I get to go to Mackey tonight!
This season has been crazy, as it has been my first season as a dad, plus I bought a house that I have been working on for a solid month before this weekend's heavily anticipated move. As a result, I have been to Mackey Arena exactly once, and that was for the Boston College game. I couldn't even make it on Saturday for the win over Indiana because I was so busy painting and sanding windowsills.
But tonight I get to take advantage of a Christmas present from Mrs. T-Mill: A $20 ticket in row 5 of section 118 and my second home game of the season. Purdue enters with a golden opportunity to pull itself off the mat and somehow salvage something of the 2013-14 season with a late run. The Boilers are coming off of one of their most complete games of the season while Michigan State is down a pair of starters.
The NCAA Tournament is still a pipe dream, but with a victory tonight the chances get just a little bit better.
Projected Starters |
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Purdue Boilermakers (15-10, 5-7) |
Michigan State Spartans (21-5, 10-3) |
A.J. Hammons - So. |
Adreian Payne - Sr. |
Errick Peck - Sr. |
Matt Costello - So. |
Sterling Carter - Sr. |
Gary Harris - So. |
Terone Johnson - Sr. |
Travis Trice - Jr. |
Ronnie Johnson - Sr. |
Denzel Valentine - So. |
Series with Purdue: |
Purdue leads 65-50 |
Last Purdue win: |
67-47 at Michigan State on 2/27/2011 |
Last Michigan State win: |
78-65 at Purdue on 2/9/2013 |
Odds: |
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Blog Representation |
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Location: |
East Lansing, MI |
Best Postseason Result: |
1979 and 2000 NCAA Champions |
2012-13 record: |
27-9, 13-5 (lost to Duke in NCAA Sweet 16) |
Coach: |
Tom Izzo (460-183 all-time in 19th season) |
RPI: |
19 |
Time: |
7pm |
TV: |
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Radio: |
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Streaming Audio: |
The biggest news for this one is that Branden Dawson is out and Keith Appling might be out for the Spartans. The loss of Appling is huge because he is a solid point guard that runs the show to the tune of 14.4 points and 4.7 assists per game. Dawson averages 10.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, but has made playing well against Purdue, a school that recruited him hard, a personal mission. Losing 26.6 points out of their lineup is huge, but the Spartans are still very, very talented.
Another Purdue recruiting miss, Gary Harris, leads the Spartans and is a potential lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft. I have never held any ill-will towards Harris because he handled his recruitment with class and chose MSU honestly. He has been up and down of late, averaging 17.4 per game on the season. Wisconsin held him to just six in a recent loss, but he is still a dangerous shooter at over 40% from long range.
Michigan State has battled injuries all season and lately they have taken their toll. After a solid start the Spartans have lost four of their last seven, partially because Appling and Dawson have been hurt while Adreian Payne has also been in and out of the lineup. Appling played briefly on Saturday against Nebraska in the stunning loss at home for MSU, but was ineffective with only two points.
Simply put, Purdue has to take advantage of Dawson being out and Appling being limited at best. The Boilers should have a major advantage in the post with A.J. Hammons at least having Jay Simpson and Travis Carroll as backups, while Payne is all by himself. Matt Costello has played more minutes int hhe post of late, but Dawson is far better and it is virtually a draw between Castello and Simpson. Errick Peck and his propensity to score on the offensive glass will also be big.
It is no secret how Purdue beat Indiana. The Boilers finally played Purdue-style defense, shared the ball on offense, hit some key baskets (especially Sterling Carter) and converted from the free throw line. The effort was there all game long and it showed. Purdue had nine different players score at least five points, so that is a sign of everyone finally getting on board with the offense and moving. Purdue did all of this with Hammons having a relatively quite game, so if good A.J. shows up tonight and the Boilers can continue playing team basketball there is an excellent chance for an upset.
Yes, Purdue would be taking advantage of a weakened Michigan State team, but when every other team in the conference has a victory over a ranked team this season and we don't, are we really going to get picky? I don't care if MSU wheels out Magic Johnson in his current basketball form along with Mateen Cleeves (current form) and Eric Snow. A win is a win.