Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from tough loss at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - JANUARY 27: Nojel Eastern #20 and Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers reach for a rebound against Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 27: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans dunks the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

4. Matt McQuaid is Carsen Edwards’ kryptonite

Carsen Edwards is one of college basketball’s elite scorers but Matt McQuaid didn’t get that memo. The senior captain has been one of the best lockdown defenders in the Big Ten this season and that continued on Sunday afternoon as he held Edwards in check for the second time this season.

You might look at his line and think that 14 points isn’t all that bad of a days work, but when you average 24.2 points per game, it’s not even close to being up to par.

Edwards scored just 11 points the first time he faced the Spartans and then 14 on Sunday, with McQuaid draped all over him. In two games against the Spartans, Edwards is averaging about half of his season average for points while shooting a total of 7-of-35 — that’s an ice-cold 20 percent from the floor.

McQuaid deserves some kind of recognition for this defensive effort and maybe Edwards will give him some credit this time around because he sure didn’t after they faced each other a few weeks ago.

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