Mi State Vs Purdue: Michigan State edges Purdue 76-74 in Mackey Arena
Michigan State defeated Purdue 76-74 on February 26, 2026, in a tight Big Ten matchup at Mackey Arena, a finish that matters as both programs jockey late in the league season. The mi state vs purdue meeting closed Purdue's three-game homestand and carried implications for positioning ahead of the conference tournament.
Mi State Vs Purdue final: score, time and place at Mackey Arena
The game was played Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 8 p. m. ET in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., which lists a capacity of 14, 876. Television play-by-play and analyst duties were handled by Brandon Gaudin and Robbie Hummel, while Rob Blackman and Bobby Riddell called the action on radio. The 76-74 result completed the lone meeting between the two squads this season.
Purdue's record profile entering the matchup and recent result
Purdue entered the game 22-5 overall and 12-4 in Big Ten play, coming off a 93-64 win over Indiana. The Boilermakers were in the middle of a three-game homestand, and a win over Michigan State would have given Purdue a 6-1 mark in February—matching the 2018-19 team's February mark and approaching the 2016-17 squad's 7-1 month. After the Michigan State game Purdue was scheduled to play at Ohio State on March 1 and at Northwestern on March 4.
Team metrics and national standing for Purdue
Purdue's profile included a home record of 12-3, an away mark of 7-2 and a neutral-site record of 3-0. The team's performance by quarter read Q1: 8-5, Q2: 4-0, Q3: 7-0 and Q4: 3-0. National metrics listed Purdue with an NCAA NET of 6 and a KenPom rating of 7, with offensive efficiency ranked 2nd and defensive efficiency 23rd. Purdue's NCAA strength of schedule was 7 with a KenPom SOS of 8.
Series history and recent trends between the programs
The Feb. 26 game was the 135th meeting between Purdue and Michigan State, 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, that 73-63 Purdue victory being the start of the recent run. The Boilermakers had won seven straight home games against Michigan State in Mackey Arena by a combined 89 points; only two of the home matchups in that stretch were decided by single digits (2024 and 2016). Historically, one of the teams had been nationally ranked in 31 of the last 33 meetings (Purdue - 21 times; Michigan State - 21 times), and Purdue was 5-2 at Mackey Arena against Michigan State when both teams were nationally ranked.
February efficiency, quad-1 wins and schedule context
Purdue owned the fourth-best overall efficiency in the month of February, behind Michigan, Florida and Illinois, ranking second offensively and 19th defensively. The Boilermakers were one of eight teams with at least eight quad-1 victories—Duke 12; Arizona 11; Michigan 10; Purdue 8; Florida 8; Kansas 8; Illinois 8; Vanderbilt 8—and were 19-5 in the first three quads, the fifth-most wins nationally in that span (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 and Northwestern, while the other opponent, Wisconsin, was right on the cusp of being a quad-1 matchup (Wisconsin - 32). Purdue continued to play one of the nation's toughest schedules, listed as the eighth-most difficult in America, with the program's strength of schedule ranked 8th in 2025-26 and 8th in 2024-25 and 2nd in 2023-24.
Individual notes: Loyer family and statistical rankings
Fletcher Loyer, whose brother Foster Loyer played at Michigan State from 2019-21, was 10-of-16 (. 625) for his career from 3-point range against Michigan State. Purdue ranked among the top 25 nationally in several 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). Purdue is one of 11 teams to rank in the top 2
