After a disappointing effort its last time out, the Spartan men’s basketball team travels to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on Purdue at 7 p.m. Saturday.
MSU (14-10 overall, 5-6 Big Ten) will have to put a 63-61 home loss to No. 19 Illinois behind it and prepare to win on the Boilermakers’ home floor at Mackey Arena.
A loss to Purdue (12-14, 4-8) could spell the end of MSU’s chances at landing an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.
“We know everything we do right now is for a big goal,” junior forward Al Anagonye said. “Going to the NCAA Tournament and making some noise in the NCAA Tournament. That’s all we’re concerned with right now.”
But winning on the road hasn’t been the most common occurrence so far in the conference, and the Spartans know they’re in for a tough, physical battle.
“Purdue is almost more dangerous than Illinois when you look at the number of guys with speed, and who can shoot,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
The game will be the fifth contest for the Spartans in 13 days. And with an already depleted arsenal, the minutes logged for each Spartan could start piling up.
The Boilermakers are fresh off a 79-43 drubbing of Michigan on Wednesday.
In the last meeting between these two squads on Jan. 16, MSU scored a 65-56 win at Breslin Center.
Freshman guard Kelvin Torbert notched a career-high 18 points in the win - the Spartans first Big Ten victory after an 0-3 start.
Boilermaker head coach Gene Keady said his team has had problems improving since their loss to the Spartans.
“We’re playing a little better ‘D’ than we were and we’re maybe a little more patient,” Keady said.
“But that’s been one of our problems - not really making the big jump to do those things a lot better.”
The veteran coach said the season has been “puzzling” and the Boilermakers aren’t playing with the heart, grit or work ethic of past Keady-coached Purdue squads.
“Finding ways to win has been our biggest fallacy,” he said.
One Boilermaker has blown up on the conference scene with gaudy offensive numbers, despite their losing tendencies.
Leading the way for Purdue is guard Willie Deane.
Deane’s 17.4 points per game is the second best in the conference.
The Spartans will have to control the slashing and shooting of Deane, as well as the marksmanship of forward Rodney Smith.
Deane and Smith connect 39.1 percent and 48.4 percent of the time, respectively, from behind the three-point line in conference games.
The Boilermakers connected 11 times in 24 chances from long-range in their route over U-M.
The Spartan-Boilermaker tangle will be televised by ESPN.
“The players understand they still have a lot to play for,” Izzo said. “A win Saturday would sure help us in the big picture.”
