In No. 13 Michigan State's best win of the season at No. 8 Purdue, the Spartans played a different style than they have all season, and it didn’t matter.
MSU was outrebounded for just the second time this season but outshot the nation’s second-best offense and capitalized on critical turnovers to outlast Purdue 76-74.
Mackey Arena had held MSU without a win for 12 years, but in a game with 12 lead changes and seven ties, the Spartans prevailed and proved they can play with the togetherness and cohesion needed to top one of the nation’s best teams.
"I love my team,” Izzo said. “We put ourselves in a position where now we have a measuring stick to say, this way you can do it when you prepare well; that's what you can do when the walk-through in the hotel was good, film sessions are good and you played with some passion, some togetherness, and that's what's going to move us forward.”
Following his career-high 20-point performance against Ohio State, Carson Cooper led all Spartans with 15 points and six rebounds. Unlikely contributors followed behind the Spartan big man. Kur Teng shot 3-for-6 from deep, scoring 13 points, his most since Dec. 16 against Toledo.
Jeremy Fears Jr. had the most points in a game in which he attempted just one free-throw all season, with 12 points on 6 assists. In a departure from his norm, Fears did not solely aim to draw fouls when driving to the hoop. Instead, he maneuvered through Purdue’s big men and scored at a 50% rate.
It was a wildly different style of game than MSU is used to. MSU was outrebounded by two and allowed the Boilermakers to score 16 second-chance points on eight offensive rebounds.
Adjusting to a different play style, the Spartans went on multiple runs in the second half to put distance between them and Purdue.
Six straight field goals early in the second half, capped by a Coen Carr slam, put the game within reach and signaled the Spartans had a chance to win at Purdue for the first time in 4,390 days.
It was MSU’s fifth-best shooting performance of the season at 52.7%, despite shooting below its average at 31.6% from three-point range.
