Michigan State (21-5) vs. Purdue (17-9)

Filed under Game Preview on February 18th, 2012

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It will be a lively atmosphere at Mackey Arena on Sunday as Michigan State travels to meet Purdue in Big Ten action. Tip-off is at 1:00 EST and you can see it on CBS.

Michigan State is 1st in the Big Ten and Purdue is in 6th. Both teams continue to jockey for position. A solid performance in this game could also improve the Spartans #7 ranking in the AP. In addition, Purdue currently sits at #46 in the RPI, allowing Michigan State an opportunity to test its 8-4 record against RPI Top 50 teams. The Spartans check in at 21-5 overall as well as 10-3 in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, the Boilermakers have a record of 17-9 including 7-6 in the conference. Michigan State has a road record of 5-3 while Purdue is 11-3 at home. Michigan State will be looking to extend its four game win streak.

Michigan State has already played Purdue this season, back on January 21st, and won 83-58. Last season, the Spartans went 1-2 against the Boilermakers. Over four years, Michigan State has gone 5-5 against Purdue, including 1-3 at Mackey Arena.

• We win when it counts, too. Michigan State has more NCAA Tournament wins over the last 10 years than Purdue (19 vs 8).
• Michigan State has a better overall winning percentage over the last 10 years (0.701 to 0.625).
• Michigan State has a better scoring defense (58.5 allowed per game vs 64.8 allowed per game) than Purdue this season.
• AP voters think more highly of Michigan State and have put us in the AP Top 25 more often over the past 10 years than Purdue (137 vs 76).

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