Analysis: Michigan State upsets Purdue to deliver record-tying win to coach Tom Izzo
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State won Saturday because it played and coached like it was fighting for its season.
Shots finally fell — from the jump through to Tyson Walker’s step-back 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining to give the Spartans an oh-so needed 68-65 upset win over No. 7 Purdue.
Gone is any doubt whether the Spartans will play in the NCAA tournament. They’re in the dance for the 24th straight time. Too many wins (19 now, 10 in the Big Ten) and too few bad losses (Northwestern, depending how the Wildcats finish, is the only one). Too many good wins, including this one, over a Purdue team that, until Saturday, was in the driver’s seat for an outright Big Ten championship and has designs on a Final Four run.
The Spartans’ response — to Tuesday’s disaster at Iowa, to losing five of their last six, to seeing their season teeter toward a free fall — was superb. This was a character win. A program win. And one that gave the head coach Tom Izzo his 662nd win at MSU — tying Bobby Knight atop the all-time wins list among Big Ten coaches. That’s no small deal, obviously.
Izzo and his staff coached one of their better games this season, making rotation and lineup decisions that spurred a different vibe (more on that below). MSU’s players reminded us they’ve got a little something to them, even if not a bona fide star — though, in tandem, MSU point guards AJ Hoggard and Tyson Walker, were close to it Saturday, combining for 19 points, 10 assists, four turnovers, two steals and block in close to 50 minutes, 10 of them together.
You could see how badly the Spartans wanted this in the purpose with which they played, the plays they made and in Gabe Brown’s face, as he leaned forward on the bench, his fist clenched, wishing as hard as he could for Julius Marble to make his free throws in the final minute. He did.
MSU is alive again. And can play the rest of the season absent the pressure of the NCAA tournament bubble. It’s about trying to duplicate this performance, getting better, having a chance to make some noise in March and, next up, beating Michigan.
MSU’s lineup and rotation changes set the tone
You can make an argument that it took too long to get to this point, but the changes made to MSU’s starting lineup and rotation Saturday got MSU going and then helped the Spartans sustain it.
Enter Malik Hall and Julius Marble into the starting lineup, alongside AJ Hoggard (who’s been starting for two weeks), Max Christie and Gabe Brown. Christie and Brown, MSU’s two struggling wings, both hit shots out of the gate and looked reinvigorated. Hall had a terrific move and shot early to answer Purdue’s counter to MSU’s initial surge. And coming off the bench didn’t prevent Hauser from hitting his first jump shot and a massive 25-foot 3 in the second half late in the shot clock on a broken play. Marble had earned the expanded role and justified it, in the second half especially. Marcus Bingham in the second half also played with some fire defensively in the post. So the decision to bring him off the bench didn’t ruin his game, either. And frankly, this is big boy basketball. You can’t worry about feelings. This team was struggling with most of the same lineup for most of the season. A jolt was needed.
More than who started, though, was the rotational decisions. Namely going to Hoggard and Tyson Walker as a tandem early and riding with them together for nearly 10 minutes, including in late-game situations with Brown on the bench. Hoggard had to be on the floor as much as possible. He gave MSU so much in transition, defensively on Purdue star Jaden Ivey and in terms of general swagger and confidence. He treated Ivey like an imposter, didn’t give him too much respect and went at him, helping to force five Ivey turnovers.
Hoggard had 11 points, six assists, three turnovers and a block and steal — both on Ivey. Hoggard took and made an early step-back 3 pointer like he was born to do it. His never-wavering confidence has become essential to this team.
Walker did some good things, too — eight points, four assists, one turnover, a steal on Purdue point guard Eric Hunter Jr. for a coast to coast layup and, of course, the game-winning 3, the ball in his hands the entire possession. You can see how Walker and Hoggard could become a formidable duo in this league and beyond, together and separately. But they definitely work together and MSU’s coaches have realized it.
Julius Marble, Mady Sissoko and picking your poison
If you’re wondering why MSU didn’t double-team Purdue’s 7-foot-4, nearly 300-pound center, Zach Edey, as he punished Julius Marble, Marcus Bingham and Maddy Sissoko for 24 points on 10 buckets and four free throws, well, look at Purdue’s 3-point shooting totals. And look at the final score. MSU picked its poison and chose the less lethal dose.
MSU chose to blanket Purdue’s shooters and did it well. The Boilermakers attempted just nine 3s, making one. The Spartans bet on their ability to better keep pace with Purdue scoring 2-pointers in the paint and they were right.
But it also worked because of the mettle MSU’s bigs continued to play with, even as they were getting scored on repeatedly. That takes a certain resolve and MSU had it, especially Marble, who made all five of his shots offensively (and too massive free throws) and took over down low for a stretch in the second half against Trevion Williams, who eventually threw up his hands and had to be taken out of the game. Bingham, coming off the bench, had a few strong moments, too, including a couples blocks and a throw-down, one-handed alley-oop dunk late in the game.
And also deserving of mention: Sissoko played the most impactful basketball of his MSU career during a nearly four-minute stretch in the first half. He gave MSU two extra possessions in a game where every possession mattered, ripping a rebound away from Jaden Ivey and drawing a foul on the put back. Instead of Purdue having the ball in transition, Sissoko hit one free throw to extend MSU’s lead to 28-21. His diving save kept MSU from turning it over on another possession. And he battled inside, picking up two fouls but not quickly or recklessly. He looked like a guy who might still have a meaningful future at MSU.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.