Michigan State Basketball: Purdue provides tricky test for red-hot Spartans

Although Michigan State basketball is riding high after an Ohio State road win, Purdue could provide a surprisingly tricky test for the Spartans.

Purdue may not be having the best season to this point but the Boilermakers always seem to give Michigan State a test. This team doesn’t quite have the pieces it had a year ago, but Carsen Edwards is a serious Big Ten Player of the Year candidate who can score at will.

Don’t believe me? The junior guard decided to return for another season and skip the NBA draft and he’s currently averaging 25.5 points per game — up about seven points from last year.

Matt Painter’s team is just 9-5, but they, too, dismantled an Iowa team that was ranked at home and that could give the Boilermakers some momentum and confidence heading into a late Tuesday night battle.

Michigan State, however, is coming off the best Big Ten win of the season thus far, beating No. 14 Ohio State on the road, 86-77, to improve to 13-2 overall and a sparkling 4-0 in conference play.

One side has to give in this underrated battle.

Here’s how you can watch Tuesday’s Michigan State vs. Purdue game:

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 8
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Breslin Center
TV: ESPN2
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Cassius Winston needs to continue his hot streak, but more importantly, feeding Nick Ward and Xavier Tillman in the post will give this team a major advantage. The Spartans have a size advantage down low and they’re more aggressive so as long as Ward can get good positioning down low, Matt Haarms and Co. will have a hard time slowing them down.

Contain Edwards and force the Boilermaker role players to beat you. That’s exactly what the Spartans need to do as Edwards is good for about 25 points per game and if they can hold him to under 20, they’ll be in good shape. Like always, defending the perimeter is a major key since that’s been a weak spot this season.

Players to Watch

Purdue doesn’t have the stars it had last season or the year before, but the Boilermakers are led by one of the top scorers in college football and have some quality role players. Who should the Spartans be watching for?

• Carsen Edwards: 25.5 points, 3.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 44% FG
• Ryan Cline: 12.6 points, 3.6 assists, 43% FG
• Matt Haarms: 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 61% FG

Prediction

Michigan State’s high-scoring offense will continue to put up points, scoring 80 yet again, but the defense will struggle to shut down the perimeter. Purdue will get hot from deep early on, but the Spartans will take a double-digit lead into the half and then maintain for most of the second half, holding off a couple of Boilermaker surges. A 5-0 start to Big Ten play? Not too shabby.

Final Score: Purdue 71, Michigan State 82