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Michigan State Basketball: 5 bold predictions for crucial Big Ten battle vs. Purdue

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 10: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates late in the in the second half during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Breslin Center on February 10, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 10: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates late in the in the second half during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Breslin Center on February 10, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball is gearing up for another critical Big Ten battle against fellow contender Purdue. What can we expect on Tuesday night?

Michigan State and Purdue are having opposite luck this year. The Spartans are 13-2 and 4-0 in Big Ten play while the Boilermakers are 9-5 and 2-1 but have fallen from the ranks after a shaky start to the year.

Gone are Vincent Edwards and Isaac Haas, which makes this team less intimidating than it was a year ago when the Boilers were smack-dab in the middle of the conference title race.

Michigan State also lost some talent as lottery picks Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. are on to bigger and better things, but some may argue that this Spartan team is more cohesive and has a tougher mentality than last year’s. Tuesday night’s battle between these two newfound basketball rivals will be intriguing, but will the Spartans take care of business?

Tuesday night’s game could bear some weight on the Big Ten title race.

5. Foster Loyer will finally be more aggressive

Coming into the season, everyone knew that the size of Foster Loyer could be an issue, especially when Big Ten play began. Standing just 6-foot-0 and weighing in at 170 pounds, Loyer’s slight frame raised some red flags and he’s only been able to put together 2-3 minute stretches in place of Cassius Winston, at most.

The Spartans will need him to see the court more in order to preserve Winston for later in the season and that’ll start against the Boilermakers as he’ll see the floor for 10 minutes and he’ll show more aggression on the offensive end of the court.

No, he’s not going to top his career-high of 10 points which he scored against Green Bay, but he’ll take some open threes and even finish with five points and three assists. He’ll make his fourth three of the year and shoot four shots for the first time since that Green Bay win.

Michigan State needs a more aggressive Loyer.

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