Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from tough loss to No. 3 Purdue

Back-to-back heartbreaking losses are the difference between a 14-4 Michigan State basketball team and the reality that is 12-6.

The Spartans looked really good for the final 30 minutes against Purdue, shaking off an early 13-point deficit to take a five-point second-half lead. Michigan State led by four with under four minutes left, but the Boilermakers continued to respond to every big play by the Spartans with three-point plays of their own.

In the end, it was Zach Edey who scored the game-winning bucket and broke the hearts of Michigan State fans everywhere.

Here are some key takeaways from the loss.

3. Mady Sissoko, Carson Cooper were not intimidated by Zach Edey

Prior to this game, I would have expected Mady Sissoko and Carson Cooper to play Zach Edey tough but ultimately they would be manhandled.

That wasn’t exactly the case.

While Edey still finished with 32 points, he did most of his damage inside 2-3 feet. He was useless when Sissoko and Cooper pushed him out of the paint and forced him to pick his dribble up. They had a decent game plan against him, but he got too many second-chance points.

Plus, shooting 13-for-26 from the floor isn’t exactly a great line for a 7-foot-4 big man who doesn’t take any shots past 4-5 feet from the basket.

It’s easy to say he had a good game, but 26 field goal attempts and seven free throw attempts to reach 32 points is not incredibly efficient for a big man. The two Spartan centers did a solid job and weren’t intimidated.