilermakers just couldn't slow down the Spartans when they pushed the tempo.
Purdue matched the physicality
In some games this season, Purdue didn't set the tone physically. That wasn't the case against Michigan State. The Boilermakers crashed the boards, attacked in the post and battled the Spartans inside.
Oscar Cluff got off to a great start, scoring 10 early points on 5-of-6 from the floor. Trey Kaufman-Renn had 10 points and six rebounds. As a team, Purdue outrebounded Michigan State 27-25. That's pretty impressive against a team that is plus-12.6 in rebounding differential on the year.
Michigan State owned the paint in the second half
Before the game, Matt Painter said one of the biggest factors in the game was winning the battle in the painted area. At halftime, the two teams were even, both scoring 18 points. The Spartans broke it open in the second half, though, ending the contest with 40 points in the paint.
Carson Cooper had moments where he dominated down low against Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen. He ended the night with 15 points on 6-of-9 from the floor. Coen Carr also had a good night with 11 points.
Even when Michigan State wasn't scoring in the paint, Jeremy Fears Jr. was able to get into the key and distribute. It was another big advantage for the Spartans.
Jack Benter provided a spark
Benter provided Purdue with some huge minutes off the bench. He scored 11 points, which included knocking down three triples in the contest. All three of those seemed to come at critical moments, too.
Purdue got solid production from its bench most of the night, scoring 28 points. But Benter was the guy who had the hottest hand and provided the biggest spark. It didn't result in a win, but the redshirt freshman had been struggling to find his shot in recent games. He found it again on Thursday.
A fourth loss at Mackey Arena
It's been uncommon for Purdue to lose inside Mackey Arena. It has become one of the best home-court advantages in college basketball. This season, though, the Boilermakers haven't taken advantage of it.
Purdue has now lost four games on its home floor, falling to Iowa State, Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State. It has not won a game against a ranked opponent in West Lafayette this year.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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