If you are planning on knocking off the 7th-ranked team in the country, leading 38-35 to start the second half is a good way to start.
Opening the afore mentioned second half by hitting only one of your first 23 shots from the floor is not a good way to finish.
That’s exactly what happened to the Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena, en route to a 76-62 loss to Michigan State.
The Boilermakers’ first second-half field goal was a Ryne Smith three-point basket with 13:06 remaining in the game. That hoop trimmed the Spartans’ lead to 45-43.
The Boilers would not make another field goal until Anthony Johnson’s three-pointer at the 6:58 mark. By then, Purdue trailed 62-49.
Purdue missed its first 12 shots of the second half and 10 more field goal attempts between Smith’s and Johnson’s triples.
“It can be deflating when you miss as many shots as we did,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said. “They weren’t all contested shots either, we missed some layups in there, too.”
Purdue (17-10, 7-7) was led by Robbie Hummel’s 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Lewis Jackson finished with 15 points and five assists.
Michigan State (22-5, 11-3) got 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists from senior Draymond Green. Fellow senior Austin Thornton added a career-high 17 points.
Purdue hosts Nebraska for the first time ever in a Big Ten contest on Wednesday night.
For a complete list of the game stats, click here.
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