An absolutely juicy Big Ten battle will take place on Sunday, when Michigan State travels to Purdue in a duel of streaking squads.
TV schedule: Sunday, January 27, 1:00 pm ET. CBS.
Arena: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
The two hottest teams in the Big Ten will face off on Sunday afternoon, in a tilt that has critical ramifications for the league’s regular-season race. No. 6 Michigan State (18-2, 9-0) is visiting Purdue (13-6, 6-2) at Mackey Arena, and this affair should prove a total bruiser.
Both of these crews are in a complete groove. The Spartans, who presently find themselves atop the Big Ten standings, have captured 13 contests in a row. The Boilermakers, meanwhile, have succeeded in four-straight instances and are 2.5 games behind MSU in conference competition.
The Spartans, with a NCAA NET rating of No. 3, boast a strong resume and are certainly in contention for a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance. Michigan State hasn’t lost since late November, and its pair of setbacks are to then-No. 1 Kansas on a neutral court and at Louisville in overtime. On the plus side, the Spartans have solid wins against opponents such as Florida, Iowa (twice), Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State and Texas.
Purdue, with a NCAA NET ranking of No. 10, has defeated the likes of the Buckeyes, the Hawkeyes, Indiana, the Terrapins and Wisconsin. The Boilermakers, though, have fallen to Florida State, the Longhorns, Michigan, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, as well as to MSU in East Lansing by 18 points earlier this month.
Overall in their long-time series, Purdue has the edge, by a count of 68-55. During the 2018-19 campaign, the Boilermakers are a perfect 9-0 at Mackey Arena, while the Spartans have a 6-1 mark in true road encounters.
Michigan State and Purdue are really good on offense, generating about 84 and 78 points per contest, respectively, and each shooting better than 45 percent from the field and around 38 percent from downtown.
The Spartans have advantages in numerous other statistical categories, including points allowed, rebounding, assists and blocks. The Boilermakers, conversely, get slightly more steals and commit two fewer turnovers every 40 minutes.
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index says that MSU has a 54.8 percent chance to prevail, and I foresee a closely fought affair. Ultimately, I expect that the Spartans’ balanced scoring attack will propel them to victory in a one or two-possession game.
Prediction: Michigan State 80 – Purdue 75