Cooper leads No. 13 Michigan State against No. 8 Purdue after 20-point showing
Michigan State Spartans (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten) at Purdue Boilermakers (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten)
West Lafayette, Indiana; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 13 Michigan State takes on No. 8 Purdue after Carson Cooper scored 20 points in Michigan State's 66-60 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Boilermakers have gone 12-3 in home games. Purdue averages 82.9 points while outscoring opponents by 13.6 points per game.
The Spartans are 12-4 in Big Ten play. Michigan State ranks second in the Big Ten with 26.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Jaxon Kohler averaging 6.2.
Purdue averages 9.3 made 3-pointers per game, 1.2 more made shots than the 8.1 per game Michigan State allows. Michigan State averages 7.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 fewer made shots on average than the 8.7 per game Purdue gives up.
The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Braden Smith is averaging 14.9 points, 8.7 assists and 1.9 steals for the Boilermakers. Fletcher Loyer is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Kohler averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Spartans, scoring 12.3 points while shooting 40.0% from beyond the arc. Jeremy Fears Jr. is averaging 18.7 points, 9.9 assists and 1.7 steals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 6-4, averaging 77.7 points, 31.4 rebounds, 17.6 assists, 5.9 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.9 points per game.
Spartans: 7-3, averaging 77.5 points, 36.2 rebounds, 17.9 assists, 4.1 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.4 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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