3&Out: Michigan State guards shine in loss to Purdue, Pierre Brooks needs to be better

East Lansing, Mich. – Playing without Malik Hall, Michigan State came up one-point short, 64-63, of upsetting No. 3 Purdue at home at the Breslin Center on Monday afternoon. The Spartans went ahead by a point on a Tyson Walker jumper with 11 seconds remaining, but couldn’t prevent Purdue center Zach Edey from burying the game-winner with two seconds remaining.

Continue reading for a basketball 3&OUT:

1. Michigan State guards did their part in loss to Purdue

For Michigan State to have a chance at upsetting Purdue, AJ Hoggard, Tyson Walker, and Jaden Akins had to outplay their counterparts. That trio did exactly what was necessary after a shaky first five minutes, which was simply bad basketball on Michigan State’s part.

Scoring-wise, the trio of Walker, Hoggard, and Akins outscored the Purdue guard trio of Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith, and Ethan Morton 49-22. Walker played his best game as a Spartan, contributing 30 points on 12 of 23 shooting including 4-of-8 from behind the point line. Akins scored just five points but played strong defense for the Spartans and grabbed some big rebounds. Hoggard scored 14 points and he struck a good balance between knowing when to create shots for himself and when to defer to one of his teammates.

Loyer had a monster second half, scoring 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-2 from behind the 3-point line.

The only negative for Michigan State at the guard position, beyond the play in the first five minutes, was the play of Pierre Brooks off the bench. (more on that later)

In the opening half, Hoggard and Walker combined for 18 points, while limiting the tandem of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith to just five points. Loyer and Smith only took three shots total. While Spartan guards clamped down on Loyer and Smith, Michigan State allowed Purdue junior Ethan Morton to shoot. Morton missed all three shots he took in the opening half. Loyer and Smith struggled with foul trouble in this game, some of which was created by having to defend Hoggard and Walker.

Spartan guards opened the second half with a flourish, as Walker and Hoggard both hit threes in the early minutes of the second half. Hoggard’s three gave Michigan State its first lead of the game, 30-27. Purdue responded with a Loyer three to tie it before Walker knocked down an end-of-shot-clock three to regain the lead.

Michigan State guards kept on making plays. Walker hit two huge threes in the final five minutes of this game to keep Michigan State in the lead in response to big buckets from Purdue. Walker also hit a perimeter jumper with 90 seconds remaining to give the Spartans a 61-60 lead.

Walker also hit a huge pull-up jumper with 11 seconds remaining to give the Spartans a 63-62 lead.

Michigan State ultimately lost this game in heartbreaking fashion as Purdue got the ball to Edey on the block for a game-winning hook shot over Sissoko. Bottom line, Michigan State guards played with championship caliber effort against the best team in the Big Ten.

If Michigan State can sustain this level of play from it’s guards, they are going to be in a lot of games against quality opponents with a chance to win at the end.

2. Michigan State made Edey work for his career day

Massive Purdue center Zach Edey had a career day. He hit the game-winning jump hook with two seconds left and finished with 32 points on 13 of 26 shooting and 17 rebounds. Ironically, Michigan State held Edey below his 64 percent shooting average on the year. The Spartans did that without doubling the post.

Tom Izzo said Michigan State would defend Edey the same way if they played the game again, and Spartan players have no issue with the defensive gameplan against Purdue’s 7-foot-4, 295-pounder.

“I think he had 17 points at half, but he was 7-of-16 from the floor,” Joey Hauser said. “I think he shoots 65 percent. When he shoots around the rim, there is not much you can do. You go into the game expecting him to score. You try to limit what he can do and try and prevent him from grabbing offensive rebounds. You’ve got to make it as tough for him as possible and keep him as far away from the rim as possible. I thought that our three guys did a decent job on him. Obviously he got a couple of buckets there at the end.”

Michigan State did enough defending Edey to win the game. The Spartans have had more success against Purdue over the years not double-teaming the post than most other Big Ten teams. The key in this game was providing more than token resistance against Purdue’s leading scorer, and not letting Loyer and Fletcher go wild from behind the 3-point line.

Early on, it felt like Edey had his way with Spartan defenders when someone other than Mady Sissoko was matched up against him. It didn’t help that Michigan State committed five of its first 10 turnovers for the game in the first five minutes.

Freshman Carson Cooper played some good minutes against Edey in both halves of this game. Edey had a couple of easy buckets when matched up on Cooper, but the Spartan freshman made him work for the most part. Cooper’s progress in recent games is a positive development.

3. Pierre Brooks needs to be better with Hall out

The biggest negative at the guard position today was the performance of sophomore Pierre Brooks, who went scoreless while playing 11 minutes off the bench. The biggest detractor for Brooks in this game wasn’t a cold jumper. It was his defense. In a game where Spartan guards played their tails off on defense, Brooks was the weak link.

That should come as no surprise. Hoggard, Walker, and Akins are all good defensive basketball players. Brooks struggles with that part of his game. Michigan State needs him to be functional as a defender.

With Malik Hall out for the foreseeable future it is critical that Brooks plays better than he did today. Brooks can’t fall asleep the way he did in the first half on a late closeout that resulted in a Mason Gillis three. Late in the game, Brooks lost focus while defending an in-bound play that resulted in a lay-up for Purdue.

With Hall out, Brooks has a huge opportunity to play a key role for the Spartans. Brooks is going to play more minutes. It’s not just a matter of playing more minutes, however. Brooks needs to do more with the minutes he is playing than he has done to this point.

When both Jaden Akins and Hall were out for a month during non-conference play, Brooks had moments where it appeared that Michigan State coaches were getting through to him. At that time, he was contributing consistently as a scorer, but he was also making a noticeable effort to improve as a defender.

Brooks hasn’t been contributing as a scorer lately. Although the Spartans would love to get an occasional three from Brooks, they need functional defense more than anything. Brooks didn’t give his team what it needed in this game.

When Brooks checked into this game for the first time, Michigan State trailed by a single point, 6-5. While he was on the floor, Purdue went on an 8-2 run. That run included the Gillis three that earned Brooks an earful from his head coach when he checked out of the game at the 11:02 mark.

Beyond Brooks, Michigan State doesn’t have many options. The Spartans could probably roll with walk-on Jason Whitens instead of Brooks, and they may have to if Brooks continues to struggle on defense.

Hauser played 38 minutes in the game. And they were 38 physical minutes. If he continues to log heavy minutes because Michigan State lacks confidence in Brooks, Hauser will eventually wear down. That is a major concern for the Spartans. A stretch four is absolutely vital for Michigan State, and without Hall, Hauser has to be the guy. He has been throughout the season, but he won’t be the player Michigan State needs him to be if Brooks is unable to absorb some of his minutes.