Chicago- It was slow, sloppy, physical and lethargic, but above all else a win.

MSU kept its Big Ten Tournament hopes alive Friday afternoon, knocking off fourth-seeded Purdue 54-42 in rough and tumble Big Ten fashion.

The Spartans (19-11) and Boilermakers (18-10) set a dull tone to their quarterfinal matchup, neither team able to assume control or set a tempo to the game. But to MSU's delight, the droning pace gave way to breakout performances and stellar interior defense.

"That was as good a defensive job as we can do," head coach Tom Izzo said following the game. "I think the players deserve a lot of credit for that."

The only question to Izzo's praise is which players were for MSU's defensive efforts Friday. The Spartans, who shut down interior passing lanes and smothered Purdue's quick guard Willie Deane, or the Boilermakers themselves, who had a dismal day shooting from the field.

Purdue connected on only 13 of their 50 shot attempts, extending their trend of losing all games in which they score less than 69 points.

The Spartans weren't too much better, though. MSU connected on just 19 of their 50 shots, but made good on the ones needed to establish control of the game.

Freshman guard Maurice Ager, who had hit the proverbial wall late in the regular season found new life Friday, nailing a 25-foot heave as the shot clock expired to put the Spartans ahead 37-31 and quash a sizable Boilermaker run.

After Purdue missed two free throws, sophomore guard Chris Hill found his stroke from beyond the arc, canning a 3-pointer off a screen to give the Spartans a quick 6-0 run and a reason to never look back.

"Definitely a big turning point in the game," Hill said. "That's one of the things this team is getting better at doing."

Hill finished with 9 points and 5 assists.

Aside from outlasting the opponent down the stretch in close games - which the Spartans have improved on since late in the Big Ten regular season - MSU must have improved its defense as well.

Switching from a zone to man-to-man defense seemed to confuse Purdue's transition-minded offense. Deane had to agree.

"I think it was lack of execution," Deane said of what hindered the Boilermakers. "We couldn't get our transition game."

Chiefly responsible for stopping Deane was Ager. The Detroit native played 20 minutes, scored nine, and "did a hell of a job defensively" according to Izzo.

Despite his best efforts to raze his team - including calling a timeout to argue with an official and earn a technical foul- Purdue head coach Gene Keady was left looking for answers as Purdue waits to find out if an at-large NCAA Tournament bid is in the cards.

"I don't understand how a team doesn't compete," Keady said.

MSU will play eighth-seeded Ohio State on Saturday in the semifinals. The Buckeyes upset top-seed Wisconsin earlier on Friday.

Keep checking www.statenews.com for updates from the Big Ten Tournament.