Have you ever seen eight fouls in eight minutes? Me either.

But, 7-foot-4 300-pound centers like Purdue's Zach Edey may be just as rare, both in profile, and in ability.

Ultimately, the Boilermakers were too much for Michigan State, and Purdue walked away with the 67-62 victory in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

It was a valiant effort from the Spartans against the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, but it was not enough to win.

Edey got to work early in this game for Purdue, scoring nine points in the first five minutes of play. He finished the first half with 15 points, seven boards and three assists.

He’s the favorite for Player of the Year for a reason, and also earned those honors last season.

MSU, all things considered positioned itself for success in the first half, but shooting woes, most notably from guard Jaden Akins (0-for-6 on first-half field goals, 2-for-11 for the game overall) set the Spartans back seven points going into the halftime break, with Purdue leading 34-27.

Michigan State found itself down seven points not because of energy — they played very good defense on the prolific Purdue offense. But MSU shot just 9-of-27 (33.3%) from the field in the first 20 minutes and just 2-of-8 from 3-point distance.

Outside of the poor shooting, though, the main narrative at halftime was the…questionable officiating.

Purdue's Lance Jones forced four charges against MSU, some upon replay could be featured at next year's Academy Awards ceremony.

The first half had many of MSU’s players in foul trouble: Tyson Walker (three), Jaxon Kohler (three), Malik Hall (two) and A.J.Hoggard (two).

It was a physical battle, both ways. But ultimately, Purdue built the seven-point halftime lead.

Michigan State's Tre Holloman is arguably the team's most improved player this season, and his development is an exciting point of emphasis for the Spartans now and in the future. In a room full of guards, and many with experience, Holloman has found a nice role for himself and has to have Spartan fans excited for the future.

Holloman's 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting and elite defense provided a much needed boost for the Spartans on Friday afternoon.

While Purdue extended its lead to 12 points early in the second half, MSU fought back with a grit that has often been questioned throughout the season.

Michigan State cut the Purdue lead to five points with just under five minutes left in the contest, following a 3-pointer from Walker, who was just 3-of-14 from the field up until that make.

The always confident Walker, on the next possession, went right into the teeth of the Purdue defense.

How can this game be defined? Battle. Intensity. March.

MSU got to within two points with a Carson Cooper dunk, and on the next possession, erased its deficit, tying the game, 56-56, on a Walker mid-range bucket with 1:38 left to play.

On the next Purdue possession, arms bruised from flying into the scorer's table, Fletcher Loyer — the Clarkston, Michigan native — knocked down a 3-pointer to put Purdue back up, 59-56.

With just over a minute to go, Izzo drew up a play to get Xavier Booker an open three at the top of the key. The shot rimmed out and MSU found itself down three, with a minute to go, playing defense.

After Edey made a basket down low to extend the Purdue lead to five, Michigan State traded two-point baskets for Purdue's free throws. In a last ditch effort to get the ball to grab a steal and give the Spartans a chance, Coen Carr got called for a foul leaping over Edey. Tom Izzo gave Carr a hug of endearment for the effort. MSU had fought valiantly but ultimately came up just short, 67-62, to the top team in the country.

The Spartans shot 24-of-61 from the field and 4-of-18 from three (39.3% and 22.2%, respectively) and that's just not going to do it against the Boilermakers.

Also of note, Purdue guard Braden Smith left the game to get his knee looked at, but was able to return in the second half.

MSU went toe-to-toe for 40 minutes against arguably the best team in the country, and perhaps gained favor both in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee and Spartan fans across the country.

Michigan State is now eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament and will wait to find out its seed and the city it will play in come NCAA Tournament time. That will be announced after 6 p.m. this Sunday.

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