Bridges scores tiebreaker, 20 points for Mich. State
NO. 4 MICHIGAN STATE 68, NO. 3 PURDUE 65
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Miles Bridges delivered at a key moment in a big game for Michigan State.
Forget about the NBA. This is worth the wait for the talented sophomore.
Bridges connected on a tiebreaking three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left and finished with 20 points, helping the No. 4 Spartans beat No. 3 Purdue 68-65 on Saturday.
“Those type of moments, that’s the main reason I came back,” he said.
Tom Izzo is sure thankful he decided to return. The Hall of Fame coach encouraged Bridges to enter the NBA draft last year after his freshman season, but the forward from Flint, Mich., wanted to stay in school.
“He came back to be in these kind of games and try to help us win a championship of some kind,” Izzo said. “Miles, he got what he deserved.”
The Spartans (24-3, 12-2 Big Ten) have won eight consecutive, improving their chances of contending for a conference championship and earning a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
“At least we’ve given ourselves a chance,” Izzo said.
The Boilermakers (234, 12-2) have lost two consecutive after winning a school-record 19 games in a row.
“A couple tips, a couple rebounds, a couple shots go our way, it’s a different story,” Purdue guard Dakota Mathias said. “We’ll be back.”
Purdue led by as many as 10 points in the first half and by eight points early in the second half. Michigan State went ahead for the first time when Bridges made a jumper off the dribble near the top of the key with 9:06 left.
The Boilermakers tied the game four times over the last five-plus minutes and missed on chances to go ahead or at least get closer in the final minute.
Isaac Haas had a shot to put Purdue ahead with 23 seconds left, but was pushed away from the basket by Gavin Schilling and came up short on the shot in the lane.
“The last shot he (Schilling) missed, had him out a couple feet extra,” Purdue Coach Matt Painter said. “We need to get it to him deeper than that.”
Purdue’s Vincent Edwards missed the front end of a one-and-one with 2.4 seconds left, trailing by three.
Haas had 25 points on 12of-22 shooting, facing one defender instead of the usual two because Izzo wanted to limit the impact of Purdue’s shooters on the outside.
“We were so paranoid of the threes,” Izzo said. “I heard some moans, but we just stuck with it.”
Carsen Edwards scored 14 for the Boilermakers.
Michigan State’s Cassius Winston had 10 points and 10 assists.
In other Top 25 men’s games Saturday, Donte DiVincenzo scored a career-high 30 points, Jalen Brunson had 27 and No. 1 Villanova (23-2, 10-2 Big East) bounced back from its second loss of the season, rallying past Butler (17-9, 7-6) 86-75. … Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored on a putback with 5.8 seconds left and
Virginia Tech (18-7, 7-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) spoiled the opportunity of No. 2 Virginia (23-2, 12-1) to climb to No. 1 with a 61-60 overtime victory at Charlottesville. … Quentin Goodin made two free throws with three-tenths of a second left, allowing No. 5 Xavier (23-3, 11-2) to hold off Creighton (18-7, 8-5) 72-71. … Manu Lecomte scored eight consecutive points for Baylor (15-10, 5-7 Big 12) after No. 10 and Big 12 co-leader Kansas (19-6, 8-4) had pulled within a basket, and the senior guard finished with 18 overall in the Bears’ 8064 upset victory. … Keita Bates-Diop had 14 points and eight rebounds, and No. 14 Ohio State (21-5, 13-1 Big Ten) beat Iowa (12-15, 3-11) 82-64 for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. … Iowa State freshman Lindell Wigginton upstaged Trae Young by scoring 26 points and the Cyclones (13-11, 4-8 Big 12) upset No. 17 Oklahoma (16-8, 6-6) 88-80, handing the Sooners their sixth consecutive road loss. … Kendall Smith and Cameron McGriff each scored 20 points and Oklahoma State (15-10, 5-7 Big 12) beat another ranked team on the road, topping No. 19 West Virginia (187, 7-5) 88-85. … Luke Maye scored 27 of his career-high 33 points after halftime to help No. 21 North Carolina (19-7, 8-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat rival
North Carolina State (16-9, 6-6) 96-89. … Landry Shamet scored 16 points in just 23 minutes as No. 22 Wichita State
(19-5, 9-3 American Athletic Conference) cruised to a 95-74 victory over Connecticut (12-13, 5-7). … Ky Bowman stole a rebound under the basket, drew a foul and hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left as Boston College (15-10, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored the last nine points of the game to rally for a 72-70 victory over No. 25 Miami (18-6, 7-5).