Turnovers Derail No. 4 Purdue Basketball in 68-65 Road Loss to Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State had nine more chances than Purdue to score, and all it needed was one to find the bottom of the net to pull off the upset.
In a tie ball game, junior guard Tyson Walker took a step-back 3-pointer to put the Spartans ahead with three seconds left to play. The Boilermakers never had a chance to equalize
Despite a career-high 25 points from sophomore center Zach Edey, No. 4 Purdue failed to give itself enough opportunities to win, registering 17 turnovers and only scoring one 3-pointer on nine attempts.
The team’s shortcomings on the offensive end of the court led to a 68-65 loss to Michigan State on Saturday at the Breslin Center.
“If we just give ourselves more chances, I like our odds in this game," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "But we didn't. You've gotta give Michigan State credit for their defense."
Michigan State started hot in the first half, nailing six of its 10 shots from the 3-point line. Purdue was only able to put in one attempt from beyond the arc, but the team dominated in the paint and fed the ball inside when the perimeter was contested.
Edey was able to find an early rhythm, scoring seven straight points as the Boilermakers looked to build any semblance of a lead. But the Spartans responded with an 8-0 run with under seven minutes left to play in the opening period.
Michigan State's leading scorer, Gabe Brown, put up eight points before the break, including a pair of 3-pointers. Brown finished the game with a team-high 13 points in 31 minutes.
“He's a good shooter," Painter said of Brown. "He's worked really hard. You can see the confidence he built in that first 15 to 20 games. He was feeling good about himself, he was shooting the three long, he was triple threat and shooting, he's in rhythm.
"I love guys that can shoot the basketball. And then he just got out of it a little bit, but they only need that one make and that crowd to kind of get them going."
Michigan State led by as many as seven points in the first half, but Purdue kept itself in the game by hitting 10-of-13 from the free-throw line before the break. The Boilermakers trailed 35-33 at halftime, and the Spartans led for nearly 17 minutes.
Edey led all scorers with 15 points on 6-8 shooting and was 3-4 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Jaden Ivey added eight points before both teams went to their respective locker rooms.
Purdue managed to tie the game on its first possession of the second half, but the team followed the basket with four turnovers in the span of one minute. Ivey, who ended the game with 16 points, also gave the ball away five times.
“It's on us, completely on us,” Ivey said. "It's on me. I know I had a couple I wish I could take back. We really just, from the get-go, had a lot of turnovers. They were able to get in a rhythm. And when teams get in a rhythm collectively, they're going to be energetic."
With lost opportunities on offense, the Spartans took advantage and built an 11-point lead with under 10 minutes left in the game. Michigan State ended the game with four players reaching double-digit scoring.
But Edey, combined with late-game efforts from senior Trevion Williams, had Purdue clawing back as time continued to tick away.
Williams scored 11 points in the contest, and the duo combined for 14 points in the final nine minutes. The Boilermakers scored 48 points in the paint while their 3-point shooting was virtually nonexistent.
Edey put up 10 points in the second half, and Purdue even managed to tie the game 63-63 with a free throw from Ivey with 51 seconds left. But a pair of Michigan State foul shots, coupled with Walker's last-second 3-pointer, was too much to overcome.
"It was big-time," Ivey said of the performances from Edey and Williams. "We're going to need them to step up when it matters, and we need to start hitting shots. When we're not hitting shots, our defense has to be A+. It's just tough.
"When you don't hit shots and they start to get in a rhythm, we just have to battle back. We dug ourselves a hole."
Purdue now sits at 24-5 on the season and 13-5 in the Big Ten. Next up comes a trip to Wisconsin on Tuesday before closing the regular season at home against Indiana.
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- PURDUE, MICHIGAN STATE LIVE BLOG: Purdue basketball started its final three-game stretch of the regular season with a road matchup against Michigan State on Saturday at the Breslin Center. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.