Live Game Thread & Updates for No. 13 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 8 Purdue is looking to add to its streak of home wins over No. 13 Michigan State on Thursday night. It's been more than 4,000 days since the Spartans' last win at Mackey Arena and the Boilermakers would love to extend that streak a little further.

Thursday night, Purdue hosts Michigan State in an important Big Ten game, as both teams battle for positioning in the conference standings and seeding for the NCAA Tournament. Both squads are 22-5 on the year and 12-4 in the league.

Follow along with Purdue Boilermakers On SI for live updates througout the game. You can refresh this page frequently for the latest news, stats and analysis from Mackey Arena.

Purdue vs. Michigan State live game blog

2nd half

FINAL — Braden Smith's shot is off the mark. Michigan State defeats Purdue 76-74. It's MSU's first win at Mackey in over a decade.

Smith finishes the game with 12 points and 10 assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn and Oscar Cluff both had 10 points and Jack Benter finished with 11.

Carson Cooper led the way for Michigan State with 15 points. Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 12, Kur Teng had 13 and Coen Carr ended with 11.

3.4 — Cam Ward misses the free throw and Fletcher Loyer swoops in for the rebound. MSU 76, Purdue 74. It all comes down to this final play.

26.1 — Purdue forces a shot clock violation. What a game we've had here at Mackey Arena. The Boilers take a timeout and have a chance for the last shot.

46.9 — Michigan State 76, Purdue 74. Jack Benter hit a floater then missed a go-ahead three-pointer on the following possession. The Boilermakers have continued to play small ball down the stretch. They need a stop here.

2:09 —Purdue makes three straight buckets and has cut this Michigan State lead down to just two points at 74-72. Braden Smith gets five huge points. Tom Izzo takes a timeout. Can Purdue get a stop on this possession? Smit is up to a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.

3:42 — Jack Benter knocks down a big triple to slice into the MSU lead.

4:05 — Purdue is in the danger zone now. A driving layup from Jeremy Fears Jr. gives Michigan State a 72-64 advantage. Matt Painter takes a timeout. The Boilermakers have not made a field goal in over four minutes and MSU is on a 6-0 run.

4:40 — Trey Kaufman-Renn is slow to get up after chasing down a rebound. He fouled Jordan Scott on the play. Oscar Cluff is checking into the game now.

5:48 — The Boilermakers are getting some stops defensively but need to turn them into points. Braden Smith gets to the free throw line after collecting an offensive rebound and makes both. It's 66-64 MSU.

7:07 — Purdue is going small-ball with Trey Kaufman-Renn, Jack Benter, CJ Cox, Braden Smith and Omer Mayer right now.

7:47 — At the third media timeout of the second half Michigan State leads Purdue 64-61. That 7-0 run Purdue gave up could be a killer later in this game. It's a long way from over, but in a back-and-forth contest, that could make a difference. Oscar Cluff has been stuck at 10 points in this half. Braden Smith is up to 10 assists.

9:03 — Michigan State is up 62-56 after a Kur Teng three and a breakaway dunk by Coen Carr. Purdue got a much-needed stop on the defensive end, then Omer Mayer buried a triple. The Mackey crowd is back on its feet.

OMER MAYER FROM DOWNTOWN 🎯 @BoilerBall

📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/6p0kzThq03
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 27, 2026

11:12 — A back-and-forth game here in the second half. Jack Benter buried another triple to put Purdue ahead 56-55, but Oscar Cluff fouls Carson Cooper to send him to the line for two shots. MSU back in front by one.

12:09 — Officials reviewd a foul on Jaxon Kohler for a flagrant, but it was determined to be a common foul.

12:09 — Just as I say Jacobsen is having trouble with the physicality, he comes out of the media timeout and gives Purdue four points, a blocked shot and a rebound. The 7-foot-4 center has played much more aggressively over the last two minutes.

TKR ➡️ Jacobsen for 2 💥 @BoilerBall

📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/w2Cy5cnnQl
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 27, 2026

14:37 — Oscar Cluff is going to need some breaks in this game, but he'll need to be on the floor as much as possible. Daniel Jacobsen is working hard down low, but Michigan State's physicality is a problem for him in the post right now.

14:37 — We're at the first media timeout and Michigan State has taken a 49-46 lead. The Spartans have really set the tone early in this half on both ends of the floor. Even after a made basket, MSU was able to push tempo and get Coen Carr an easy dunk.

16:33 — Coen Carr gets whistled for a charge against Fletcher Loyer. Tom Izzo is furious about the call and is all over the official.

17:04 — Michigan State's offense is working to start this half. We're tied at 42-42 less than three minutes into the second half. Spartans getting it down low and going to work.

Halftime

Everyone who stepped on the floor for Purdue in that first half was productive. The Boilers need that to continue in the second half, especially on the defensive end. Purdue shot 54% from the field and 55% from three. If they endure a cold stretch, the Boilers have to rely on defense.

Purdue won all the important battles in the first half. It outrebounded Michigan State 15-12, had 13 bench points to Michigan State's 11 and is winning second-chance points 9-4. Michigan State does lead in points off turnovers 10-5. The two teams are tied at 18-18 in points in the paint.

1st half

HALF: Purdue 39, Michigan State 36. Jeremy Fears Jr. missed a shot at the end of the half. The Boilermakers were led by Oscar Cluff, who scored 10 points and had four rebounds. Braden Smith had two points and seven assists and CJ Cox had six points and two steals. Trey Kaufman-Renn with a big half, scoring five points, grabbing four boards and dishing out three assists.

Michigan State was led by Carson Cooper and Coen Carr, both scoring seven points.

34.0 — Fletcher Loyer fouled Jordan Scott on a three-point attempt. He made two of the shots. Purdue takes a timeout for the final offensive possession of the half.

52.7 — Trey Kaufman-Renn found himself surrounded by Michigan State defenders, but was able to kick the ball out to Gicarri Harris for a wide-open triple. The sophomore knocked it down and Purdue's lead is now 39-34.

2:18 — An underrated aspect of this game is that Purdue leads the rebound battle 13-11 right now. This is a Michigan State team that ranks third in the country in rebound differential at plus-12.6 per game.

3:42 — Final media timeout of the first half and Purdue leads 34-31. A really fun game tonight at Mackey Arena. Every Boilermaker who has stepped on the floor has scored.

CJ Cox has been really good defensively for Purdue in this half and has also knocked down a pair of triples. He's been a major factor early.

5:10 — Fletcher Loyer delivers a perfect pass to Daniel Jacobsen, who gets an alley-oop and is fouled. He missed the free throw, though, and Purdue's lead is 31-28.

5:57 — Braden Smith picks up his 1,000th career assist. It comes from Trey Kaufman-Renn on a fastbreak after Michigan State was called for goaltending.

7:44 — Michigan State leads Purdue 24-23 at the third media timeout. Cam Ward has six points for the Spartans. Purdue has gotten good bench production in the first half. Both Jack Benter and Omer Mayer have knocked down threes and Gicarri Harris has two points, a rebound and an assist.

Mayer is trying to force a little too much right now. He's tried to dribble through the Michigan State defense twice and it hasn't worked either time, resulting in two turnovers.

9:10 — Jack Benter just buried a long three-point shot to put Purdue back ahead 23-21. The Boilers then force a shot clock violation. The crowd at Mackey Arena is fired up after that series.

Jack Benter connects from deep 🎯 @BoilerBall

📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/YqJoOb6H8B
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 27, 2026

11:45 — Michigan State has a 16-15 lead at the second media timeout. No one player has really been killing Purdue, but the Spartans' ball movement has been really good after that first four-minute stretch. MSU outscored Purdue 10-2 between media timeouts. Coen Carr heads to the line for two free throws out of the break after the foul on Daniel Jacobsen.

12:30 — Purdue has gotten a little sloppy and Michigan State is starting to hit some shots. The Spartans now have a 16-13 advantage.

14:34 — First big mistake of the day comes from Gicarri Harris. Jeremy Fears Jr. knocked down a three and Harris fouled him. It's a four-point play for Michigan State to make it a one-possession game.

15:30 — Purdue could not have asked for a better start, leading 13-6 at the first media timeout. The Boilers are 6-of-9 from the field. Oscar Cluff is leading the way with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting. Purdue came out of the gate with a ton of energy.

OSCAR CLUFF 💥 @BoilerBall

📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/ZX3ed0d5xc
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 27, 2026

16:01 — Oscar Cluff is having a night already! The center has eight points, all at the rim. Michigan State has had absolutely no answer for him early in this contest. Braden Smith is already up to three assists. He needs just three more to hit 1,000 for his career.

18:07 — Excellent start for Purdue, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. They've gotten Oscar Cluff two really good looks right at the basket for easy points.

Pregame

Purdue is holding a moment of silence to remember former Boilermakers star Rondale Moore, who passed away at the age of 25. He played at Purdue from 2018-20.

Purdue has called for a White Out tonight, asking fans to wear white shirts to the game. Most have participated but there are a few wearing gold and black tonight. The Paint Crew looks fantastic.

Starting lineups

Purdue — #0 CJ Cox (G), #2 Fletcher Loyer (G), #3 Braden Smith, #4 Trey Kaufman-Renn (F), #45 Oscar Cluff (C).
Michigan State — #1 Jeremy Fears Jr. (G), #0 Jaxon Kohler (F), #6 Jordan Scott (F), #55 Coen Carr (F), #15 Carson Cooper (C).

Availability report

Purdue — OUT: None. QUESTIONABLE: None.
Michigan State — OUT: None. QUESTIONABLE: None.

Tipoff between Purdue and Michigan State is set for 8 p.m. ET and the game will air on Peacock.

What's at stake

Michigan State's Jaxon Kohler, right, celebrates his 3-pointer against Purdue. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan is running away with the Big Ten regular season title, 3.5 games ahead of both Purdue and Michigan State in the league standings. However, the No. 2 seed for the Big Ten Tournament remains wide open.

The winner of Thursday night's game will have an upper hand in the race for second place in the conference standings, but it's far from guaranteed. No. 10 Illinois and No. 12 Nebraska are both 13-4 in conference play and are both strong contenders for that position, as well.

Additionally, both Purdue and Michigan State want to put themselves in the best position possible for the NCAA Tournament next month. A win on Thursday night could help one team secure a No. 2 seed for March Madness.

Braden Smith's next major milestone

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) passes the ball. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Smith enters Thursday's game against Michigan State with 994 career assists, needing just six more to reach 1,000. He is still 83 away from breaking Bobby Hurley's NCAA record, which sits at 1,076.

The star guard has dised out 36 assists in Purdue's last four games, averaging 9.0 assists per contest in that span. For the season, Smith is averaging 8.7 assists per game. That ranks second in the nation, behind only Michigan State's Jeremey Fears Jr. (9.2).

There's a good chance Smith reaches another career milestone at Mackey Arena on Thursday night against Michigan State.

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