Boilermaker Breakdown (Michigan State – Feb. 17)

Purdue 72 – Michigan State 54

In one of the loudest Mackey Arena atmospheres imaginable, Purdue crushed the visiting Spartans (ranked fifth and sixth in the polls) to pull within a game of first place in the Big Ten.

It was the first time Purdue had beaten a top five team at home since they beat Indiana in 1992.

The Boilers frustrated Michigan State’s offense, holding them to a season-low 54 points and forcing a season-high 22 turnovers.

It was the type of performance that Boilermaker fans were waiting for since beginning of the season, when Purdue was dubbed the pre-season favorite to win the Big Ten title.

In a game the Boilers had to have, they gave their best effort of the season.

I was proud to be a Boilermaker last night.

What the Boilers did well:

Defense

The last three games, Purdue’s opponents have averaged 48.7 points. Purdue held MSU, the league’s leading scoring team, to only 54 points on just under 33 percent shooting. They forced 22 turnovers, 10 of those being steals.

It was an absolutely amazing performance on the defensive end, and their best of the year.

Guard Play

After the game, Tom Izzo said, “I felt our guards got outplayed, and that disappointed me.” Well Tom, they did get outplayed.

The Purdue guards who played at least 20 minutes (Moore, Kramer, Jackson, and Grant) scored 33 combined points, shot 48 percent from the floor, and recorded 18 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals, and three blocks. They also allowed State’s starting guards to shoot only 8-of-27.

Beating State at their own game

I was talking with my brother, a sports communications major at IU, about what Purdue had to do to win this game. We both agreed that the Boilers needed to play a slow tempo, low scoring game where the deep bench and athleticism of the Spartans would be limited.

That was the case in the first half, but in the second half, it was Purdue who was out and running and getting easy transition baskets. The defense clearly helped this, but the Boilers looked to be the quicker and more athletic team in the second half.

Where the Boilers struggled:

Three-point shooting

This category has been a mainstay for a few Breakdowns now.  They were 27 percent against Sparty, and are still way off from where they were last year. Grant at least hit 3-of-6, but no one else was particularly good.

Calasan is shooting only 26 percent from deep on the year and has missed nine of his last ten. I’m beginning to think it is time for Painter to remove his green light from deep.

Player(s) of the Game

The Super Sophomores

I know I should probably pick one player, but these guys were all huge.  Hummel, Johnson, and Moore combined for 41 points. Hummel just being on the court makes it so much easier for the other two, and if they can get their offense going, look out.

Questions for the Future

Can the Boilers ride the momentum?

Purdue is hot right now, having won three in a row. Three of the next four games are home before the second showdown with Michigan State in East Lansing. Can the Boilers keep riding this hot streak and set up a date with State with the title at stake?

Can they stay healthy (enough) for a good run in March?

It is so evident how much Hummel means to this team. Izzo said, “They're a pretty good team without him, but they're a special team with him.”

Hummel revealed that doctors think that his injury actually happened in high school and that it will never heal. He said his body will adjust and the pain will eventually go away. Let’s hope that the pain is already starting to go away and he keeps improving, because Purdue needs him on the floor.

Painter said he wanted to cap Hummel’s minutes at 25 for right now, and that is what he did against State. I feel they have a good plan for Robbie and if he continues to be pain free after games and practices, they will start increasing his playing time little by little.

We must remember that during the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments, there is little rest time between games, so Hummel being healthy heading into those is a must.

Lewis Jackson was also so sick that he was throwing up at halftime, but he should be able to get over his illness by the Indiana game Saturday.

Where They Stand

Purdue finds itself only one game back of Michigan State for first place and tied with Illinois for second. Illinois does have the tiebreaker over Purdue because of their two victories over the Boilers.

The MSU win was huge not only for the conference race, but for NCAA seeding as well. Purdue needed a marquee win after squandering chances against Oklahoma, Duke, and Illinois.

I think that if the season ended today they would probably get a four seed, and at worst a five. If they would happen to win out they could potentially move all the way up to a two, but just getting to a three right now would be a good accomplishment.

Up Next and Prediction

Struggling Indiana comes to town on Saturday and has not won a game on an opponent’s floor the entire season. They are 1-11 in the Big Ten, 6-18 overall.

Their leading scorer, Devan Dumes, has been suspended indefinitely for throwing elbows in their recent loss to Michigan State. They are extremely young after all the defections and removals stemming from the Kelvin Sampson fiasco.

Tom Crean is going to make this team a title contender in a few years, but is clearly taking his lumps this year.

Even the most die-hard IU fans can’t ignore the fact that this Purdue team is more experienced and talented than the Hoosiers, not to mention that Mackey Arena has not hosted Indiana since 2007.

The place will be rocking, and Purdue will win going away.

Purdue 75 – Indiana 55