Game Thread: Michigan State Spartans vs. Purdue Boilermakers

The Michigan State Spartans men’s basketball team visits West Lafayette, Indiana to face off against the Purdue Boilermakers in a Big Ten battle. Tip-off is set for noon (Eastern Standard Time) at Mackey Arena, and the game will be broadcast on CBS.

Both teams last played on Thursday night. The Spartans defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 74-58, which improved MSU to 5-0 in Big Ten play and 13-3 overall. The Boilermakers lost a heartbreaker on the road in double overtime against the Michigan Wolverines by a final score of 84-78. Purdue comes into today’s game with a 9-7 overall record, and 2-3 conference record.

For Purdue, junior center Matt Haarms is expected to play, but it’s unclear whether or not he’ll be limited in any capacity. Haarms suffered a hip injury that knocked him out of the game against Michigan. Regardless, this is good news for the Boilermakers, as Haarms averages 10.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Of course the real player to look out for here for Purdue is sophomore forward Trevion Williams. Williams averages 11.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Eric Hunter Jr. (10.9 ppg) and Jahaad Proctor (10.7 ppg) are the other scoring threats, while Nojel Eastern looks to lock down Cassius Winston on defense.

For Michigan State, the Spartans are on a roll right now. MSU has won each of its last eight games, having last loss on Dec. 3 against Duke. With that said, MSU has only had two true road games so far this season (2-0), and Mackey Arena is widely considered one of the toughest Big Ten venues to play in. This will be an important game for the Spartans to show where they stand and continue to be the conference’s only unbeaten team.

Here is your game thread.

GO GREEN!