College Basketball Nation Blog

Hummel-less Boilers lead MSU at half

February, 28, 2010

2/28/10

5:12

PM ET

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Some halftime dribbles from Mackey Arena, where No. 3 Purdue holds a 28-26 lead against No. 14 Michigan State.

Despite some significant shooting struggles, Purdue is not merely surviving, but leading the game. The Boilers missed eight of their first 10 shots, 11 of their first 15 and 15 of their first 21 before heating up toward the end of the half. They fell behind 22-16 before surging on a 12-2 run behind ferocious defense. Purdue forced 10 turnovers in the half.
Michigan State needs its bigs to start stepping up, and Raymar Morgan is answering the call so far. Morgan capitalized on a shorthanded Boilers front line with nine points, seven rebounds and a steal in 13 minutes. Freshman Derrick Nix, who started in place of Delvon Roe, also provided a lift with five points and didn't shy away from calling for the ball in the low post.
The foul situation is going to be interesting in the second half, as both teams have key players in a little bit of trouble. Roe picked up three first-half fouls, while Morgan and Draymond Green both have two. For Purdue, E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson both have two fouls.
Guards Chris Kramer (Purdue) and Kalin Lucas (Michigan State) had an interesting first 20 minutes. Kramer committed three quick turnovers and seemed a bit hesitant to shoot the ball. But the senior stormed back late in the half with three layups, two following steals. He leads the Boilers with nine points on 4 of 5 shooting. Lucas has committed four turnovers but provided a bit of a spark after briefly leaving the game because he was hit below the belt.
Injured Purdue forward Robbie Hummel watched the pregame warm-ups from the scorer's table, where he was greeted by a steady stream of well-wishers. Purdue's student section, The Paint Crew, paid tribute to the star by holding up signs like "Win it 4 Robbie," "This ones 4 Rob" and "Hummel Nation." Another group of fans sitting above the arena tunnel held a sign that read "Final 4 for #4." Hummel is using crutches and sitting at the end of Purdue's bench.

Adam Rittenberg | email

College Football

ESPN.com Big Ten blogger
Joined ESPN.com in 2008
Wrote for Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald

Tags:

Big Ten, Raymar Morgan, Michigan State Spartans, Kalin Lucas, Purdue Boilermakers, Robbie Hummel, Chris Kramer, Delvon Roe, Spartans-Boilers 022810, Derrick Nix

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