Michigan State vs Purdue Basketball Recap

Michigan State 53, Purdue 44

 
It's not just the community of Purdue fans that's already missing Robbie Hummel. College basketball fans across the country could have used a fallen star's presence on a Sunday that just didn't feel right.

The above statements aren't a knock against the Michigan State Spartans, who waltzed into West Lafayette, Ind., and did exactly what they had to do inside a raucous Mackey Arena. They're simply a reflection of the fact that the Purdue Boilermakers didn't score 44 points in a game as long as Mr. Hummel - he of the torn ACL, which will sideline him for the rest of this season - graced the court for coach Matt Painter's ballclub. In a showdown that should have been remembered for its impact on a crowded Big Ten title race, the only thing most folks will take away from this tilt is that the level of play was unusually poor.

There is simply no way to sugarcoat the truth: Michigan State and Purdue played a game that was hard to watch. Sparty coughed up 22 turnovers, a testament to Purdue's dogged defense but also a product of pronounced offensive impatience. Spartan ballhandlers - particularly point guard Kalin Lucas - tried to penetrate the lane but then developed a different thought midway through a foray to the basket. Lucas - who finished with as many turnovers (eight) as points scored and field goals attempted - repeatedly kicked the ball to the perimeter when he should have finished a move to the goal. His passes predictably sailed to a front-row seat in the stands, and not to any of his teammates in Spartan green. You'd think, for one thing, that these errors would be weeded out of a team's system at this late juncture in a college basketball campaign. What's even more startling, however, is the fact that Lucas is a veteran player coming off a run to the NCAA national championship game. Purdue's defense was superb, but it certainly wasn't good enough to force 22 turnovers in all, and eight miscues from a savvy guard who should know better.

As for Purdue, well, one can't be too harsh toward the Boilermakers, who faced a very big task on Sunday: Create quality possessions and accurate shots without the services of Robbie Hummel, and in the face of Michigan State's defensive intensity. MSU, even when not playing its best, generally doesn't slack off at the defensive end of the floor. Purdue was able to hang in this contest because of Sparty's chronic turnover problem, but the Boilers knew they'd have to find extra sources of scoring punch if they wanted to win and take complete ownership of both the Big Ten race and the chase for a No. 1 seed in the West Region of the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

That extra wellspring of offensive production never emerged, and the main meal tickets for Painter's pupils failed to light up the scoreboard as well. JaJuan Johnson - the center who is the barometer for the Boilers - scored only 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting. E'Twaun Moore, the heartbeat of the Boilers, managed just 12 points on a 3-of-13 afternoon from the field. Keaton Grant - who has radically improved his play over the past few weeks during PU's surge in the conference standings - attempted just three shots in a timid seven-point effort. The only Purdue player who exceeded expectations on offense was defensive specialist Chris Kramer, who fought off a balky right hamstring to score 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. All told, the home team hit just 30 percent of its shots and delivered just 16 points in a deflating second-half showing. Michigan State posted a modest 27 points after halftime - a total that usually leads to a loss - but on this day, a score in the low 50s was enough to win on the road.

All these realities, put together, indicate that Purdue wasn't Purdue today. Credit Michigan State - who knows what it's like to play without an injured star (Lucas, of course, missed multiple games earlier this season with an ankle injury) - for taking advantage, but it's not at all insulting or uncharitable to say that this game didn't become all that it could have been.

The Spartans, however, won't be found complaining at all. They're tied in the loss column for the Big Ten lead, alongside the Boilers and the boys from Ohio State.

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