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Isaac Haas Believes Game At Michigan State Will Be Purdue’s Toughest
Purdue plays at Michigan State on Tuesday night, and center Isaac Haas believes facing the Spartans on the road will be the Boilermakers' toughest remaining test.
January 23, 2017
Purdue plays at Michigan State on Tuesday night, and center Isaac Haas believes facing the Spartans on the road will be the Boilermakers’ toughest remaining test.
Purdue still has a game against Maryland and two with both Northwestern and Indiana, and center Isaac Haas thought carefully before answering which remaining contest would be the Boilermakers’ toughest.
None of those three foes were mentioned, however.
Haas believes Purdue will be in for a hard-fought game Tuesday night at Michigan State, despite the fact the Spartans are struggling and firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Boilermakers enter 16-4 with a 5-2 mark in Big Ten play, while the Spartans are 12-8 and 4-3 in conference action.
“I would have to say Michigan State, at Michigan State,” Haas told Campus Insiders last week. “It’s on the road in a hostile (arena), the Breslin (Center), and we all know how tough Michigan State is. They’re a lot like us – just blue-collar guys working hard and playing hard and rebounding. So it’s just a matter of going in there and doing what we know how to do and move ourselves up the board in the Big Ten conference.”
And it’s accurate that the Boilermakers and Spartans have similarities, especially offensively. Michigan State ranks first in the nation in assisting on made field goals at 68.9 percent, with Purdue second at 67.6 percent. The Spartans can be more flashy with Miles Bridges skying for dunks, but both teams try to pound the ball inside. Haas and Caleb Swanigan take care of that for the Boilermakers and freshman Nick Ward has been a presence in the paint for MSU.
Speaking of Swanigan, this will be the first time “Biggie” plays in East Lansing since spurning the Spartans and coach Tom Izzo and signing with Purdue. Swanigan initially committed to Michigan State two years ago before backing off that pledge, partly to play power forward with the 7-foot-2 Haas manning the middle.
Haas has come off the bench the last five games and has been more efficient, shooting 64.7 percent from the field while registering eight blocks. He needed to play on 14 minutes Saturday against Penn State as Purdue routed the Nittany Lions, 77-52, behind Swanigan’s 19 points and 12 boards.
If the Spartans hope to give the Boilermakers the tough test Haas expects, they’ll need to step up their game. Michigan State has dropped three of its last four and is coming off an 82-75 loss at Indiana on Saturday. Bridges finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds but shot just 4-of-17 from the floor.
The Spartans have won eight of the last nine meetings with Purdue, which hasn’t won at the Breslin Center since 2011.
