Everyone was in the house to watch Michigan State basketball take on No. 13 Purdue on Tuesday night and the Spartans didn't disappoint with a 75-66 win over the Boilermakers.
With the win, Michigan State improves to 21-5 on the season and 12-3 in the conference with five games remaining and two of those are against first-place Michigan, including one this Friday. Winning both of those are maybe taking one more road game down the stretch will likely ensure Michigan State wins its first Big Ten title since 2020.
For Purdue, however, this is its third straight loss and it'll need a miracle in order to win the conference again this season, falling to 11-5 in league play.
What'd we learn from this massive Michigan State win?
1. Frankie Fidler is showing signs of life
If we can get this version of Frankie Fidler for the rest of the season, there may not be a team in American that will be able to handle the Spartans' depth. He came off the bench and promptly scored nine points which may not seem like much but he had one of the most dominant stretches in the second half with a three, a steal, and a slam in the span of like 30 seconds.
The @MSU_Basketball bench loved this from Frankie Fidler ‼️‼️#B1GMBBall on Peacock 💻 pic.twitter.com/i0yAt0YdTx
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 19, 2025
Fidler is showing signs of life off the bench and that's bad news for the rest of the country.
2. Jaden Akins desperately needs a get-right game
I've seen Jaden Akins struggle for too long. The senior guard was supposed to show off in front of his former teammates (Malik Hall, Tyson Walker, Joey Hauser) who were in attendance for the biggest home game of the season so far, but he struggled from the floor, going 3-for-8, including one of the worst missed 3-pointers I've ever seen from him (wide right by about three feet).
Akins still finished with 10 points and hit some free throws down the stretch (but also missed two). He is supposed to be this team's go-to scorer and leader and right now he looks lost out there.
Hopefully he can go into Ann Arbor on Friday and get right.
3. Why does anyone ever doubt Tom Izzo?
I will admit, I'm also guilty of doubting Tom Izzo from time to time over the years, but after losing three of four games, it felt like the season was slipping away from Michigan State and all the Hall of Fame head coach did was respond by reeling off two straight massive Quad 1 wins that not only built up the NCAA Tournament resume, but put the Spartans within a half-game of first-place Michigan with a matchup looming on Friday.
If Michigan State can win on Friday, it'll move into first place and hold a head-to-head advantage with the Wolverines with four games left.
If Michigan State can go 3-2 or 4-1 from here on out, I think the Big Ten title -- and Big Ten Coach of the Year crown -- will be Izzo's again.