West Lafayette, Ind. - The Spartans had the chance to make a statement to the Big Ten on Sunday afternoon, but they fumbled the opportunity.
MSU had No. 23 Purdue on the ropes late in the second half, but let a six-point lead evaporate with costly mistakes and poor decision-making, eventually falling 76-70 in overtime.
The loss was the Spartans' seventh against a ranked opponent in as many games. The defeat also hurts the Spartans (8-8 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) because they are just 1-7 away from Breslin Center - a stat the NCAA Tournament committee won't be impressed with.
"I think this team needs to get a big win to get people off their backs and solidify what they can be," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "Yet, I'm proud of the effort.
"You've got to play great; you can't play good against a great team on the road. This is a game I really wanted to win. You win a game like this against a coach like that in a place like this - you can really build on it."
Clinging to a two-point lead with 15.8 on the clock, junior swingman Alan Anderson stood at the free-throw line for a one-and-one. The 82-percent career free-throw shooter missed the shot, and Purdue junior guard Brandon McKnight drove coast-to-coast for an uncontested layup that tied the game at 62.
"That was my man who made the last basket," said junior guard Chris Hill, who paced MSU with 18 points and six assists. "It's just disappointing because we played well enough to win."
After sophomore center Paul Davis scored two of his 18 points on a quick dunk to start the overtime, MSU missed its next eight shots and Purdue scored the next nine points to put the game away.
McKnight swished an 18-footer at the top of the key to give Purdue a 66-64 advantage - a lead the Boilermakers never would relinquish.
"I saw determination in him when he nailed that jumper," Purdue head coach Gene Keady said. "I saw determination in his face saying, 'We're going to win this thing,' and that was pretty encouraging for me."
McKnight paced Purdue with a quiet 10 points, but had seven assists, three steals and no turnovers. Three other Boilermakers finished in double figures, led by senior guard Kenneth Lowe's 18 points.
Senior forward Brett Buscher scored 13 of his 17 points in the final eight minutes and grabbed eight rebounds. Sophomore guard David Teague added 13.
The stat sheets looked vastly similar for both teams, except in one area - turnovers. Despite both teams shooting 50 percent (MSU was 26-for-52, Purdue was 27-for-54) and having similar numbers from the foul line, the Spartans committed 15 turnovers to Purdue's eight.
The Boilermakers (14-4, 4-1) scored 14 points off MSU turnovers, and the Spartans scored eight off Purdue miscues. Three times, MSU was called for a five-second count when Purdue defenders halted any movement toward the basket. Two times, Davis had a pass bounce off his hands.
"It's a disappointing game to lose," said senior center Jason Andreas, who finished with four points and four rebounds.
"We didn't give the game away, but they came and took it from us."
