The Purdue Boilermakers have clinched a share of the 2023-24 Big Ten regular season championship on Saturday night, courtesy of a win over Michigan State. Purdue beat the Spartans, 80-74, inside of Mackey Arena.
While losing, the Spartans did show a lot of solid qualities and a sense of gamesmanship in this game.
Michigan State jumped out to an early lead on Purdue, taking an 8-point advantage midway through the first half, 24-16. From that point on, Purdue took control of the game.
Purdue outpaced MSU, 38-15, over a 15-minute span to take a 54-39 lead with 14:26 remaining in the game.
The Spartans showed life, though, and cut that Purdue lead all the way down to three, at one point, but ultimately couldn’t get over the hump.
Four Spartans finished in double figures: Tyson Walker (14 points), Jaden Akins (13 points), Malik Hall (12 points) and Xavier Booker (11 points).
Michigan State will be back in action, at home, against Northwestern on Wednesday at 7 p.m.