The first change Izzo implemented was with the starting five. For only the second time all season, Izzo changed the starting lineup and went with junior center Julius Marble II and junior forward Malik Hall in the frontcourt instead of redshirt senior forward Joey Hauser and senior center Marcus Bingham Jr. 

Marble and Hall’s presence in the starting lineup helped provide enough of a jolt for MSU to power past No. 4 Purdue for the 68-65 win. It was MSU’s first win since Feb. 12 and MSU’s first win over a ranked opponent since Jan 21. when they beat then-No. 8 Wisconsin on the road. 

They were just two of the many heroes that helped power Michigan State to a much-earned victory in Izzo’s eyes. 

“I think they're still the best team in the league but today, we earned our win,” Izzo said. “It wasn't lucky.”

The two new additions helped MSU avoid yet another slow start out of the gates, helping MSU get out to an early 10-8 lead before being subbed out for Bingham and Hauser. The efforts from them defending in the frontcourt, especially Marble, helped contain the nation’s most efficient offense and provide the team with enough opportunity to hold on to its lead. 

“Julius helps us because he's strong, tough, and a man and very smart,” Izzo said.

Marble said that he found out that he would be making the start a few days ago and felt a lot of nerves heading into tipoff making just his second start of the season against the No. 4 team in the country. He said the nerves began to fade as soon as he started playing during MSU’s strong start.

“It felt good to come out there and start it out and we had a great start,” Marble said. “We haven't been having great starts lately. So I'm glad we came out and had a great start today.”

For the game, Marble finished with 12 points on 100% shooting (5-5) and hauled in three rebounds while being tasked with trying to slow down superstars sophomore center Zach Edey and senior forward Trevion Williams for Purdue. Hall, who is normally a consistent source of offense, only put up two points but served a major role in helping shut down the Boilermakers’ big men and came away with two steals in the second half that led directly to four points in transition.

Edey and Williams still did all they could, combining for 36 points, but had to try to do all the damage themselves as MSU ran Purdue off the three-point line. The Boilermakers only shot 1-9 from three-point range, forcing Edey and Williams to run the show from the paint.

Michigan State’s defense collapsed on the big men on every touch and surrounded them with a swarm of arms to make their lives more difficult. The digging on every post touch combined with sharp closeouts on the outside allowed MSU to force 17 Purdue turnovers compared to just 10 for the Spartans.

The turnovers allowed Michigan State to shoot nine more shots than Purdue, which has been a problem that has normally plagued the Spartans this year. The return of the stifling defensive intensity that the Spartans exhibited in the first half of the season allowed them to hole Purdue to its second-lowest point total of the season (65). 

“If we just give ourselves more chances, I like our odds in this game but we didn't,” Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter said. “You gotta give Michigan State credit for their defense.”

The strong defense and abundance of turnovers allowed Michigan State to revive its transition offense which had been pretty much nonexistent during the losing streak. On every missed shot or turnover, MSU players streaked down the court for easy baskets. MSU scored 14 points off turnovers and 19 points in transition compared to just 11 and two points, respectively, for the Boilermakers.

The defensive effort allowed Michigan State to maintain a slim lead for most of the afternoon. The offense thrived on bounce-back performances from senior forward Gabe Brown and freshman guard Max Christie, who combined for 24 points and 50% shooting from three (4-8). 

The offense, however, did go cold in the final nine minutes which allowed Purdue to tie the game heading into the final possession. Junior guard Tyson Walker, who was having a quiet afternoon up to this point, hit a stepback three over Williams to give MSU the three-point victory.

But Walker would have never been in a position to be the hero if it weren’t for the Spartans’ consistent effort defensively and the new faces in the starting lineup that helped spearhead that effort. 

The intensity and commitment that Michigan State put on display in the win were what was sorely missing during the tough month of February. Izzo said the players and coaches were fed up with “getting kicked around” and decided they were going to get after it today from the moment they arrived at Breslin Center for pregame breakfast.

“Today we got after it,” Izzo said. “We got after it in the pregame, we got to have a period when we ate — I don't know if we used knives and forks, we just used fingers — We got after it in huddles, we got after at halftime … I know what it takes to be what we gotta be and today we did some of those things.”

The question that remains now is: Can Michigan State replicate this performance? Will the infusion of Marble and Hall continue to pay dividends? Or will they default back to the listless, mistake-prone basketball that led to a 3-5 record in February for the Spartans?

“We got a lot more games and a lot more things that we need to finish and we got a big game coming up,” Brown said. “So I got to be on my guys each and every night about just staying locked in, staying ready to play because we got a big stretch coming up.”