March 2, 2010
NCAA Basketball- Michigan State Surprises Purdue 53-44
By Ally White
The Michigan State Spartans, ranked at No. 14, took a surprise victory over the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers, 53-44. The Spartans ended their hosts’ 10-game winning streak and moved up to third place of the Big Ten standings, with a 12-4 conference record and a 22-7 season record. Despite their loss, the Boilermakers remain in second, with a 12-4 conference record and a 24-4 season record.
Purdue was missing its second-highest scorer, Robbie Hummel, who tore his ACL in his right knee last Wednesday against Minnesota. Hummel will be out for the rest of the season.
Neither Purdue nor Michigan State gave a particularly extraordinary performance during Sunday’s game. The Spartans benefited from a great number of turnovers, while Purdue was having trouble rebounding. The game was one of the poorest of the weekend in the NCAA college hoops.
The Spartans lost the ball over 23 times, but they outrebounded Purdue 46-20, including 16-6 on the offensive side. Purdue only shot 30% from the field and took its lowest number of points in a game this season.
With Hummel’s absence, the Spartans were able to keep their focus on offensive rebounding in the first half. In an 8-2 run, the Spartans took the lead, 22-16 with 5:34 left in the first half after a shot from Draymond Green. But Chris Kramer responded with a basket with 2:30 left, beginning a run for Purdue and putting the score at 28-24. With just 1:13, a shot from Morgan brought the Spartans and Boilermakers to within two points of each other by halftime.
Purdue tried to up its performance in the second half, attempting to score a few baskets, but the offensive rebounds were killing them. It was these rebounds that proved key for MSU to maintain the lead. A three-pointer from Durrell Summer gave the Spartans a 35-30 lead with four minutes left in the half. A few minutes later, Summer scored again to extend the lead to 42-34. Purdue reacted, and a basket from Moore with 3:24 brought the Boilermakers closer, up to 48-44.
But that wasn’t enough for Purdue. Green scored a jumper with 1:20 left and put the Spartans up again, 50-44. Moore tried to score for Purdue but missed his three-pointer. Morgan responded with a shot and a free throw to extend MSU’s lead to 9 points.
A Keaton Grant turnover in the final seconds, combined with a missed three-pointer from Lewis Jackson, ended the game for Purdue. The team lost to the Spartans, 53-44.
The Spartans’ Green stated that the win gave the team the motivation to keeping fighting for the Big Ten title and a place in the NCAA Tournament.
“We put ourselves back in the race to win the Big Ten title. We also got some confidence back...That was a key for us," expressed Green.
The best scorers for Michigan State were Raymar Morgan with 16 points and 11 rebounds; Draymond Green with 12 points and 11 rebounds; Durrell Summers with 8 points and 4 rebounds; and ultimately Kalin Lucas with 8 points. For Purdue the best scorers were E`Twaun Moore with 12 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds; Chris Kramer with 11 points; JaJuan Johnson with 11 points and 6 rebounds; and finally Keaton Grant with 7 points and 3 rebounds.
About the Author
Ally White is a top senior copywriter for the NCAA Basketball games as well as the top ranking online sports betting site: www.instantactionsports.com/uk/
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