WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 13 Michigan State knocked off No. 7 Purdue, 76-74, in a ruckus environment at Mackey Arena, for the first time since 2014.
It wasn’t the typical MSU win, as Purdue won the rebounding margins by two and had eight more assists. The Spartans were able to take care of the ball and also created 19 points off the Boilermakers’ turnovers.
It had been 4,389 days since MSU head coach Tom Izzo won at Mackey Arena.
“Well, everybody says you haven’t won there very often. I got news for you, who in the hell has? His teams are so good and this fanbase is so good that it is hard to win here,” Izzo said.
The Spartans started sluggish, with Purdue attacking the paint, getting easy baskets to build an early seven-point cushion in the first few minutes.
After the first media stoppage, MSU fired back with better effort, sparked by forward Cam Ward, who scored eight points, forced turnovers on the defensive end, which earned him a spot in the closing lineup.
“It kind of felt like back to normal, as far as producing at the rate I was, and just to get a big-time win, in a big time arena, the energy was crazy in here,” Ward said.
Izzo called this Ward’s best game. The 6-foot-8 freshman spent extra time with coaches this week to restore his confidence and ability in himself.
“We had many conversations just trying to find out why I’m not being who I’m supposed to be for this team?” Ward said. “I think we just came to the conclusion that it’s just overthinking, not being myself, putting unnecessary pressure when there’s no need for it and today he just told me to go out there and play free.”
Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. converted a four-point play to erase the early deficit and finished with 12 points and six assists.
This was the shortest display of Izzo’s rotation this season, with seven Spartans playing 20 minutes or more and all contributed eight or more points.
“The only negative was we had to play some of those guys so many minutes, long stretches, that’s where we’re hurting a little, but with the injuries we’ve had,” Izzo said. “We’re trying to do what we did last year, but strength in numbers with less numbers.”
Purdue star Braden Smith was held to a pedestrian 12 points; he missed the game-winning three-point attempt from way beyond the arc as time expired.
“There’s a reason he’s a Player of the Year candidate. I thought we did a decent job on him, but he’s a hell of a player and they got a hell of a team, but it was just our night,” Izzo said.
The rims were abused in this game, with Spartans veterans Coen Carr and Carson Cooper catching multiple bodies in the process.
Sophomore guard Kur Teng made a crucial impact on consecutive plays; first, he knocked down a three-pointer with the shot clock expiring, then he poked the ball free to set up another Coen Carr highlight slam.
On the first anniversary of the shocking win at Maryland, the Spartans could use this win as a similar jumping-off point for a red-hot March.
“I think it was a great win, and we are definitely going to continue to stack these types of days and get better,” Teng said.
After the win, the Spartans are a game up on Purdue in the Big Ten standings and locked in a three-way tie for second place with Illinois and Nebraska.
The Spartans will make the trip back down to Indiana on Sunday, Feb. 29, for the second matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers, battling for a spot on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Tip-off at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., is set for 3:45 p.m.
