At approximately 11:40 a.m. Sunday, the MSU men’s basketball program will acknowledge the four seniors on this year’s team – forward Marquise Gray, center Idong Ibok, center Goran Suton and guard Travis Walton. Each of the seniors have left his own unique mark on the No. 8 Spartans (23-5 overall, 14-3 Big Ten), but they also have a combined commitment and dedication to the team for the rest of the season.

That means, at least for Walton, the ceremony commemorating his time on campus is on the back-burner when compared to the game against No. 19 Purdue (22-8, 11-6), which tips off at noon at Breslin Center.

“It’s going to be huge, but I’m looking forward to the game,” Walton said of the ceremony. “I think the ceremony is more for my family, my grandma and my mom. I don’t think it’s for me. I’m going to play a basketball game and improve on what we need to improve on.”

The Boilermakers, who have a one-game lead in the loss column over Illinois in the conference standings, come to East Lansing following a surprising 64-61 loss to Northwestern on Wednesday in West Lafayette, Ind. The combination of that loss, as well as the goal of locking up the No. 2 seed for next weekend’s Big Ten Tournament, potentially makes the Boilermakers an even tougher matchup on Sunday.

“Oh I expect them to come out here … like the old Boilermakers,” Izzo said of Purdue, who beat MSU 72-54 on Feb. 17. “I think they play hard, they play tough and they’re well-coached. …I think they’ll play their tail off.”

Purdue struggled offensively in the second half against the Wildcats, even though two of its big scorers (E’Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson) finished with double-digits in scoring. Robbie Hummel, who Izzo called “maybe one of the best players in the country,” had eight against the Wildcats.

Wednesday’s loss was the second in the last two games for the Boilermakers, who fell to Michigan in Ann Arber on Feb. 26.

The Spartans, meanwhile, look to be in the perfect position to hit their stride, even following a closer-than-expected win against Indiana on Tuesday. Junior forward Raymar Morgan looks to be inching closer to full-health after 14 points in each of the past two games and sophomore guard Kalin Lucas (14.6 points per game) has continued to carry the team, leading the Spartans in scoring the past two games.

The matchup of MSU, the regular season conference champion, and Purdue, who was chosen as the preseason favorite, is big for both teams as they gear up for the postseason. MSU still has an outside shot at one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, while the Boilermakers will be looking to rebound from Wednesday’s loss and improve their own tournament resume.

“They’re going to come into (Breslin Center), we’re ranked high and we won the Big Ten and they want to prove something,” Walton said of Purdue. “There’s a lot of things that go into that. They’re fighting for a tournament seed still so it’s going to be a good basketball game.”