The Purdue Boilermakers head to the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan to take on the homestanding Michigan State Spartans in a showdown for first place in the Big Ten.
The No. 3 Boilermakers, fresh off a dominating win over Nebraska on Friday night, boast an impressive 16-1 record so far this season, including ranked wins over Ohio State, Duke and Gonzaga. The preseason favorites in the Big Ten enter Monday’s contest with a 5-1 record in conference, with the lone loss coming at home to a surprising Rutgers team. Purdue is led by 7-foot-4 star center Zach Edey. Edey, the runaway favorite for national player of the year, is averaging more than 21.3 points and 13.2 rebounds per game coming into Monday’s matchup. Freshman Fletcher Loyer is second on the Boilers in scoring, averaging 13.2 points and 2.4 made threes per game. Loyer, now Purdue’s all-time single-season record holder for three-pointers made as a freshman, has hit a couple of huge shots this year for Purdue including a late go-ahead three in Purdue’s win over Ohio State.
📈 Chart-topping night for @FletcherLoyer. pic.twitter.com/VyGqqsLWKo
— Purdue Men’s Basketball (@BoilerBall) January 14, 2023
Michigan State suffered a tough loss on Friday on the road against Illinois. The Spartans have played their last two games away from the friendly confines of the Breslin Center, with a win at Wisconsin prefacing Friday’s loss. At 4-2 in the Big Ten, Sparty has a chance to move into a tie for first place in the conference with a win on Monday, emphasizing their improvement in recent weeks where they have won seven of their last eight games. Michigan State finds success with their balanced scoring attack. They have three players (Tyson Walker, Joey Hauser and A.J. Hoggard) averaging more than ten points per game, and a fourth (Malik Hall) falling just short, averaging 9.9 points per game.
This will be the 44th time these two teams have met, with Michigan State leading the all-time series 26-17, including a 15-4 Spartans advantage at home. Despite Michigan State’s overall dominance, Purdue has held the advantage recently, winning five out of the last six meetings, topped off by a 75-70 Boilermaker win in the semifinals of last year’s Big Ten tournament.
This game is set for 2:30 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon. This weekday matinee will highlight a Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate with three ranked teams, including Purdue in action. The game will air on FOX.
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