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

Follow along throughout Thursday night's game between No. 8 Purdue and No. 13 Michigan State for live updates and analysis.

Purdue Boilermakers center Oscar Cluff (45) dunks the ball. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

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

1st half

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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