'They competed': Shorthanded Michigan State's upset bid falls short vs. No. 3 Purdue
Matt Charboneau
East Lansing — Tom Izzo already had choked back a few tears when he stood at the podium on Monday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
It wasn’t about losing a game, which Michigan State did, pushing No. 3 Purdue to the wire behind 30 points from Tyson Walker, only to watch Zach Edey score a career-high 32, including the decisive bucket with 2.2 seconds to play that gave the Boilermakers the 64-63 victory on Martin Luther King Day.
It was more about what he saw from his team, dealing with another critical injury yet refusing to fold, overcoming a miserable start to put itself in position to win, a position it’s been in often this season despite the fact the Spartans have done it short-handed.
BOX SCORE: Purdue 64, Michigan State 63
“I tell you what,” Izzo said, eventually pounding his fist on his chest. “They competed. There aren’t many times that I go in a losing locker room and thank my team for competing and tell them how proud I was of them for competing. That's not for the next game. That's not my MO. It's not my style at all.
“It was because in my heart, I believe we competed well enough to win the game. Give (Purdue) credit. They made a couple of plays at the end and we didn’t.”
Izzo was emotional for multiple reasons. His team was on the verge of perhaps its gutsiest when of the season, one that would have made it clear the Spartans (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten) would be a factor in the Big Ten race all season.
But it was especially hard for Izzo considering the news that came before the game. That news, of course, was that senior Malik Hall would not play after aggravating the stress reaction injury in his left foot in Friday’s loss to Illinois, the kicker being Hall might be out long term.
“We were trying to win the game for him, because he's crushed,” Izzo said of Hall. “Nothing looks good in the immediate future, but whether (he’s out) the full year or not, we don't know.”
Michigan State has been in this spot before. Hall missed eight games with the initial injury before playing in the last five, so adapting was something Spartans have already done. For the first few minutes on Monday, however, it looked like all was out of sync as Michigan State turned the ball over on four of its first five possessions and started 2-for-11 from the field.
Soon, the Spartans settled in, did their best to make it hard for Edey while hoping to keep the Boilermakers’ shooters from heating up. It worked for long stretches, but Fletcher Loyer hit some big buckets late and finished with 17 points. Throw and handful of questionable calls that had Izzo “ticked” at the officials and it was a perfect recipe for the Spartans to fold.
Instead, A.J. Hoggard overcame some early issues to score 14 and hand out eight assists, while Joey Hauser scored 10. And then Walker nearly won it, scoring the final 12 points, his last-ditch heave at the buzzer falling short.
“That’s what I came here for,” said Walker, his 30 points the most he’s scored as a Spartan. “To make those plays, with this crowd; that’s really why I came here. I’m happy I put myself in position to perform like that.”
It was a performance that nearly turned into one of the greatest at the Breslin Center. Nineteen of Walker’s points were in the second half and his final bucket fell with 10.8 seconds left, giving Michigan State a 63-62 lead.
“It was unbelievable,” Hauser said. “It was a performance that I don't know if we have seen it here in a long time. … It sucks we couldn't end up getting the win, but he made that big bucket that put us ahead with 30 seconds or whatever it was. I'm happy for him, but we just couldn't get a win.”
Purdue (17-1, 6-1), answered most of Walker’s big shots, though, with clutch buckets of its own. And, of course, the Boilermakers have Edey, a 7-foot-4 monster who was nearly impossible to move off the post. Clearly, that’s where the Boilermakers were going on the final possession, and he delivered, backing Mady Sissoko on the block and scoring over the Spartans center.
“For us, it really wasn't a decision,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “If you’re going to give us him one-on-one, we’re going to him.”
That was clear from the outset as Edey was dominant in the early going for the Boilermakers, scoring 17 first-half points. He sparked an early 10-0 run that give Purdue a 14-5 lead, one that grew to 24-11 after a dunk from Caleb Furst.
Michigan State started to find some success offensively, though, as Walker hit a runner in the lane and Hoggard completed a three-point play to cut Purdue’s lead to 24-16.
Edey then split a pair of free throws before back-to-back buckets from Hoggard and Walker. Edey hit two more free throws before Carson Cooper scored on a put-back and Walker nailed a 3-pointer from the wing to pull the Spartans within 27-25, a score that would stand heading into the halftime break as Michigan State forced a turnover and missed on a last-second heave from Hoggard before the buzzer.
“Other than an absolutely horrendous start, I thought we played our butt off for 90% of the game,” Izzo said. “It’s just the opponent has something to do with it and they're damn good.”
An early surge to start the second half by Michigan State was answered by a 7-0 run from Purdue. It was a preview of what the second half would be — a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to pull away.
Twice in the final five minutes, Walker hit a 3-pointer to give the Spartans a four-point lead. But each time, the Boilermakers answered. And Michigan State had two critical mistakes — two missed free throws from Hoggard with 3:05 to play and a questionable foul from Walker on Loyer with 32.5 seconds left.
“In that moment, I feel like I didn't foul him, as I was just fighting over the screen,” Walker said. “I didn't think I fouled him, but the refs thought otherwise.”
It was all part of a wild final flurry that saw the lead change seven times in the final 2:46, the home team unable to get the stop it needed.
“We're a better team and we’re going to get better,” Izzo said. “We just have to realize you can't have bad starts. We're just not good enough. You can't have empty possessions and we had a couple of those. … Nobody plays perfect, but we’ve got to play a little more perfect than other teams because of what we've got. But you talk about competing? That was a hell of a basketball game.”
Twitter: @mattcharboneau