Michigan State falls to No. 3-seed Purdue in hard-fought Big Ten semifinal - The Only Colors

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The No. 7-seed Michigan State Spartans were defeated by the No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers Saturday afternoon by a final score of 75-70. Purdue will move on to play the No. 5-seed Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Tournament finals tomorrow.

It’s the first time that Purdue defeated Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament, having lost four consecutive tournament matchups to MSU.

Both started off slowly with several scoring droughts occuring in the first few minutes. Within those minutes, MSU lost both A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker to ankle rolls on back-to-back possessions. Walker ended up back in the locker room again minutes later and wouldn’t return.

It was obvious that Purdue was the more-talented team once the Boilermakers were off to a 8-0 run. That forced MSU into its first timeout. Suddenly it was halftime and Purdue led Michigan State by a score of 27-20.

Neither offense produced much in the first half. Both continued to miss open shots, struggle on possessions, and turn the ball over.

For the Spartans, its 3-point shooting percentage was a measly eight percent in the first 20 minutes. MSU made one of its first 12 attempts from the 3-point line. The only player with a made first-half three was senior Marcus Bingham Jr.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, it continued to unravel. Among the walls falling down were two blatant missed out-of-bounds plays from Big Ten officials; once missed on a steal by Michigan State and once on a steal by Purdue. Both resulted in points for both teams so it was even but concerning.

Even with the controversial no-calls throughout the game, it doesn’t explain how Michigan State was so inefficient until halfway through the second half.

Defense was the least of Michigan State’s concerns for most of the game. The Spartans were unable to make shots and hold sophomore center, who towers at 7-foot-4, Zach Edey from scoring. Although Purdue didn’t seem to utilize him as much as possible. Edey ended his night with 11 points.

The Boilermakers were carried by sophomore guard Jaden Ivey who put up 22 points. The Ivey Show was fun to watch, at least for Purdue, as somehow he ended up making a behind-the-back shot while falling on his tailbone with less than five to play. He played the most and had the most impact on the court.

Then the fight came for Michigan State. Within several minutes, the Spartans fought back from down 13 and made it a two point contest. It was 52-49, Purdue leading, with nearly eight minutes left in the game. MSU’s offense started to click as it made seven of its last nine from the field.

Almost simultaneously, junior Julius Marble II fouled out. His night ended with four points.

With five minutes left in the game, MSU was back within one at 57-56 as senior Gabe Brown started lighting up 3-point shots. Then Purdue started to pull ahead as senior Eric Hunter Jr. sank two straight wide-open shots from beyond the arc. He ended the night with 11 points. Brown, meanwhile, finished the night with 16 points.

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Sophomore AJ Hoggard’s 17 points led the team from the bench. While freshman Max Christie and Bingham Jr had nine points each, redshirt senior Joey Hauser was almost completely absent from the game. He went 0-for-4 from the field, 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, and had four total rebounds.

Purdue started to pull back ahead with a 10-1 run. Suddenly, Michigan State trailed 67-57 with three minutes to play. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

The College Basketball Selection Show takes place tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS. Michigan State was last projected to be seeded at No. 8 but tonight’s showing could help improve placement.

Purdue will take on Iowa tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS.

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March 13, 2022 at 06:18AM
https://www.theonlycolors.com/2022/3/12/22974502/michigan-state-falls-to-no-3-seed-purdue-in-hard-fought-big-ten-semifinal

Michigan State falls to No. 3-seed Purdue in hard-fought Big Ten semifinal - The Only Colors

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