WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Tom Izzo will see Zach Edey posting in his nightmares for quite a while.
Purdue’s star big man and National Player of the Year contender topped Michigan State basketball for the second time in less than two weeks on Sunday. Edey finished with another career-high 38 points as the top-ranked Boilermakers earned a 77-61 win over the Spartans at Mackey Arena.
The 7-foot-4 center’s previous career-high came Jan. 16 at East Lansing, when he finished with 32 points with 17 rebounds and hit the game-winning layup in Purdue’s 64-63 victory. Edey was 13 of 26 in that game, and he went 15 of 24 while grabbing 13 rebounds with three assists in the rematch to elevate the Boilermakers to the season sweep.
The Spartans (14-8, 6-5 Big Ten) showed plenty of fighting spirit after falling behind 20 points early in the second half, reducing it to 10 points twice before the Boilermakers (21- 1, 10-1) do not leave. on an 18-9 run that was sparked by six straight points from Edey and ended by him with a pair of lay-ups.
Purdue have won six straight over MSU at Mackey Arena, with the Spartans last winning on Feb. 20, 2014. The Boilermakers have won 10 of the last 14 meetings overall and six of the last seven, including an escape from East Lansing with a one-point won less than two weeks ago.
AJ Hoggard had 20 points and six assists for MSU, which gets an extended break for the first time in 2023 before heading to New York for a rematch with Rutgers on Saturday at Madison Square Garden (noon/Fox). Jaden Akins added 12 points as the only other Spartan in double figures, with Tyson Walker scoring nine on 4 of 11 shots. Joey Hauser had just three points on 1-of-4 shooting but led MSU with five rebounds as Purdue finished with a 37-26 edge on the boards.
Edey eating
For 13 minutes, the Spartans countered everything Purdue threw at them. And then Edey took over.
Izzo tried to use double teams against the Canadian center. He mixed his trio of Mady Sissoko, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper. Nothing worked. With MSU down five, Edey went 8-0 on his own on a two-minute streak with a pair of hook shots on Cooper, a layup on Sissoko and a dunk on a wraparound pass from Caleb Furst. Edey added a pair of returns for 12 points in 4:37 as part of the Boilermakers 14-2 knockout.
Edey was 8 of 12 for 16 points with six rebounds and a first-half assist.
The Spartans, meanwhile, struggled with turnovers – three of their eight in the half on offensive fouls. Malik Hall, who had a charge call earlier, was called for his second on a screen that tripped Purdue’s Ethan Morton. Izzo railed at the referees to no avail, then came back to them after David Jenkins Jr.’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Boilers a 40-22 lead. Izzo fired a technical foul as the teams returned to the locker room, and Braden Smith’s two free throws made it a 20-point lead over Purdue before the start of the second half.
Not enough
Edey scored Purdue’s first seven points in the second half, but the Spartans lost the lead.
Hauser and Hall hit 3-pointers, then Hoggard started attacking the paint from the dribble. Hall’s layup with 11:45 halved MSU’s deficit, 53-43. But it was as close as the Spartans could get.
Edey returned to work inside, hitting four three-pitch sandwiched around a layup. He affected the game in other ways, assisting Morton for a lay-up and Jenkins for another 3-pointer while the big man double-teamed. And he finished MSU with two more layups that brought Purdue’s cushion to 19 points with 4:16 remaining.
Hoggard had 13 points, five assists and three rebounds in the second half. That included 7 of 9 from the free throw line by being more aggressive, drawing Edey’s first two fouls against MSU this season.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Learn more about the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball toppled by Zach Edey, No. 1 Purdue, 77-61