There’s nothing better than seeing a couple of Top 25 teams battle for Big Ten Conference relevancy. That happens Thursday night when the No. 13 Michigan State Spartans visit the No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers.
The Boilermakers enter Thursday night’s showdown with a 22-5 overall record, 12-4 in Big Ten play. Purdue sits in third place in the conference standings. Meanwhile, the Spartans have identical overall and Big Ten records. They, too, are in third place.
Michigan State vs. Purdue Projected Starting Lineups, Matchups
Michigan State Spartans
- F Coen Carr
- C Carson Cooper
- G Jeremy Fears Jr.
- F Jaxon Kohler
- F Jordan Scott
Purdue Boilermakers
- F Oscar Cluff
- G C.J. Cox
- F Trey Kaufman-Renn
- G Fletcher Loyer
- G Braden Smith
Fears leads Michigan State in scoring with 15.0 points per game and in assists with 9.2. Kohler leads the Spartans in rebounding with 9.3 per game. For Purdue, Smith averages 14.9 points and 8.7 assists, while Kaufman-Renn leads with 9.0 rebounds.
It’s going to be a battle for control between these Big Ten rivals. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo always has his Spartans ready to play. The same can be said for Purdue head coach Matt Painter and the Boilermakers.
“I told you three weeks ago that our schedule ends about as tough as anybody’s,” Izzo said. “We have two big road games this week — obviously, it starts with Purdue, one of the best teams not only in the league, but in the country. Winning on the road there is one of the more difficult places to play.
“I think Mackey Arena is amongst one of the toughest we play in, conference or non-conference. I think this is a really experienced Purdue team. They’ve got three guys in Smith, Loyer, and Kaufman-Renn that it seems like they’ve been there forever.”
Purdue averages 82.9 points, 36.4 rebounds, and 19.7 assists per game, while allowing 69.3 points. Michigan State averages 78.4 points, 41.1 rebounds, and 18.6 assists, while giving up 66.1 points.
How to Watch Purdue vs. Michigan State
- Date: Thursday, Feb. 26
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Arena: Mackey Arena
- City: West Lafayette, Ind.
- TV/Announcers: NBCSN, Peacock (Brandon Gaudin, Robbie Hummel)
- Radio/Announcers: Spartan Media Network (Will Tieman, Matt Steigenga); Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
- Streaming: Peacock
Who will come out on top between Michigan State and Purdue Thursday night? If statistics are the measuring stick, the edge might go to the Boilermakers.
Should Purdue clamp down defensively on Michigan State’s offense, the Boilermakers will vault ahead of the Spartans in the Big Ten standings. But this clash between two old-school rivals is destined to be a great game to tune in and watch.
