Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
The Purdue Boilermakers (20-1, 9-1) will host the Michigan State Spartans (14-7, 6-3) in a Big Ten showdown Sunday afternoon. These teams met two meets ago in East Lansing, and Purdue won 63-61, but Michigan State covered the four-point spread, missing a game winning three-point attempt at the buzzer. Purdue's Zach Edey had 32 points and 17 rebounds in the game, and Michigan State was led by Tyson Walker with 30 points.
On the season Michigan State is 11-10 against the spread and the over/under is 10-11. Purdue is 8-11-2 ATS and 7-14 to the over/under.
Michigan State has won eight of 11 non-conference games this season and is 6-4 in Big Ten action. The Spartans suffered a bad road loss to Notre Dame 70-52 in late November, and they dropped their conference opener at home 70-63 to Northwestern. After the back-to-back losses, Sparty rolled off seven straight wins, including four in the Big Ten, before their current five-game stretch that includes three losses. On Thursday, Michigan State stayed above .500 in the conference with a tight 63-61 win over Iowa. In the victory, the Spartans shot 8 for 20 from the three-point line, giving them the edge over the Hawkeyes, who only hit 3 of 17 from long range. Michigan State had a complete team effort, with five players finishing with at least 10 points and 6'4 sophomore Jaden Akins leading the way with 12 points.
What a GAME ?? pic.twitter.com/spvYbCYepI
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) January 27, 2023
Joe Lunardi's ESPN Bracketology current has Michigan State as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans are No. 41 in the nation according to KenPom and have faced the third strongest schedule in the nation. In adjusted defensive efficiency, Michigan State is 33rd, and they are 62nd on the offensive end. 6'1 senior Tyson Walker leads the team with 14.1 ppg, followed by 6'9 senior Joey Hauser with 13.7 ppg and a team-best 7.6 rebounds.