WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. _ It was just a few days ago Tom Izzo warned not to get carried away with Michigan State's quick start in the Big Ten.
The schedule had been favorable, he pointed out, with just one road game, and that one came at Northwestern, a team that has a grand total of one conference victory.
Of course, it all came as No. 8 Michigan State prepared to head to Purdue Sunday to play in one of the toughest environments in the Big Ten. Izzo's warnings clearly should have been heeded as Purdue jumped on Michigan State early and never let up on its way to a 71-42 victory at Mackey Arena, knocking off the last unbeaten team in the conference.
Michigan State (13-4, 5-1 Big Ten) got 10 points each from Cassius Winston and Rocket Watts but the offense was out of sync the entire game as the Spartans turned the ball over 18 times, including 10 committed by Winston. It was the fourth straight loss at Mackey Arena and the loss ended Michigan State's seven-game winning streak.
Trevion Williams scored 16 to lead Purdue (10-7, 3-3) while Evan Boudreaux added 11 points and Sasha Stefanovic and Eric Hunter each chipped in 10 points for the Boilermakers. Purdue scored 21 points off Michigan State's turnovers and had 14 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds.
It was all Purdue from the opening tip as a 7-4 lead quickly jumped to 19-4 after a 12-0 run from the Boilermakers that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Isaiah Thompson and Boudreaux, who entered the game 1-for-13 on triples for the season.
Michigan State ended a nearly six-minutes scoreless drought with a Xavier Tillman layup but went cold again later in the half as Purdue's lead grew to 37-16 on Boudreaux's second 3-pointer of the half. The Spartans managed a Winston runner and a put-back bucket from Julius Marble to cut the deficit to 37-20 headed into the locker room at halftime.
The Spartans turned the ball over eight times, leading to 10 points for the Boilermakers. Purdue also grabbed eight offensive rebounds, which led to nine second-chance points.
Michigan State showed some life to open the second half as it scored seven straight points, capped by an Aaron Henry 3-pointer, to cut the Purdue lead to 39-27. The Boilermakers hit two straight 3-pointers and pushed the lead back to 16 before the Spartans made their final surge.
A Malik Hall triple followed by a Watts baseline jumper pulled Michigan State within 47-36 with just less than 10 minutes to play. But Purdue took over with a 15-2 run to put the game away.
Michigan State is off until Friday, when it hosts Wisconsin at the Breslin Center.
