Mi State Vs Purdue: Michigan State 76-74 Purdue at Mackey Arena
mi state vs purdue ended in a 76-74 victory for Michigan State on Feb. 26, 2026 at Mackey Arena. The matchup, played in front of the Mackey Arena capacity listed at 14, 876, was followed by a game recap headlined "Michigan State 76-74 Purdue (Feb 26, 2026) Game Recap" and a reaction column titled "Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball's 76-74 win at Purdue. "
Game and venue details
The contest took place Thursday, February 26, 2026, with an 8 p. m. ET start in West Lafayette, Ind., at Mackey Arena (14, 876). Television coverage for the game was listed as NBCSN and Peacock with broadcasters Brandon Gaudin and Robbie Hummel. Radio coverage was listed on the Purdue Global Radio Network with Rob Blackman and Bobby Riddell handling the broadcast.
Purdue statistical profile
Purdue entered the matchup with a 22-5 overall record and a 12-4 mark in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers' splits included a 12-3 home record, 7-2 away and 3-0 at neutral sites. Quarter-by-quarter records were listed as Q1: 8-5, Q2: 4-0, Q3: 7-0 and Q4: 3-0. National metrics showed Purdue with an NCAA NET of 6 and a KenPom rating of 7, with an offensive efficiency listed 2nd and a defensive efficiency listed 23rd. Purdue's NCAA strength of schedule was 7 and KenPom SOS was 8.
Series history and streaks
The meeting was noted as the 135th in series history, with Purdue holding a 77-57 advantage in the all-time series. Purdue had won nine of the last 11 meetings dating to Jan. 27, 2019, a game identified as a 73-63 Purdue victory. Purdue had also won seven straight home games in Mackey Arena against Michigan State by a combined 89 points, with just two of those games decided by single digits in 2024 and 2016. The notes stated one of the teams had been nationally ranked in 31 of the last 33 meetings (including this matchup) with Purdue ranked 21 times and Michigan State ranked 21 times in that span. When both teams were nationally ranked, Purdue was 5-2 at Mackey Arena against Michigan State. The notes also referenced Fletcher Loyer, whose brother Foster played at Michigan State from 2019-21; Loyer was listed as 10-of-16 (. 625) for his career from 3-point range against Michigan State.
News, efficiency and quads
The scene setter described Purdue closing out a three-game homestand and the month of February while hosting No. 13 Michigan State, marking the Boilermakers' second-to-last home game. Purdue had come into the game off a 93-64 win over Indiana and was aiming to remain in the hunt for a top-two seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. A win in the matchup would have given Purdue a 6-1 record in February, which would match the program's best mark in the month since the 2016-17 squad went 7-1; the 2018-19 team also went 6-1 in February.
Per the notes, Purdue owned the fourth-best overall efficiency in the month of February behind Michigan, Florida and Illinois, ranking second offensively and 19th defensively. Purdue was listed as one of eight teams in the country with at least eight quad-1 victories, with the listed quad-1 tallies: Duke - 12; Arizona - 11; Michigan - 10; Purdue - 8; Florida - 8; Kansas - 8; Illinois - 8; Vanderbilt - 8. Purdue was 19-5 in the first three quads, the fifth-most wins in the first three quads nationally behind Michigan, Arizona, Gonzaga and UConn. Of Purdue's remaining four games at the time, three were noted as quad-1 contests (Michigan State, Ohio State, Northwestern) with the other—Wisconsin—listed as right on the cusp of being quad-1 at 32.
Schedule, rankings and metrics
The notes emphasized that Purdue continued to play one of America's toughest schedules, owning the eighth-most difficult schedule in the country. Strength-of-schedule rankings for the last three seasons were listed as 8th for 2025-26, 8th for 2024-25 and 2nd for 2023-24. Purdue was listed in the national top 25 in multiple categories: 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). The copy concluded a truncated note that "Purdue is one of 11 teams to rank in the top 2" as presented in the source material.
Additional notes and site message
Alongside the game coverage and previews, the Lansing State Journal displayed a site message saying it had built its site to take advantage of the latest technology to make the experience faster and easier for readers, and that "your browser is not supported, " advising readers to download one of the recommended browsers for the best site experience.
The matchup, its result and the surrounding preview material—including the game recap and the reaction column labeled as quick takes—remain the documented record provided for this event.
