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Michigan State Basketball: 3 things we learned from Purdue loss

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 24, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) reacts during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 24, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) reacts during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State basketball suffered a tough loss against Purdue on Tuesday evening and here’s what we learned.

Losing home games is never something Tom Izzo wants to see. The Breslin Center crowd was rocking for Michigan State’s matchup with No. 20 Purdue on Tuesday night, but the Boilermakers sent everyone home unhappy, taking down the Spartans, 84-73.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for January

The game was back-and-forth and looked to be one of the best of the young Big Ten season for the first half, but the second was completely different. Michigan State was out-scored by 11 in the final 20 minutes and a lot of it had to do with an inability to match up in the post.

Another area of the game in which Michigan State continues to struggle is perimeter defense. The Spartans allowed the Boilermakers to make 11-of-21 3-pointers and that’s just unacceptable. Not going to win many games by giving up 11 long-balls.

Izzo knows what needs to be fixed and he’s ready to move forward.

Here’s what we learned from Tuesday night’s Michigan State loss to Purdue.

1. Cassius Winston needs to lead the offense

Is there really any doubt about which point guard should be leading the offense anymore? Sure, Tum Tum Nairn had a great night passing the ball with six assists and he played solid defense, but Cassius Winston is just a bigger threat on offense. Nairn took zero shots while Winston had eight points and three assists. He had a couple of eye-opening plays, such as a circus layup which got the crowd on its feet. Winston needs to be the go-to point guard.

2. Spartans’ lack of post depth was highlighted

For the first time all season, or at least since non-conference play, Michigan State’s last of post depth was the main subject of concern. It was taken advantage of by the Boilermakers as Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan combined for 36 points and 19 rebounds. The Spartans just didn’t have an answer for them in the post in the second half and that wore down guys like Kenny Goins, Nick Ward and Miles Bridges who were tasked with guarding them.

Related Story: MSU Recruiting: 5 priority football recruits for 2018

3. Miles Bridges is better than he was before the injury

Miles Bridges was incredible before his ankle injury which caused him to miss seven games. Could he be even better than he was before he was forced to ride the pine for a month? Yes. Surprisingly, the freshman sensation is even better right now than he was before he sat out and that’s saying a lot. Against Purdue, he set the single-game freshman scoring record with 33 and he made 12-of-17 shots and 5-of-8 3-pointers. He looks like a legit go-to scorer again.

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