3 things we learned from Michigan State’s win over Purdue

Michigan State took down Purdue, 68-65, after a game-winning three-point shot from Miles Bridges sunk the Boilermakers with seconds to spare. Bridges was the difference maker, finishing with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He was smooth shooting off the dribble, and was effective working his way inside the paint. He’ll be a first-round pick in the NBA draft in a few months, so get used to his name.

The Boilermakers were neck-and-neck in this one until the final few ticks. They turned the ball over just three times, moving the ball to near perfection, but to no avail. Isaac Haas was a force on the inside, backing his way into the paint for 25 points on 12-of-22 shooting. He was the focal point of Purdue’s offense — in some ways to a fault — as contested hook shots replace three-point shooting opportunities.

That may have made the difference down the stretch.

Here’s what we learned.

It was Bridges who took the helm of MSU’s offense, leading the team with 20 points. He was key shooting off the drive and finishing floaters in the paint before hitting the big one.

The Spartans needed him, as their other lottery-bound talent, Jaren Jackson Jr., scored his first and only points of the entire night with two minutes to go in the game. He was completely off, missing five shots before that, and was a non-factor for most of the afternoon.

By hitting the game-winning shot, Bridges came up big at the perfect time.

Haas has been a part of the Boilermakers’ rotation for four seasons but never played a consistent role in the team’s offense. On Saturday afternoon, he took 22 attempts from the floor.

His sole purpose in the past was just to clean up the glass and finish layups, but he used his body to create his own looks against the Spartans. He hooked shots over the likes of Nick Ward and Gavin Schilling. Their defense flustered him at times, causing him to rim out a few bank shots, but it wasn’t enough to convince Purdue to depart from its Haas-central game plan.

The Boilermakers changed their offensive approach after Haas found success in the post. He was making shots after all, but the big man who averages eight shots per game took 22! A number of shots — made or not — were contested two-point attempts, which would drive any analytics department crazy — especially given who they surround Haas with.

Purdue has the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the entire country, entering the game with 43.9 percent accuracy from range with Carsen Edwards, Dakota Mathias, and Vince Edwards. But they weren’t used enough in the final few minutes.

Their shots weren’t falling on Saturday afternoon, as they only shot 6-of-19 as a team from three-point range, but it was concerning to see Purdue look away from where it has found success all season.