Braden Smith to give Michigan State basketball a big test at Purdue

EAST LANSING – Add Braden Smith to the list of opponents to whom Tom Izzo isn’t waiting to give their flowers.

Even though the Michigan State basketball coach can’t wait to be done facing the talented Purdue point guard and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year.

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“I’ll pull for him when I’m done playing him,” Izzo said Monday, Feb. 24. “Because I think he’s done a lot for our league. I think some of those guys that withstand the test of time, we should all appreciate.”

The 13th-ranked Spartans will try to do something they haven’t yet in Smith’s four seasons: Beat the senior star and his eighth-ranked Boilermakers when they travel to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Thursday (8 p.m., Peacock/NBC Sports).

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN – FEBRUARY 18: Braden Smith #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts after making a basket during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 18, 2025 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)

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MSU (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten) has lost seven straight trips to Purdue (22-5, 12-4), with two of those coming against Smith. The Spartans’ last win at Mackey was more than 12 years ago – a 94-79 victory on Feb. 20, 2014. Their most recent game there – on March 2, 2024, during Smith’s sophomore season – ended in an 80-76 defeat; the Boilermakers went on to win the Big Ten title, make their first Final Four since 1980 and finish as runner-up to Connecticut.

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Smith is 4-1 against MSU, with the Spartans winning the lone meeting last year at Breslin Center, 75-66, to end a five-game losing streak to the Boilermakers. Smith had 17 points, eight assists and five rebounds in that one and has averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds in his five games against Izzo’s teams.

This season, the 6-foot, 170-pound Smith averages 14.9 points, 8.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game….

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Publish date : 2026-02-25 11:00:00

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