No. 13 Michigan State is ranked no. 8 Holding on late for a come-from-behind win over Purdue.


NCAA Basketball: Michigan State at PurdueFebruary 26, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Koen Carr (55) tries to shoot the ball during the first half of a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Image

Carson Cooper scored 15 points to lead No. 13 Michigan State to a 76-74 win over No. 8 Purdue in a Big Ten contest Thursday in West Lafayette, Ind.

Kur Teng scored 13 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. added 12 for Michigan State (23-5, 13-4), which won at West Lafayette for the first time since 2014.

Braden Smith had 12 points and 10 assists, and Jack Venter came off the bench to score 11 points in a loss to Purdue (22-6, 12-5).

Michigan State, which led 76-74 in the final minute, failed to make a shot before the shot clock expired and Purdue took possession with 26.1 seconds left in the game.

Purdue put the ball in the hands of Trey Kaufman-Renn, who missed a hook shot in the lane that was rebounded by Michigan State’s Cam Ward.

Ward, who boasts a 46.1% free throw success rate, entered the free throw line with 8.1 seconds left and missed the first goal in a 1-on-1 situation.

After receiving a rebound and calling a timeout with 3.4 seconds left, Purdue inbounded the ball to Smith, who missed a 3-point shot just before the buzzer sounded.

Trailing 72-64 with just over four minutes remaining, Purdue went on an 8-2 run to cut Michigan State’s lead to 74-72 with 2:16 remaining.

Leading 66-64 with 5:48 remaining, Michigan State scored six straight points to take a 72-64 lead with 4:11 remaining, forcing a Purdue timeout.

Trailing 42-38 with 18:15 remaining, Michigan State went on a 9-2 run to take a 47-44 lead with 15:35 remaining.

Purdue responded to take a 56-55 lead with 11:28 remaining, but Michigan State responded with seven straight points to take a 62-56 lead with 10:00 remaining.

The game was close throughout the first half, with Michigan State going on a 10-0 run to take a 16-13 lead with 12:28 left in the half.

Purdue took a 28-24 lead with 6:43 to play and held a 39-36 lead at halftime.

–Field level media

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