No. 14 Michigan State picked up a signature ranked win at home on Tuesday night against No. 13 Purdue, the reigning back-to-back Big Ten regular season champions.

The Spartans didn’t get off to the greatest of starts, trailing 21-14 at one point, but their defense kept them in the game. MSU’s 13-5 run to close the first half gave it some much needed momentum heading into the second.

The Spartans didn’t look back after that, winning the game, 75-66.

Jase Richardson led the team with 12 points and Frankie Fidler (11 points), Jaden Akins (10) and Coen Carr (10) all scored in double figures as well.

Jaxon Kohler and Szymon Zapala were big for the Spartans in this game, combining for 18 points and 8 rebounds.

Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tre Holloman moved the basketball well. They combined for 12 assists and just one turnover.

Michigan State shot 58% from the field and 31% from 3-point range. The Spartans only committed eight turnovers, with just three of them being in the second half. MSU was excellent on the fast break as well, outscoring Purdue 21-7 in fast break points. MSU also had a 35-11 advantage in bench points.

The win firmly places Michigan State in second place in the Big Ten standings, just a half-game behind Michigan.

Friday’s game in Ann Arbor between the Spartans and Wolverines will be for sole possession of first place in the conference.

Here is how Tuesday’s game against Purdue went down:

Michigan State opened with the same starting five as in its win at Illinois on Saturday – Fears Jr., Akins, Richardson, Kohler and Zapala.

Zapala got MSU going on the first possession of the game with a dunk off the pick and roll.

The Spartans started the game well shooting-wise (made four of their first six shots), but two turnovers and a shot clock violation in the first four minutes halted some of their early momentum.

MSU had a 10-9 lead at the under 16-minute media timeout. Then the Spartans went on a nearly four minute scoring drought, which resulted in a 9-2 Purdue run. That gave the Boilermakers an 18-12 lead at the midway point of the first half.

Purdue’s lead got up to seven points, 21-14, before a Zapala dunk and two made free throws by Fidler cut Purdue’s lead to three points.

Following that, MSU went on a three-minute scoring drought, but held Purdue to just three points in those scoreless minutes.

The tide shifted when the Spartans went on a huge 13-3 run to take a 33-29 lead. The run was highlighted by transition buckets including a Richardson lob to Carr.

Zapala made it back-to-back dunks on the next possession for Michigan State.

Richardson scored the final bucket of the half for the Spartans with a deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock.

That shot put Richardson in double figures for the 11th time this season.

Michigan State held a 33-31 lead heading into halftime. Richardson led the Spartans with 10 points at the half. Zapala and Carr both had six. Tre Holloman ended the half with four assists, making this his 11th game of the season with at least four assists.

The Spartans only went 2-for-7 from downtown in the first half; both made 3-pointers were by Richardson and the rest of the team went 0-for-4. MSU got to the free throw line 11 times in the first half compared to just four for Purdue.

In the opening 20 minutes, there were six lead changes. Purdue led for 11:33 and Michigan State led for 6:25. The game was tied for just over two minutes in the first half.

Michigan State’s momentum carried over into the second half. The Spartans opened the half on an 8-0 run. Richardson had a transition dunk, Kohler hit a 3-pointer and Zapala added a layup and free throw to stretch MSU's lead all the way to 10 points, 41-31.

The Spartans went on another run after the Boilermakers clawed back to 45-39. A Fidler 3-pointer got the home team going. MSU added onto the lead via the fast break as Fidler slammed home a dunk and Carr hit a layup.

Carson Cooper also got in on the dunk party to give Michigan State a 54-41 lead at the 12:31-mark of the second half.

Purdue did work its way back into the game with a 9-2 run of its own. Back-to-back 3-pointers by the Boilermakers cut the Spartans' lead down to six points, 56-50.

Fidler added four more points in the next few minutes to reach double figures for the game. MSU held their six-point lead, 63-57, at the under 4-minute media timeout.

The Spartans and Boilermakers continued to trade baskets coming out of the timeout, but that wasn't enough for Purdue to get back in the game.

Michigan State really put a dagger in Purdue following an offensive foul on the Boilermakers and a Holloman layup on the other end. That gave MSU a 69-61 lead with 1:29 remaining in the game.

MSU really sealed the deal on a Richardson alley-oop to Carr, which sent the Breslin Center crowd into a frenzy. The Spartans took a 72-61 lead after that alley-oop.

Michigan State ended up winning by a score of 75-66.

Up next for the Spartans will be the first place Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Friday. That game will tip off at approximately 8 p.m. on FOX.

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