Mi State Vs Purdue: mi state vs purdue — Michigan State 76-74 Purdue (Feb 26, 2026) Game Recap

mi state vs purdue ended with Michigan State edging Purdue 76-74 on February 26, 2026, a two-point road victory at Mackey Arena. The matchup had been scheduled as Purdue (22-5, 12-4) vs. Michigan State (22-5, 12-4) for an 8 p. m. ET start in West Lafayette, Ind.

Mi State Vs Purdue recap

Michigan State's 76-74 win at Purdue is captured in headlines including "Michigan State 76-74 Purdue (Feb 26, 2026) Game Recap" and a follow-up column titled "Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball's 76-74 win at Purdue. " The game closed a marquee meeting between two 22-5 teams and represented the lone meeting between the squads on the season.

Big Ten clash at Mackey Arena

The game was played at Mackey Arena (14, 876) in West Lafayette, Ind., part of a Thursday Big Ten clash. The matchup was listed on the gameday information as Purdue (22-5, 12-4) vs. Michigan State (22-5, 12-4) and carried an 8 p. m. ET start time.

Game details and broadcast crew

GAMEDAY INFORMATION[8 / 8] showed television coverage on NBCSN and Peacock with Brandon Gaudin and Robbie Hummel on the call. Radio coverage was slated to come from the Purdue Global Radio Network with Rob Blackman and Bobby Riddell listed as the radio voices.

Purdue's numbers and efficiency

Purdue entered the game with these season marks: Overall 22-5 and Big Ten 12-4; Home 12-3, Away 7-2, Neutral 3-0. Quarter splits were Q1: 8-5, Q2: 4-0, Q3: 7-0 and Q4: 3-0. The team listed NCAA NET at 6 and KenPom at 7. Offensive efficiency was 2nd and defensive efficiency 23rd, while NCAA SOS was 7 and KenPom SOS 8.

BartTorvik rankings placed Purdue with the fourth-best overall efficiency in the month of February behind Michigan, Florida and Illinois, ranking second offensively and 19th defensively. Purdue was one of just eight teams in America with at least eight quad-1 victories (Duke - 12; Arizona - 11; Michigan - 10; Purdue - 8; Florida - 8; Kansas - 8; Illinois - 8; Vanderbilt - 8). The Boilermakers were 19-5 in the first three quads, the fifth-most wins in the first three quads nationally (Michigan - 24; Arizona - 20; Gonzaga - 20; UConn - 20).

Of Purdue's remaining four games at that point, three were quad-1 contests (Michigan State, Ohio State, Northwestern) and the other was noted as right on the cusp of being quad-1 (Wisconsin - 32). Purdue's strength of schedule was listed as the eighth-most difficult in America, ranking 8th in 2025-26, 8th in 2024-25 and 2nd in 2023-24. Purdue ranked among the top 25 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1st), offensive efficiency (2nd), assists per game (3rd), turnovers per game (10th), field goal percentage (15th), scoring margin (18th), 3-point percentage (20th), rebound margin (21st) and defensive efficiency (23rd). Purdue is one of 11 teams to rank in the top 2

Series history and records

The meeting was the 135th in series history, with Purdue owning a 77-57 advantage in the all-time series. Purdue had won nine of the last 11 meetings with Michigan State, a stretch dating to Jan. 27, 2019, a 73-63 Purdue victory. Purdue had won seven straight home games in Mackey Arena against Michigan State by a combined 89 points; only two of those games were decided by single digits (2024, 2016).

The two programs had one of the teams nationally ranked in 31 of the last 33 meetings (including the Thursday game) between the two teams (Purdue - 21 times: MSU - 21 times). Purdue was 5-2 at Mackey Arena against Michigan State when both teams were nationally ranked. Individual notes noted Fletcher Loyer, whose brother Foster played at Michigan State from 2019-21, was 10-of-16 (. 625) for his career from 3-point range against Michigan State.

News, notes and remaining schedule

The Boilermakers were closing out a three-game homestand and the month of February at the same time, coming off a 93-64 win over Indiana and aiming to remain in the hunt for a top-two seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. A win over Michigan State would have given Purdue a 6-1 record in February, matching the program's best mark in the month since the 2016-17 squad went 7-1 (the 2018-19 team also went 6-1).

Following the Michigan State meeting, Purdue was scheduled to hit the road for games at Ohio State on March 1 and Northwestern on March 4. The gameday information and season notes reflected the Boilermakers' push toward postseason positioning and the difficulty of their remaining slate.

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Closing: Michigan State's 76-74 victory at Purdue on Feb. 26, 2026, completed a close road win in a game that combined a packed Mackey Arena setting, national rankings on both sides and a long-standing series history between the programs.