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The No. 25 ranked Michigan State Spartans women’s basketball team returns to Big Ten action this afternoon against the Purdue Boilermakers. MSU has been off since a 94-56 win over Oakland Dec. 22. While originally scheduled for a Dec. 31 matchup against Ohio State, a pause in the Buckeyes program due to COVID-19 led that game to be postponed.
The trip to Purdue today marks just the second road game for Michigan State this season following the conference opener at Minnesota, an 81-68 win on Dec. 9. So far this season, the MSU Women are 2-0 in Big Ten action and 7-0 overall. This is the first 7-0 start to the season since 2012-13 and longest winning streak since 2018-19.
Seven games into the season, the Spartans rank second in the country along with first in the Big Ten in assists per game (22.7), along with ranking fourth overall and second in the conference with a 1.73 assists-to-turnover ratio.
As for the all-time series against Purdue, the Boilermakers lead the series 42-34 overall. At Mackey Arena, Purdue holds a 23-10 mark. Despite that, the Spartans have won two of the last three games in West Lafayette. In the last 10 meetings, Michigan State has won six. Last season the teams played three times, splitting games at home before MSU fell 72-63 in the Big Ten Tournament to Purdue.
When
2 p.m. EST
Where
Mackey Arena - West Lafayette, IN
Online Broadcast: BTN+
Radio
TCF Bank Spartan Media Network
Lansing: WMMQ (94.9 FM)/WJIM (1240 AM)
Online Radio: msuspartans.com
Purdue enters the game with a 5-2 overall record, and is 2-1 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers have conference wins over Nebraska and Penn State to go with a home loss to Northwestern. Purdue’s only other loss this season came in the non-conference to Valparaiso.
The Boilermakers have three players averaging in double-digits for scoring. PU is led by Kayana Traylor’s 17.1 points per game. After Traylor, Brooke Moore (12.7 points per game) and Tamara Farquhar (10.1 points per game) are the other double-digit scorers so far on the season. Traylor’s 17.1 points per game ranks 15th in the Big Ten in scoring and she is also 11th in assists per game (4.7 assists per game). Farquhar (8.0 rebounds per game) and Fatou Diagne (7.7 rebounds per game) lead Purdue in boards while standing eighth and 110th in the Big Ten.
Purdue is averaging 73.7 points per game as a team, placing them 10th in the Big Ten for averaging scoring. The Boilermakers are allowing 70.4 points per game defensively, which stands ninth in the conference.