Walker’s Three Lifts Michigan State Past No. 4 Purdue

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State junior guard Tyson Walker hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left, lifting the Spartans to a 68-65 win over No. 4 Purdue at the Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon.

Senior forward Gabe Brown scored 13 points to lead four players in double figures for the Spartans. Junior forward Julius Marble II added 12 points and three rebounds, sophomore guard A.J. Hoggard finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while freshman guard Max Christie had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Walker finished with eight points and four assists.

The win was the 662nd career win for MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo, tying him with Bob Knight (Indiana) for the most overall wins by a Big Ten head coach.

Records
Michigan State improves to 19-9 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten Conference, while Purdue falls to 24-5 overall and 13-5 in league play.

Recap

MSU led by two points (35-33) at the half and took a 55-44 lead midway through the second half on a layup from Marble at the 10:40 mark.
Purdue made a run to make it a one-possession game in the final five minutes and tied the game at 63-all on free throws from Jaden Ivey with 51 seconds left.
Free throws from Marble with 34 seconds left gave MSU a 65-63 lead, but Purdue tied it again on a layup from Trevion Williams with 30 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Walker sank a 3-pointer from the left wing to give MSU the lead and the Spartans held off a final shot from the Boilermakers for the win.
The Spartans led by as many as 11 points (55-44) in the second half, before Purdue made a run to pull within 59-56.
Aided by six 3-pointers and strong shooting, the Spartans went into the break with a 35-33 lead as eight different players scored.
The Spartans jumped out quickly but the score was back-and-forth, with three ties and 10 lead changes in the opening 20 minutes.
The Boilermakers had taken a 21-20 lead on a layup from Edey with 7:52 to play, but the Spartans responded with a 7-0 run over 1:58 and took a 28-21 lead on a free throw from junior center Mady Sissoko, who played four key minutes in the first half.
Purdue pulled to within 28-26, but MSU used a 7-2 burst to take a 35-28 lead on a layup from Marble at the 2:12 mark.
The Spartans still led 35-30 in the final seconds of the first half, but Purdue's Eric Hunter hit three free throws with 5.3 seconds left to close the gap to two points.

Key Stats

Michigan State shot 47.4 percent from the floor (27-of-57), including 45.0 percent from 3-point land (45.0 percent).
The Spartans hit 50.0 percent of their first half shots (14-of-28) and 60.0 percent of their 3-point attempts (6-of-10).
The Spartans out-scored Purdue, 19-2, on the fast break.
Michigan State forced 17 turnovers by Purdue and scored 16 points off turnovers.

Notes

Michigan State ended a four-game losing streak against Purdue with the win.
The Boilermakers lead the all-time series, 72-56, and MSU is 34-27 against Purdue at home, including a 17-9 mark at the Breslin Center.
Head Coach Tom Izzo has a 27-20 record all-time against Purdue
Izzo's win gave him his 662nd career win, tying Bob Knight (Indiana) for the most overall wins as a Big Ten Head Coach.
The Spartans are now 17-3 when holding opponents to below 70 points.
The Spartans handed out 20 assists (on 27 field goals, 74.1%), the sixth time this year with at least 20.
The Spartans are now 11-3 at home.
Purdue (52.1%) is one of only two schools (Rutgers) to shoot above 50 percent from the floor against MSU this year.
The Boilermakers out-rebounded MSU (34-24), just the ninth time this season MSU has been beaten on the boards.
MSU had four players score in double figures, the seventh time this year they have done so (6-1).
Gabe Brown has scored in double figures for the 19th time this season and the 37th of his career
Julius Marble has scored in double figures five times this year and the seventh of his career.
Max Christie scored in double figures for the 12th time this season.
A.J. Hoggard scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and the 10th of his career.
Hoggard led MSU with six assists, his 16th game leading the team.
Marcus Bingham blocked two shots, giving him 153 for his career and tying Xavier Tillman Sr. for the all-time lead at Michigan State.

Up Next
Michigan State hits the road for the next two games, starting on Tuesday, March 1 at Michigan (FS1, 8:30 p.m.).

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Team Stats

Gabe Brown

Julius Marble II

Max Christie

A.J. Hoggard

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

A.J. Hoggard

Julius Marble II

Mady Sissoko

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Tyson Walker

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

A.J. Hoggard

Julius Marble II

Mady Sissoko

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Tyson Walker