West Lafayette, Ind. - With the game at stake, MSU coach Tom Izzo said there's no player he'd rather have at the free-throw line than Alan Anderson.
And why not? The junior swingman is the team's best free-throw shooter, averaging 83 percent from the line.
Against No. 23 Purdue (14-4 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) on Sunday, MSU led by two as Anderson stood at the free-throw line with 16 seconds left in regulation.
The crowd of more than 14,000 at Mackey Arena roared as Anderson prepared to seal the Spartans' fourth straight win, which would have kept them atop the Big Ten standings.
"Not one guy would I rather have on my team at that free-throw line than him," Izzo said.
Before the shot, Anderson was confident too.
"I just knew I was going to hit it," he said. "It just felt good when I released it. It just didn't fall my way."
But Anderson's free throw was long and Purdue forward Brett Buscher grabbed the rebound, giving the Boilermakers plenty of time for a game-tying shot.
Purdue guard Brandon McKnight drove along the left side of the lane and hit a layup to tie the score at 62.
MSU (8-8, 3-2) couldn't score on its last possession, forcing the game into overtime. The Boilermakers controlled the extra session and won, 76-70.
After the game, Izzo didn't hold Anderson responsible for the missed opportunity.
"The free throw wasn't half as significant as maybe some plays that we should have made to not put us in that position," he said. "Unfortunately, you always get looked at for what happens last."
Anderson took the missed free throw more personally. He said it will be hard to put it behind him.
"That was the game right there," he said. "If I would have hit that, we would've won. I'd be walking out of here with a smile on my face, happy."
After the first half, it looked like Anderson's poor performance against Northwestern last Wednesday (he fouled out with no points and no rebounds on 0-for-5 shooting in 23 minutes) was carrying over to Sunday's game.
In the first 20 minutes against Purdue, Anderson had two points, two rebounds and two turnovers. Both turnovers were five-second calls, meaning he didn't advance the ball for five consecutive seconds.
But in the second half, he found his offensive game and helped MSU recover from a 34-26 halftime deficit. He scored 10 second-half points, from both the perimeter and inside.
Anderson's most impressive play came about six minutes into the second half. Passing up an open three at the top of the key, he drove inside, scored on a layup and drew a foul. He made the free throw to pull MSU to within three.
Anderson finished with 12 points, three rebounds, five assists and three turnovers.
Though the loss was hard for the Spartans to swallow, senior center Jason Andreas said MSU is still in the thick of the Big Ten conference title.
"We just couldn't quite hold on at the end," he said. "I don't think there's any reason to believe we can't win (the conference)."
