COACH TV: Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo Post Win Over Purdue
Breslin Center
East Lansing, MI
It was a Jud Heathcote honorary game today and it played out like an old-school Big Ten battle. When the blood, the sweat, and dust settled the #4 Spartans won 68-65 over the #3 Purdue Boilermakers.
Hall of Fame Michigan State coach Tom Izzo proved his worth. He decided that with dangerous Purdue big man Isaac Haas that he would not double team him. He knew that he would get his points (25) but Izzo was not willing to let the deadly three-point Purdue attack to beat them. It was a brilliant move
When Nick Ward got hurt early Gavin Schilling came in and was excellent. He only had seven points and seven rebounds, but he was terrific on defense.
Ward would return, but he only played 11 minutes. But it was the defense of Schilling and with 02.6 left Miles Bridges drilled a three-pointer to break a tie and put the Spartans up for good.
Bridges would finish with 20 points and Cassius Winston had 10 as the only other double-digit scorer. Winston had a double-double as he added 10 assists. MSU won the battle of the boards 37-34. MSU shot 48% while holding Purdue to 41%. MSU had 21 assists on 29 baskets.
Entering today the Spartans are ranked #4. With all three of the three teams ahead of them losing in the last week, you can almost certainly expect Michigan State to move up to at least #1 on Monday when the new polls are released.
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday night in Minneapolis against the Gophers. That game tips off at 9 PM ET and can be seen on ESPN2.
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