By: Jake Waxman | February 19th | @Purduefan19

Since late January the boilermakers have been on a roller coaster. Lose a tough game, win the next one, lose another tough game, win an even closer one, rinse and repeat. After a terrible close loss to Minnesota on the road, the Boilermakers responded with a bounce-back win against a desperate Michigan State Spartans club on Tuesday night.

Under Matt Painter, Purdue basketball teams have a very good habit of bouncing back after tough losses. This young team like Purdue teams before has learned how to bounce back well and Tuesday night was no different. At the start, Purdue was determined to rebound from the last loss and impose their will against a Michigan State team fighting for their ticket to March Madness.

Both teams started strong with Purdue scoring the first four points and then Michigan State countered. For a majority of the first half, both teams were trading points and the lead back and forth up to the final minute of the half, like a boxing match with two boxers trading punches. The Boilermakers would take the lead with fifty-nine seconds remaining and eventually take that lead into the locker room at the half.

It was more of the same in the second half with one team responding to the buckets of the other. This game was shaping out to be a repeat of Maryland and Minnesota where Purdue was poised to win only to lose control in the final seconds. This time with the game being close, the Boilermakers never let go of the lead for the entire second half. Eventually, the Boilermakers were able to wear down Michigan State in the final seconds and forcing a few turnovers to close the game.

It was against Michigan State back in 2019 where Trevion Williams put his potential on display. Not only has Williams improved greatly from that game years ago, but He has also proven himself to be one of Matt Painter’s greatest developed players. In 2021, Trevion’s game has taken off in terms of consistency and versatility. He can score those hard to get points, passes the ball around well, works hard on the backboards, solid on defense, and has become a leader for Purdue. And this year, he has been putting all of this together consistently. Trevion put forth more of those things in his efforts against the Spartans and even stayed out of foul trouble. Purdue will have a chance to make some noise in March as long as Trevion Williams keeps playing his style of basketball and it’s fantastic to see.

It’s also good to see that Eric Hunter Jr is starting to get back on track in these last 3 games. Hunter was in a slump starting at the end of January, but these last 3 games he’s been good on offense and terrific on defense. Like Trevion, He’s a balanced basketball player and another guy Purdue needs to be at his best in order for the team to be successful.

The Freshmen class continues to play fantastic basketball and compliment the upperclassmen to the best of their ability. Despite four fouls, Zach Edey played very good minutes and has shown a lot of growth in his game in the past 3 games including this one. Jaden Ivey continues to improve on the balance of smart decision-making and wowing Boilermaker fans and college basketball fans with the skill set he brings every game. And no one continues to do the little things better than Mason Gillis.

Speaking of the little things, Purdue was able to defeat Michigan State by consistently piecing together offensive series that resulted in points. This was a problem for the team in the close games they lost like Maryland and Minnesota for example. There are going to be tight games like those every year and it’s important to minimize scoring droughts and maximize possessions. The Boilermakers were successful in accomplishing this on Tuesday. In addition, they focused on areas where the points were going in such as the paint, and then eventually the threes began to fall thus establishing scoring balance. And in the end, Mason Gillis finished off Michigan state at the free-throw line. In addition, the Boilermakers did a great job limiting turnovers and not forcing things.

Overall this was a solid hard-fought win for the Purdue Boilermakers. This team has struggled to close out games this month. Historically, Purdue basketball teams seem to play their best in January only to cool off in February. While this team has not played their best basketball this month, this win will help the Boilermakers with tournament position going forward. The Big Ten is the toughest conference in basketball this season and none of the games remaining will be easy. The Madness is drawing near, but there’s no doubt Matt Painter is working his hardest to get this team ready and getting the most out of everyone’s effort from game to game.

The road is long, but the effort is present each and every game.

Stats:

Player of the game: Trevion Williams: 28 Pts/ 6 Reb / 3 Ast

Eric Hunter Jr: 15 Pts / 1 Reb / 1 Ast

Jaden Ivey: 11 Pts / 5 Reb / 3 Ast

Zach Edey: 10 Pts / 5 Reb / O Ast

Mason Gillis: 8 Pts / 4 Reb / 3 Ast

Team Stats

FG: 28/57 (49.1%)

3PT: 3/12 (25%)

FT: 16/24 (66.7%)

REB: 8 offensive 28 defensive

AST: 12

Blocks: 6

Turnovers: 7

Personal Fouls: 20

Next game - @ Nebraska

Next up for the Purdue Boilermakers is a road game on Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It remains to be seen whether or not the two sides will play at Purdue to make up for the home game that was postponed due to Covid-19. Regardless this is a crucial game for Purdue in terms of positioning for the NCAA Tournament and momentum. What do you fans think will happen when Purdue takes on Nebraska on Saturday?

Boiler Up, Hammer Down, Hail Purdue!

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