Purdue’s last victory was enough to put it in second place in the conference, while the latest Spartans letdown demoted them to the eighth slot.

Boilermakers forward Lakisha Freeman leads the team with an average of 13 points a game. Sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan leads the points race for the Spartans, averaging 14.8 per game.

Purdue is the only conference opponent the Spartans have not played this season, so MSU will find out tonight how they match up against the Boilermakers.

MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said the team’s rebounding, especially on the offensive end, has been hurting it on the scoreboard. Following the loss to Iowa on Feb. 7, in which the Hawkeyes outrebounded the Spartans by 13, Merchant said the team lacked the necessary effort on the boards.

Another aspect the young Spartans squad will need to change from the Iowa game is converting the other team’s turnovers into points. Iowa committed 10 more turnovers than the Spartans at Iowa, yet the Spartans failed to take advantage — scoring just two more points off turnovers than their opponents.

DeHaan, who claimed a Big Ten-record 145 blocks last season, is one block away from posting 100 this season. She could become the first Big Ten player to block 100 shots in consecutive seasons.

Tonight marks MSU’s annual Think Pink fundraiser — where both teams wear pink uniforms to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.

The Spartans tip-off 7 p.m. tonight at Breslin Center.