Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from huge win over No. 4 Purdue

1. Tyson Walker, AJ Hoggard fueled this win

We saw flashes of what Tyson Walker could do as a scorer against Illinois, scoring 26 points and 24 in the second half. He took over the game and got the Spartans back into it after they trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half.

Walker showed that he could be ‘the guy’ moving forward. He stepped up with the game on the line and hit a huge 3-pointer to give Michigan State a 68-65 lead with 1.4 seconds left. That was the dagger.

Now AJ Hoggard isn’t the best offensive threat on the team, but what he brings to the team is energy along with aggressive defense. He stepped up on Jaden Ivey and actually caused some problems for the future NBA lottery pick. Ivey still scored his points, but Hoggard was the energy on defense that forced some bad shots from Ivey.

Michigan State relies on these guys to win games and when they’re playing well, the Spartans are incredibly difficult to beat.

If these two continue to play well at the same time, Michigan State could potentially win out.