No. 13 Michigan State Uses Late Run to Pull Off Thrilling 76-74 Road Win at No. 8 Purdue

Thursday, February 26

West Lafayette, Ind.

8 PM

Michigan State University

23-5,13-4Big Ten

Purdue

22-6,12-5Big Ten

Team	1	2	F
Michigan St.	36	40	76
Purdue	39	35	74

No. 13 Michigan State Uses Late Run to Pull Off Thrilling 76-74 Road Win at No. 8 Purdue

2/26/2026 11:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook Michigan State at Purdue Feb 26 Michigan State 76, Purdue 74 Izzo Post-Game Press Conference

West Lafayette, Ind. – Four players scored in double figures and No. 13 Michigan State used a late run to take an eight-point land and hung on to beat No. 8 Purdue, 76-74, at Mackey Arena on Thursday night.

The win was the first for Michigan State at Purdue since 2014, ending a seven-game losing streak to the Boilermakers at Mackey Arena.

Senior center Carson Cooper scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Spartans, while redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 12 points and six assists, sophomore guard Kur Teng added 13 points and three rebounds and junior forward Coen Carr had 11 points and five rebounds.

Records
Michigan State improves to 23-5 overall and 13-4 in the Big Ten Conference, while Purdue falls to 22-6 overall and 12-6 in league play.

Recap

In a game featuring 12 lead changes and seven ties, including five lead changes and four ties in the second half, the Spartans took the lead for good with 11:12 to play on a pair of free throws from Cooper, giving MSU a 57-56 lead.
Teng hit a 3-pointer at 10:18 and a fast break dunk from Carr extended MSU's margin to 62-56 before pulled back to within three points, 64-61, on a dunk from Trey Kaufman-Renn at 8:08.
The Spartans responded with an 8-3 run over 3:17 – a dunk from freshman forward Cam Ward (5:31) and free throws from classmate Jordan Scott (4:40) and two baskets from Fears, the last a driving layup with 4:11 left that pushed the lead to 72-64 and forced Purdue to call a timeout.
Scott hit a jumper with 3:11 left to make it 74-67 but Purdue's Braden Smith hit a 3-pointer with 2:16 on the clock to make it 74-72.
Senior forward Jaxon Kohler hit a turnaround jumper with 1:55 left to make it 76-72 before a Jack Benter jumper pulled Purdue back to 76-74 with 1:35 to play.
Both teams missed shots in the final minute and after a missed free throw from Ward with eight seconds left, the Spartans held off a last-second 3-point attempt from Purdue for the win.
The Spartans trailed at halftime (39-36) but tied the game at 42-all on a pull-up jumper from Fears at 17:37 and the teams traded blows the rest of the way.
Michigan State went into the break trailing by three points, 39-36, in a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes with three ties and seven lead changes.
The Boilermakers jumped out to an early 13-6 lead after a dunk from Cluff at 16:02, but MSU responded with a 10-0 run over 2:17, triggered by a 4-point play from Fears at 14:35 and capped by a tip-in dunk from Ward with 12:28 to play.
The Spartans went scoreless for just over two minutes before a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kur Teng gave MSU a 24-23 lead at 8:09.
A dunk and free throw from Cooper at 4:42 tied the game at 31-all and a 3-pointer from Kohler with 3:35 left tied the game at 34-all.
The Boilermakers took a 39-34 lead on a dunk from Gicarri Harris before Scott hit 2-of-3 free throws with 34 seconds left to cut the lead to three points, 39-36, at the break.

Key Stats

Michigan State shot 52.7 percent from the floor (29-of-55), including 57.7 percent in the second half (15-of-25).
The Spartans committed just six turnovers and scored 19 points off of nine Purdue turnovers.
MSU out-scored Purdue in the paint, 40-32, including 22-14 in the second half.
The Spartans connected on 75.0 percent of their free throws (12-of-16).

Notes

Michigan State trails the all-time series with Purdue, 59-76, but has won the last two meetings between the teams.
- MSU is 19-47 all-time in games played at Purdue and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Boilermakers (and an eight-losing streak including a 2021 NCAA Tournament loss to UCLA).
- It was MSU's first win at Purdue since a 94-79 decision on Feb. 20, 2014.
- MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo is now 30-25 all-time against Purdue.
Izzo's career record is now 760-307 in his 31st year at the helm of the MSU program, including a 373-177 record in the Big Ten.
MSU is 5-3 on the road this season.
The Spartans are 4-2 in February.
- The Spartans are 4-0 in games played on Thursday and 16-4 in night games.
MSU trailed at the half (39-36) for the seventh time in the last eight games.
- The Spartans are 7-3 when trailing at the half.
Michigan State scored 76 points, the 10th time this season scoring at least 70 points (7-3).
- MSU has a 20-3 record when scoring at least 70 points (13-0 when scoring at least 80).
Including Purdue's 74 points, the Spartans are 4-1 when opponents score between 70 and 79 points.
- MSU is 6-3 when opponents score 70 or more points.
This was the 12th time MSU shot at least 50.0 percent from the floor (12-0).
- The Spartans out-shot Purdue (52.7% to 49.1%), the 22nd time this season shooting better than their opponent (21-1).
Purdue out-rebounded MSU, 27-25, just the second time this season the Spartans were beaten on the boards (1-1 in those occasions).
MSU's bench scored 21 points, the 19th time this season the Spartans have had at least 20 points from their reserves.
Four players scored in double figures for Michigan State and the Spartans are 14-2 when at least four players reach at least 10 points.
Carson Cooper scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed a game-high six rebounds.
- He has scored in double figures 16 times this year and 20 for his career.
- This was his sixth game leading the team in scoring this season (sixth career), and second-straight game.
- He has led the team in rebounding 10 times this year and 26 for his career.
Kur Teng scored 13 points off the bench, adding three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 20 minutes.
- Teng has scored in double figures 11 times this year (11 career).
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 12 points and handed out a team-high six assists.
- Fears has scored in double figures in each of the last 16 games.
- He has scored in double figures 22 times this year and 34 for his career.
- Fears has led the team in assists 28 times this year and 50 for his career.
- His six assists pushed his season total to 25, the fourth-most in a single season in MSU history … He and needs 15 more to pass Earvin Johnson (269, 1978-79) for third all-time.
Coen Carr scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds in 31 minutes.
- He has scored in double figures 16 times this season and 30 for his career.
Jordan Scott scored nine points, handed out three assists and had one rebound and one steal in a career-high 34 minutes.

Up Next
Michigan State continues a two-game road swing this week, visiting Indiana on Saturday March 1. The game tips off at 3:45 p.m. on CBS, with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson on the call.