Boilermakers Bury No. 6 Michigan State 73-63
#BoilerNotes
- Purdue improved to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten with a 73-63 win over No. 6-ranked Michigan State … it was Purdue’s first win over an opponent ranked that high since Feb. 20, 2011, when No. 11-ranked Purdue beat No. 2-ranked Ohio State … it was an unranked Purdue team’s first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 2 Duke 78-68 on Nov. 29, 2003.
- Purdue is now 13-2 in Mackey Arena against nationally-ranked opponent in its last 15 games dating to the 2014-15 season.
- Purdue has won 28 games in Mackey Arena against top-10 teams, with seven of the wins coming against Michigan State – the most of any opponent.
- Purdue has won three straight home games against Michigan State for the first time since 2007-09 … Purdue is 4-3 against Michigan State in its last seven games with the Spartans.
- Purdue snapped Michigan State’s 13-game win streak overall and its 21-game Big Ten regular-season win streak, dating to last year.
- Purdue has now won 12 straight games at home and is 20-1 at home over its last 21 home games (Ohio State last year) … Purdue is 50-2 in the last 52 games with the Paint Crew in attendance.
-  Purdue is 58-4 since the start of the 2015-16 season at Mackey Arena – the second-best winning percentage in America (Kentucky; 60-4) … Purdue is 37-4 at home since the start of the 2014-15 season against Big Ten foes … Purdue has the best Big Ten record since the start of the 2014-15 season (60-21; Michigan State – 60-22).
- Purdue’s bench scored 22 of its 26 points in the first half … Purdue’s bench was 9 of 10 from the field in the opening half and finished the game 11 of 15 from the field.
- Purdue has held opponents to 59.8 points per game over the last four games … Michigan State entered the game averaging 83.8 points per game, but was held to 63 points, tying a season low (63 vs. Florida).
- Purdue outrebounded Michigan State by nine rebounds (42-33) and had 16 offensive rebounds to the Spartans’ nine … it marked the second time this year that Michigan State had been outrebouned (Kansas; -2).
- The Purdue senior class now has 97 wins to its credit, needing just three wins to become the fifth class in school history with 100 victories.
- Purdue is now 15-1 in January games since the start of last year … the lone loss was at Michigan State on Jan. 8, 2019.
- Ryan Cline scored 17 points with four assists and three rebounds … Cline surpassed 700 career points in the victory … Cline led the team in scoring for the first time in career … Cline has made at least two 3-pointers in seven straight games.
- Carsen Edwards scored 14 points with four rebounds, three assists and three steals … he became the sixth player in school history with 1,500 points, 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals … Edwards moved into 22nd place on the school’s career scoring list (1,530 points) … he has now scored at least 10 points in 40 straight games dating to last year and has made at least three 3-pointers in five straight games … he has not led the team in scoring in two games this year – both against Michigan State.
- Nojel Eastern recorded his second double-double in three games with a career-high 12 points and career-high 11 rebounds … Michigan State opted to foul Eastern late in the game and he responded by making six straight free throws … he is now 16 of 21 (.762) from the free throw line in Purdue’s last five games.
- Aaron Wheeler scored 11 points for his third career double-figure scoring game … Wheeler was 4 of 4 from the field, making all three of his long-range attempts.
- Matt Haarms tallied 10 points with a career-high eight rebounds and two blocked shots … when Haarms scores in double figures during his career, Purdue is 11-1.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – There is nothing new about Purdue men’s basketball teams beating top-10 teams at Mackey Arena.
And for the Boilermakers it never gets old.
On Sunday, the Boilermakers toppled No. 6 Michigan State 73-63, zooming to their eighth win in nine games and handing the Big Ten-leading Spartans their first conference loss. Michigan State and its 83.8 points-per-game offense had won 14 in a row overall and 21 straight conference contests.
Purdue now has knocked off 28 top-10 opponents all-time at Mackey, including Michigan State squads on seven occasions, the most of any foe. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Purdue is 13-2 against all ranked teams at home.
The Boilermakers (14-6, 7-2) led wire-to-wire, buoyed by an astounding first half. They held a 37-19 advantage at the break and widened the chasm to 55-32 following an Aaron Wheeler duck with 13:15 left in the game.
Then Michigan State (18-3, 9-1) showed its mettle, going on a 14-0 run over the next four a half minutes to make it 55-46. The Spartans later got with four points at 60-56 with 5:14 remaining.
But beginning with three free throws by Carsen Edwards with 4:45 to go, Purdue was 9-for-9 from the line to hold the Spartans at bay. Nojel Eastern, a 50 percent free throw shooter, made all six of his attempts down the stretch. The Boilermakers finished 13 of 15 from the line (86.7 percent).
Purdue raced to a 19-6 lead in the game’s first 10 minutes. Back-to-back 3-pointers gave the Spartans life, but a trey by Wheeler and a steal and layup by Eric Hunter Jr. made it 24-12.
Wheeler (9), Matt Haarms (8) and Hunter (5) combined for 22 points off the bench in the first half while missing only one of 10 shots. For the game, the Boilermakers held a 26-9 advantage in bench scoring.
Michigan State’s 19 first-half points marked its fewest in a half in four years.
Five Boilermakers finished in double figures: Ryan Cline (17, including five 3-pointers), Edwards (14), Eastern (career-high-tying 12), Wheeler (11) and Haarms (10).
Eastern also had a career-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double in nine days.
Edwards had four rebounds to give him 300 for his career. He is merely the sixth player in school history with 1,500 points, 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals, joining Chad Austin, Brian Cardinal, Jaraan Cornell, Robbie Hummel and Brad Miller.
The Boilermakers outrebounded Michigan State by a convincing 42-33 margin and forced the Spartans into 12 turnovers. Edwards and Grady Eifert both came up with three steals, while Haarms had two blocked shots.
Cassius Winston led all players with 23 points to go with eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
With the win, Purdue moved into third place in the Big Ten.
Next up for the Boilermakers is a trip to Penn State (7-13, 0-9) on Thursday.