Michigan State basketball faces critical week with little rest for Purdue and U-M looming

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EAST LANSING – All winter, Tom Izzo has preached that the Big Ten title could come down to who you play and where you play them.

He added a third qualifier Monday.

“It’s sometimes when you play and when they don’t play,” Izzo said.

Three days after giving Izzo his Big Ten-record 354th conference win, No. 13 Michigan State basketball hosts No. 14 Purdue on Tuesday night at Breslin Center (7 p.m./Peacock). Then three days later, the Spartans head to Ann Arbor to face No. 12 Michigan (8 p.m./Fox).

Both second-place MSU (20-5, 11-3) and the third-place Boilermakers (19-7, 11-4) played Saturday. The league-leading Wolverines (20-5, 12-2) won at Ohio State on Sunday but are off until the Spartans visit Crisler Center on Friday.

Both games are critical for Izzo’s pursuit of an 11th regular-season Big Ten title, which would tie Bob Knight and Ward “Piggy” Lambert for the most in conference history.

MSU gave Izzo another milestone with a dramatic comeback 79-65 win at Illinois, overcoming a 16-point first-half deficit and smothering the Illini and outscoring them 15-0 over the final 8½ minutes. It allowed the 30th-year Hall of Fame coach to break his week-old tie with Knight for the Big Ten victories record, and he promised he and his players would celebrate both the pivotal road win and his personal accomplishment.

But even Saturday in the locker room at State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, the Spartans knew their enjoyment would be fleeting.

“When we go to sleep tonight, that’s probably all the time we got,” sophomore Coen Carr said. “And we gotta move on to the next one.”

That comes against a Purdue team that has lost its last two games, falling 75-73 at U-M last Tuesday, then dropping their second game at Mackey Arena this season Saturday to No. 11 Wisconsin, 94-84.

However, Izzo said he believes the back-to-back losses “is gonna affect them in a positive way” as the Boilermakers come to Breslin for the first time since 2023.

“I think what now it really is…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-basketball-faces-critical-110525726.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-02-18 11:05:00

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