Zach Edey recorded 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 3 Purdue to a 67-62 victory over Michigan State on Friday afternoon in Minneapolis to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten conference tournament.
Lance Jones added 10 points and three steals and Braden Smith had eight assists for the top-seeded Boilermakers (29-3), who won their sixth consecutive game and 15th in 16 contests.
Tyson Walker scored 15 points and Malik Hall added 12 points and seven rebounds for the eighth-seeded Spartans (19-14). Tre Holloman scored 10 points and A.J. Hoggard had 10 assists for Michigan State, which lost for the fifth time in its past seven games.
In the semis, the Boilermakers will face the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal matchup between fourth-seeded Northwestern and fifth-seeded Wisconsin.
Purdue shot 41.5 percent from the field, including 5 of 14 from 3-point range.
Michigan State made 39.3 percent of its shots but was a lowly 4 of 18 from behind the arc.
The Spartans battled back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to tie the score at 56 on Walker’s jumper with 1:41 left.
Fletcher Loyer put the Boilermakers back ahead with a 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining. Edey’s inside hoop made it 61-56 with 35.2 seconds left.
Hoggard made two free throws with 27.8 seconds left to bring Michigan State within three. Jones split two free throws with 26.4 seconds left before Hall’s dunk brought the Spartans within 62-60 with 19.7 seconds left.
Edey was fouled with 19.4 seconds left and made both free throws and Jones split two free throws with 8.7 seconds remaining to make it a five-point game. Hoggard scored on a layup to move the Spartans within 65-62 with 4.2 seconds left before Mason Gillis made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left as Purdue survived.
The Boilermakers scored the first five points of the second half to hold a game-high 12-point lead at 39-27.
The Spartans later rattled off a 10-2 spurt to pull within 48-45 on Hall’s dunk with 10:12 remaining in the game.
The Boilermakers pushed the lead to eight before Walker swished a corner 3-pointer to bring Michigan State within 55-50 with 5:33 left.
Walker added a layup 44 seconds later as the Spartans crept within four. Carson Cooper’s dunk cut Purdue’s lead to 56-54 with 2:26 remaining before Walker connected on the tying jumper.
Edey had 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half as Purdue led 34-27 at the break.
–Field Level Media