Purdue basketball's worst 3-game stretch in 5 years continues with loss at Michigan State

Purdue basketball’s worst 3-game stretch in 5 years continues with loss at Michigan State

Posted by author February 19, 2025 Basketball

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — It’s been five years since Purdue basketball has had this kind of slide.

On Tuesday night at thw Breslin Center, No. 13 Michigan State bottled up the Boilermakers and ran them out of the gym in transition, scoring 20 fastbreak points and an astounding 42 in the paint in its 75-66 victory.

The setback coupled with Saturday’s home loss to Wisconsin and last week’s loss at Michigan marks the first time Purdue has lost three in a row since the Boilers dropped four straight in February 2020.

This one likely put an end to 14th-ranked Purdue’s quest at a third straight Big Ten title.

The Boilermakers (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) are 2.5 games back of league-leading Michigan with four regular season games remaining.

Purdue basketball turning point

Purdue took a 26-20 lead with 4 minutes, 26 seconds to go in the first half, then took a 30-second timeout to sub out center Trey Kaufman-Renn, who had two fouls.

Michigan State responded with a 10-0 run. When Purdue finally stopped the bleeding with a Fletcher Loyer 3-pointer, the Spartans answered right back with a 3 from Jase Richardson.

The Spartans (21-5, 12-3) scored eight straight to begin the second half, making for a 21-5 run in a span of 6:27 of game time. They improved to 17-0 this season when leading at halftime.

Turnover woes

Looking for a common thread in Purdue’s eight losses?

Entering Tuesday’s game, the Boilermakers averaged 10.5 turnovers per game. In their eight losses, that average is 13 per game after committing 12 at Michigan State. Purdue’s top two scorers — Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith — combined for 41 points against the Spartans but also totaled nine turnovers.

The one outlier was Saturday against Wisconsin, when Purdue turned it over just four times, its only single-digit total in a loss this season. That game marked the first time Purdue lost since 2004 when shooting at least 50%, 40% from 3-point range and 70% from the free-throw line.

3 stars

Tre Holloman, Michigan State: Holloman, a one-time Purdue recruiting target, stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, six assists and three steals.

Coen Carr, Michigan State: Carr was a boost off the Spartan bench, making all four of his field goal attempts. Carr finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

Jase Richardson, Michigan State: Richardson made two big first half threes and finished with 12 points, three assists and two steals.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.