However nail-biting, this was not a survive-and-escape road win for the Spartans, who claimed a 76-74 victory in the most difficult environment they will see this season, in a building they had not won in since 2014.

Purdue entered ranked No. 2 nationally in offense by KenPom. Its veteran point guard Braden Smith — a tempo-setter whose 10 assists Thursday pushed him past 1,000 for his career, becoming just the fifth Division I player to reach that mark — passed MSU great Cassius Winston earlier this season for the Big Ten’s all-time assists record.

The Boilermakers shot 12-for-25 from three, won the rebounding battle and still fell short, because MSU never let the game become too big and, thus, didn’t hand Purdue any extra chances to stack runs. The Spartans shot 53% from the field, scored 40 points in the paint, committed just six turnovers and turned Purdue’s nine into a 19-5 edge in points off turnovers. That’s all well and good. But why this win changes the way people should think about what’s possible for this group is that the counters kept coming — in that setting, against a capable and punchy opponent — which has been rare for this MSU team.

That resolve was required quickly in West Lafayette. Purdue big man Oscar Cluff had eight points in the first five minutes, walking down MSU’s frontcourt into layups and a dunk as the Boilermakers raced to a 13-6 lead. 

The Spartans responded with a flurry of scoring and, within three minutes, took back the lead, which changed sides 11 times over the next 36 minutes. MSU didn’t flinch. The answers came in spots where, over the last month, it had often looked like the Spartans were waiting for them to arrive.

Purdue hit six threes in the first half and 12 for the game. None proved demoralizing because the Spartans kept responding with offensive sets that produced quality shots. It was epitomized by Carson Cooper on the block, scoring repeatedly in a matchup MSU treated as an advantage, with possessions ending in shots the Spartans could live with again and again until it became clear the offense was up to the challenge.

Kur Teng gave MSU its edge throughout the night with the kind of shot-making and hustle that keeps a game from slipping onto the opposition’s terms in a brutally unforgiving arena. He finished with 13 points and three rebounds, helping the Spartans to the finish line with a handful of timely outside shots and consequential efforts on the defensive glass. Cooper gave MSU another half-court option that looked replicable against a strong front line. From the post, whether burying jump hooks and turnaround short jumpers or spinning into a one-handed dunk plus a foul, he looked like a player through whom the Spartans can, in certain moments, run their offense.

When Purdue took a 56-55 lead at the 11:28 mark in the second half, Cooper answered with a pair of free throws, then Teng buried a three on ensuing trips.

Still, the Spartans aren’t going to shoot 53% most nights; they’re at just fewer than 47% for the season. They aren’t built to win games while getting out-rebounded. But they can win in March if these sorts of performances can become part of the mix — ingredients they’ve rarely had in these matchups. A wing who can puncture momentum with one shot, or another big who can manufacture points, can go a long way this time of year.

Through 28 games, MSU has defended and rebounded like a team that can be a threat in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, ranking inside the nation’s top 10 in defensive efficiency and defensive rebounding on Kenpom. The question has been whether its offense — No. 43 nationally entering Thursday — can hold up in the moments that decide seasons later on. We saw it stall against Duke’s zone in December and Nebraska in January and in stretches more recently against Michigan and Minnesota, all games that were winnable and revealing: the Spartans’ margin for error becomes thin quickly when the half-court offense comes into focus.

The win moved MSU a step closer to securing a double bye in the Big Ten tournament, reserved for the top four teams, and nudged Purdue behind it in the standings. The Spartans are tracking as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament in most major bracket projections, which could change after Thursday’s result.

A top 15 matchup at Purdue in late February is as close as you can get to simulating the pressure of a Sweet 16 or Elite Eight game. MSU conquered the moment in its best win of the season so far. It kept finding something it could go back to, even as the Boilermakers returned haymakers.

If that version of MSU surfaces again, its ceiling looks higher than it did before Thursday night.

Thomas Cobb is a senior studying journalism and the Managing Editor of Newsroom Development at The State News. The views expressed here are his own.