So during the Spartans’ pre-game meal Friday, Lucas approached junior forward Draymond Green and made a bold, and what some might consider irrational, prediction.

“I just told (Green), ‘Hey, we about to beat Purdue by 20,’” Lucas said. “He looked at me, he smiled and he was like, ‘Yeah, we (are).’”

Turns out, Lucas wasn’t far off. In a game where MSU (19-13) never trailed the Boilermakers (25-7), the Spartans blew out Purdue, 74-56, just two points shy of Lucas’ predicted 20-point deficit.

And Lucas, hobbled right ankle and all, led the way with a career-high 30 points, 18 of which he scored in the first half.

“We came out and had a great focus and had a good start and played our style of basketball,” Lucas said. “Our style of basketball is playing tough, being physical, getting after loose balls and rebounding, and that’s what helped us to win this game.”

Although head coach Tom Izzo didn’t admit to making a prediction similar, to Lucas’, he did say he noticed a different look in his players’ eyes than what they had after barely squeaking past Iowa Thursday night.

“This morning I just kept harping on we’ve been here before, and we’re better than we’ve been playing for a variety of reasons,” Izzo said.

From the very beginning of Friday’s game, MSU showed it was better than its record. And Lucas showed he wasn’t going to let his injured ankle bother him.

MSU opened the game on a 10-2 run, and by the first media timeout with 14:45 left in the half, Lucas already had seven points. The Spartans first-half momentum continued as they built a 29-17 lead less than 13 minutes into the game.

Junior forward Draymond Green said he and his teammates knew they needed a good start to have a chance against Purdue. And in a season where slow starts have become the norm for the Spartans, Green said it was nice to have it go the other way.

“We knew if we came out and threw the first punch, then we would have to sustain it,” Green said. “But its better trying to sustain it than fighting back, especially against a team that defends as good as Purdue.”

Green also pointed out that everyone who played contributed to the strong start to the game, including senior guard Mike Kebler and junior guard Austin Thornton, who both came in and hit big jumpers in the first half.

However, it was no secret that Lucas, who finished the half with 18 points including four 3-pointers, was the key to MSU’s 37-23 lead at the break.

“We knew that he was going to come out and give it his all, and he was hot early,” junior forward Delvon Roe said. “He made a lot of big shots from the outside and driving to get people involved.”

Lucas cooled off a bit in the second half, but with the Spartans clicking on all cylinders at both ends of the floor, it didn’t matter. Izzo described MSU’s defense as “phenomenal.” And although Purdue’s JaJuan Johnson finished with 21 points, the Spartans, especially Roe, did not let him beat them.

“He’s not the type of player that you’re going to stop him completely,” Roe said. “He’s going to get his points, but as the game goes on, and you keep keeping a body on him, he’s going to wear down. And I think he started to do that in the second half.”

Johnson and the Boilermakers were able to cut MSU’s lead to nine with less than seven minutes to play. But MSU then went on a 14-5 run to finish the game and escape with the win.

Lucas’ 30 points led all scorers, while freshman guard Keith Appling chipped in with 10. Johnson finished with 21 points for Purdue, but it would not be enough.

The Spartans now move on to play Penn State, who beat Wisconsin on Friday. And although beating Purdue likely guaranteed an NCAA Tournament berth, Lucas said MSU’s focus is still on this weekend.

“We are not going to stop here,” Lucas said. “It feels good to get this win, but we definitely going to keep moving on and get focused on who we got next.”

To read more about the win, check out the men’s basketball blog.

To see Jeremy Warnemuende and Chris Vannini talk about the win and look ahead to Penn State, click here and here.