Finally, we know who Purdue will open the Big Ten tournament against on Friday. Via a 77-67 win over Minnesota on Thursday, Michigan State has advanced to take on No. 1 seed Purdue in Minneapolis.
This will be the second time these teams have met this season. Back on March 2, the Spartans left West Lafayette with an 80-74 defeat.
That game saw the nation's top player, Zach Edey, put up monster numbers with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Branden Smith scored 23 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. Now, the two teams will meet again for the right to play in the Big Ten Semifinals on Saturday.
Purdue vs. Michigan State broadcast info
Purdue (28-3) vs. Michigan State (18-13) Friday, March 15, 202412 p.m. ET | Minneapolis, MinnesotaTarget Center (20,000) TELEVISION: BTN (Kevin Kugler, Stephen Bardo, Rick Pizzo) RADIO: Purdue Global Radio Network (Rob Blackman, Bobby Riddell)
Purdue vs. Michigan State game notes
(All game notes courtesy of PurdueSports.com)
The No. 3-ranked Purdue Boilermakers aim for their fourth Big Ten championship in the last two years when it descends on Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament, starting tournament play on Friday against Michigan State. The Boilermakers are the defending tournament champions and have won the regular-season title in each of the last two years.
Purdue tied the Big Ten record (Indiana - 1977 and 1978) for most conference victories by a single class when the group won its 59th league game in Sunday's victory over Wisconsin. The group went 59-20 in its four years in Big Ten play.
Purdue enters the tournament with 28 wins on the season, tied for the fourth most in the country. A tournament title would set Purdue's school record for wins in a season (31) and the Boilermakers would enter the NCAA Tournament with the most wins in the country.
Purdue is second in the country in quad-1 wins (11) but leads America in quad-1 and 2 wins combined (19). Purdue is 25-3 against the top-3 quads and has only played three games all season against quad-4 teams.
Purdue has won five of its last six games in the Big Ten Tournament. The lone loss came in the 2022 Finals vs. Iowa (75-66).
Purdue is one of five teams (Auburn, UConn, Houston, San Diego State) without a loss outside Quad-1.
Purdue has started the same starting five in all 31 games, the longest stretch to start a year in school history. Purdue has never had a season where it started the same five all season.
Purdue vs. Michigan State: Predicton
Two weeks ago, Michigan State fired its best shot at Purdue and still came up short. There's no reason to expect anything different on Friday.
The Boilermakers just have another gear that the Spartans can't match. What's more, they don't have the size to contend with Edey.
Keep in mind that Purdue hasn't played since Sunday while Michigan State will be playing its second game in as many days. Look for Michigan State to be the more desperate team and that could carry their energy early. Still, they will wear down against the physical Boilermakers and fall squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Final Score: Purdue 84 - Michigan State 76