Senior guard Matt McQuaid (20) powers past Purdue guard Carsen Edwards. The Spartans fell to the Boilermakers, 73-63.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana — A lazy handoff pass from Xavier Tillman intended for Cassius Winston was easily stolen by Purdue's Eric Hunter Jr.
Nobody was back for MSU and no defender went downcourt to contest the shot in transition, the layup was easily made, sending the capacity Mackey Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Though the sixth-ranked Spartans were able to cut Purdue's once 23-point lead down to 4 late in the second half, an uninspired first half cost MSU in the form of a 73-63 upset Sunday afternoon.
The loss marks Michigan State's (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten) first loss in conference play and ends a 13-game win streak and a 19-game conference winning streak, which dated back to last season. The loss also marks an end to the Spartans' 12-game road win streak against Big Ten opponents, which was a school record.
"We just didn't do the little things," said Cassius Winston, who scored a game-high 23 points. "We let them get too many offensive rebounds. They did a god job hitting some tough shots and we didn't do a good job of hitting easy ones."
Ryan Cline led the Boilers (14-6, 6-3) with 17 points. He was one of five Purdue players in double figures.
Winston also had a game-high eight assists and Matt McQuaid was MSU's second-leading scorer with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers.
The Boilers started the game on a 9-2 run after converting on a pair of offensive rebounds and easy looks. The Spartans were shooting a combined 3-for-15 from the floor with 11:19 left in the opening half.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Matt McQuaid and Winston were negated quickly by a triple from Aaron Wheeler. Tillman's lazy handoff to Winston setup an easy breakaway layup for Hunter.
After a frantic 3-pointer from Nick Ward late in the half, Matt Haarms and Ryan Cline scored on consecutive baskets to give Purdue a 37-19 lead at halftime.
"It seemed like the ball was going through the net every time (Purdue shot)," Winston said.
The Boilers' bench contributed 22 points in the first half and 26 overall for the game, while MSU shot a season-low 7-of-31 (22.6 percent) in the first half.
"The stars didn’t beat us the first half, the bench did," said MSU coach Tom Izzo.
For the game, Purdue shot 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range, the second-highest mark for an opponent in a loss this season, second only to then No. 1 Kansas (43.5). The Spartans entered the game holding opponents to 30.0 percent from deep.
Purdue opened the second half with three more 3s on its first six shots to take a 22-point lead, 48-26, within the first three minutes. At its largest, Purdue's lead grew to 23 after a putback dunk from Wheeler to make it 55-32 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
After Wheeler's dunk, however, MSU went on a 14-0 run spanning nearly four minutes — the most productive stretch of the afternoon to cut Purdue's lead to a 55-46 game with 8:43 left.
Kenny Goins made a key triple from the left wing, which set up a layup for Aaron Henry in transition on MSU's next possession made it a 64-60 game with 5:14 to play. However, offensive rebounds for Purdue put the game out of reach.
Overall, Purdue out-rebounded MSU 42-33, and 16-9 on the offensive glass.
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"If you want to beat somebody that is that good, you have to beat them at their own game," Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
Izzo cited a lack of mettle from his forwards to grab rebounds and inexperience from his freshmen made it nearly impossible to come back.
"My freshmen, I thought, needed diapers today," Izzo said. "It was one of those days where I knew they were going to get indoctrinated."
The loss was also the last game of a stretch in which MSU played three games in six days, with wins at home against Maryland and at No. 19 Iowa.
It's MSU's first loss without starting wing Joshua Langford and backup wing Kyle Ahrens. Langford has been out with a left ankle injury since Dec. 29, and Ahrens re-injured his back on a diving play in the second half against the Hawkeyes on Thursday.
The Spartans' only two losses prior were an 92-87 decision to then-No. 1 Kansas on Nov. 6 to open the season and an 82-78 loss in overtime to Louisville.
The Spartans are off until Saturday, when they host Indiana (12-8, 3-6) at the Breslin Center. Tipoff is to be determined.
"It’s been a rough five games — four on the road, three in this past week and traveling twice and down two bodies," Izzo said. "That’s what I take solace in. We didn’t quit."
