Tyson Walker reacts to Michigan State's upset victory over Purdue

Michigan State guard Tyson Walker read the defensive switch perfectly against Purdue when he went up for the game-winning shot on Saturday. The bucket — his first of the second half — sent the Spartans past the Boilermakers 68-65 at the Breslin Center.

He was confident about his chances, too.

“We knew they were going to switch,” Walker told ESPN’s Myron Medcalf after the game. “At that moment, I just had to go to my go-to move. Once I let it go, I knew it was good.”

The victory couldn’t have come at a better time for Michigan State. The Spartans entered the game losers of five of their last six games, including a 26-point loss to Iowa earlier in the week. Now, with the Big Ten tournament looming, they have to maintain that momentum.

“We’ve got it in us, we’ve just got to bring it every time,” Walker said. “We showed it today [that] we can play with the best of them.”

Walker knows the Spartans can’t get too high after the win. They’ve still got three games left on the schedule, including matchups with Michigan and Ohio State. The junior knows how the team has to approach the home stretch of the regular season.

“We’ve got an underdog mentality,” Walker said. “We’ve got to keep playing like that.”

Tyson Walker’s last-second shot sends Michigan State to upset of No. 4 Purdue

Tyson Walker didn’t have a field goal in the second half of Michigan State’s game against Purdue on Saturday. That is, until 1.4 seconds left when he hit one of the biggest shots of his career.

Walker pulled up from three-point distance and drained the shot to send the Spartans past No. 4 Purdue 68-65 at the Breslin Center on Saturday. The lost snapped a three-game losing streak for Michigan State — and seriously impacted Purdue’s chances for a Big Ten title.

Michigan State saw a 10-point lead dwindle to two points by halftime, but remained in control of the game throughout the second half. Four Spartans scored in double figures to lead the effort on offense, but the story was the defense. Two Boilermakers — Zach Edey and Jaden Ivey — combined for 41 of Purdue’s 65 points, and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said the goal was to take away Purdue’s three-point shot. The Spartans did just that, holding the Boilermakers to just 1-for-9 shooting from outside.

Even though Edey dominated down low, Michigan State did enough work elsewhere on defense to make up for it. It also kept the Spartans in the race for the Big Ten title — and made Purdue’s road to a title that much tougher.