Playing at Mackey Arena is one of the toughest tasks that Big Ten teams face every season, especially for Michigan State. The Spartans haven’t won at Mackey since 2014 and they’re looking to end that drought on Thursday night.
Thursday’s top-15 battle is going to be center stage in college basketball. Everyone will be tuned in to see Matt Painter and Tom Izzo duke it out, but the former has had the latter’s number over the past 10 matchups.
Izzo is due for a win in West Lafayette.
Everyone seems to be counting Michigan State out but the Spartans have enough talent to pull off the “upset” and Purdue has lost three times at Mackey this season already.
There is one major key that stands out that if Michigan State can achieve, it will have a real chance.
Actually, if Michigan State is able to pull off this one feat, there’s more than a 50 percent chance that it’s going to beat the Boilermakers.
What Michigan State needs to do at Purdue
If Michigan State is going to beat Purdue, it needs to hold the Boilermakers under 70 points.
That sounds doable seeing as the Spartans have held teams like Duke, Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Nebraska all under 70 points, and the Boilermakers are 2-3 in the five games that they’ve failed to reach that plateau this season. In those two wins, Purdue won by a total of nine points against Oregon at home and at USC. That’s a mark that Michigan State needs to aim for.
On the flip side, Michigan State is 17-2 when it holds teams under 70 points. The only two losses were against top 10 teams by a total of eight points. Michigan State lost to Duke 66-60 and then Nebraska 58-56. Holding Purdue under 70 gives Michigan State a real chance.
Defense has been the name of the game for Izzo and Michigan State this season. That needs to continue on Thursday night against the No. 8 Boilermakers.
An upset is possible, but the defense has to show up — especially on the perimeter.