After all, if No. 13 MSU (21-5, 10-3) falls to Purdue on Thursday on the road, the Spartans will be bumped off the top of the Big Ten standings.

“If we lose to Purdue, the tables have turned,” Harris said. “We can’t afford to take any losses at this point of the season. We need to start getting it rolling again like the middle of the season … we need to start spreading out some wins.”

Head coach Tom Izzo said Purdue’s win against the Hoosiers was its “best performance” of the season, and now the tenacious Boilermakers will be looking for their season’s first win over a top-25 team.

“They do a couple of things that will bother us,” Izzo said at Monday’s press conference. “By far, they are the most physical team that we will play.”

Purdue’s biggest threat, in a literal sense, is 7-foot center A.J. Hammons, who has scored at least 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in three of the last five games. He isn’t the only one that will be causing ruckus for the Boilermakers, as Izzo also remarked on how many different players they send out to the court.

In their win over Indiana, the Boilermakers trotted out seven players for more than 18 minutes, which Izzo called “unbelievable.” Believe it or not, Purdue has played 10 players for an average of at least 10 minutes this season, making them one of the conference’s deepest teams.

MSU is on the opposite end of the spectrum, with uncertainty of what their starting lineup will look like.

Izzo stated junior forward Branden Dawson will not play as he continues to recover from a broken hand. Izzo also said on Monday that he had “no clue” on the status of senior guard Keith Appling, and even toyed with the idea of sitting Appling for the remainder of the regular season.

However, Appling has no plans to do so.

“I didn’t even know that was a conversation,” Appling said. “For the season, I don’t think coach would do that. … Me and coach’s relationship is much better than that, and I know he has my best interests at heart.”

MSU can use all the backcourt help it can get, as Purdue’s trio of Sterling Carter, Terone Johnson and Ronnie Johnson combined for 49 points versus the Hoosiers. However, in a 67-49 loss to Ohio State before Friday’s win, the three combined for a mere nine points.

In Purdue’s last five losses, the three guards averaged 20.8 points, making it very obvious what MSU needs to do to win — keep the backcourt contained.