By Jeff Ghiringhelli
Sunday’s marquis matchup between Michigan State and Purdue was already full of storylines. Robbie Hummel added another on Wednesday night when he went down with a torn ACL at Minnesota. Hummel’s knee buckled awkwardly on a drive to the basket, and an MRI taken yesterday confirmed that he will be out for the rest of the season.
This is obviously devastating news for the Boilermakers, who were quickly becoming a popular pick to make a run to the Final Four. After a quick glance at all the major sports websites, it is clear that most columnists agree that will no longer happen. Hummel was the teams second leading scorer (15.7 ppg) and rebounder (6.9 rpg), not to mention the leadership he provided on the court.
The Boilermakers enter Sunday’s game with a half game lead over Ohio State, and a one game lead over the Spartans. A win would effectively eliminate MSU from title contention, making it a two horse race entering the final two games of the season. It will be very interesting to see how Purdue reacts to not having one of their leaders on the floor in a big game such as this one.
Of course, Michigan State is no stranger to injuries. Star guard Kalin Lucas went down with a sprained ankle at Wisconsin, sparking a three game losing streak for the Spartans. Purdue is hoping to avoid a similar fate. If they do they will not only miss out on a Big Ten title, they will likely fall from a potential number one seed to a two or three seed.
However, Lucas now appears to be back to 100 percent health, and the door is open for Michigan State to earn a huge win on the road at Purdue and create a three-way tie atop the Big Ten. With home games against Michigan and Penn State remaining, a win would likely mean the Spartans finishing 14-4 in conference play. That will be good enough for at least a share of the Big Ten title. Needless to say, Sunday’s game is enormous.
This game is also important for NCAA tournament seeding as well, not just for conference bragging rights. Most experts have the Spartans slated for either a three or a four seed right now. A one seed is out of the question, but there is still an outside chance that they can steal a two seed. MSU really has no quality road wins on their resume this year. A win on Sunday would certainly qualify, even without Hummel in the game. Winning out, plus a strong performance in the Big Ten tournament, would give the Spartans a chance to nab a two seed for the second straight year.
These kinds of games, especially with a star player injured, are so tough to predict. Michigan State has a great opportunity to get a win in Purdue without Hummel, but they have really struggled at Mackey Arena. The Spartans have lost four out of six and are on the downward trend. I think Purdue will play inspired without Hummel, and the support of the home crowd will carry them to victory. Look for Etwaun Moore to have another big game, and Purdue wins it 72-64.