Foster's better? Creative chant, but Fletcher Loyer heard it and responded against Michigan State

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State’s back-and-forth contest with No. 3 Purdue (17-1, 6-1) was ultimately put to rest by National Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey, but the Boilermaker who kept his team afloat for long stretches of the second half was one that the Spartan program is well familiar with.

Fletcher Loyer, younger brother of former Spartan Foster Loyer, scored 17 points against Michigan State, the second-most by any Purdue player Monday afternoon. He shot 55.5 percent from the field, adding two three-pointers and four assists. 

“I want to give a lot of credit to Fletcher Loyer,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “I have known the family, I have known him since he was very young. I thought we did a hell of a job on him and in the last five minutes of the game he just took it over.”

Loyer scored just three points on one shot attempt in the first half, thanks in part to high-pressure perimeter defense from Michigan State guard Jaden Akins. Michigan State (12-6, 4-3) chose to play the 7-foot-4 Edey one-on-one for much of the game so that Akins and others could defend Purdue’s three-point threat. 

“I could have doubled,” Izzo said. “The reason Fletcher and (Purdue point guard Braden) Smith didn’t go off is because we didn’t (double-team Edey). Those two have been on fire lately. So you pick your poison. You try not to let them get in that deep, but then you get paranoid about how they call it.” 

Even when Michigan State went with different looks against Edey, the point remained the same. 

“We chose to dig a little bit (with guard help),” Izzo said. “With certain lineups we doubled a little bit. But we didn’t want to get their three-point shooters going. If I had to do it over again, I would pick the same poison. Other than a horrendous start, I thought we played our butt off for 90 percent of the game.”

Michigan State was able to survive a career-high 32-point performance from Edey because of that strategy. Loyer and Smith combined for one made shot and five points in the first half, which helped Michigan State overcome a 13-point deficit to go into the break down 27-25. 

It wasn’t until late in the second half that Loyer scored a majority of his points. Loyer had only six points with 5:35 to play, but things changed when he got Akins to fall for a pump fake 15 feet from the basket. Akins recovered well enough to get a hand in Loyer’s face, but Loyer got the game-tying jumper to go. 

The Izzone was rocking just over two minutes later, however, after Tyson Walker hit his second three-pointer in as many possessions. This time, the Spartan guard faded to the corner and hit a three over Edey to give Michigan State a 57-53 lead with 3:43 to play. 

But Loyer answered with an and-one drive on the next Purdue possession, silencing the crowd and cutting the Spartans’ lead to one after the made free throw. 

Loyer scored six points over the remaining 3:23, which brought his total to 11 since that jump shot over Akins at the 5:35 mark. Loyer played with three fouls during that stretch, one of many factors he was forced to manage as the game went down to the wire. 

The Izzone was loud and energetic throughout the game, especially when Loyer was pressed into high-pressure situations down the stretch. Any time Loyer missed a shot or committed a foul, which wasn’t often, The Izzone would deride him with chants of “Foster’s better! Foster’s better!”

Loyer tried to remain unphased.

“(I) was just thinking about all the reps that we put in during the week and in practice and during the summer,” Loyer said. “Just taking a deep breath and not thinking about all the outside noise, and just taking my time. 

“You can never let that affect you. Just trusting one another and communicating to each other, we don’t hear anyone else outside of that. Really just focusing on my game and doing what I can do.”

As focused as Loyer may have been during the game, he admitted that playing in the Breslin Center for the first time – in front of a hostile Izzone – was surreal.

“I’ve been to more college games here than I have any other building in the country,” Loyer said. “It was a little weird at first after watching probably 50-100 games here, but it felt good to get that win.”

Loyer became familiar with the Michigan State program when the staff started recruiting Foster during his freshman year at Clarkston High School. Those four years, plus the three that Foster spent at Michigan State, gave Fletcher plenty of chances to watch his brother play from the Breslin Center seats. 

Foster played behind All-American point guard Cassius Winston during his first two years in East Lansing. He struggled to remain consistent against bigger and more physical competition, but has since starred after transferring to Davidson College in 2021. He’s averaging 16.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Wildcats this season. 

Michigan State did not offer Loyer as he rose up recruiting rankings while playing for Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The On3 Consensus Rankings tabbed Loyer as the No. 114 player in the nation and No. 3 player in the state of Indiana for the class of 2022. 

Loyer committed to Purdue on Nov. 23, 2020, over offers from Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame and others. He was a consensus four-star prospect like his older brother. 

Michigan State will see Loyer and Purdue again when it visits Mackey Arena later this month. The Spartans and Boilermakers are scheduled to play on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 12:15 p.m. Until then, Michigan State will prepare for Thursday night’s home matchup with No. 23 Rutgers (6:30 p.m., FS1).