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No. 8 Purdue, No. 13 Michigan State meet for smaller stakes than usual

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Syndication: Lansing State JournalMichigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., right, guards Purdue’s Braden Smith during the second half on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

In previous seasons, Michigan State and Purdue playing this late with both ranked among the nation’s top 15 would feel like the Big Ten’s most important game of the year.

But entering their only regular-season meeting on Thursday night in West Lafayette, Ind., this clash between No. 13 Michigan State (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten) and No. 8 Purdue (22-5, 12-4) has no banner-hanging implications.

With Michigan owning a commanding lead in the conference title race, the Spartans and Boilermakers are left to play for postseason seeds and bragging rights instead of league titles.

Considering Purdue and Michigan State have won the last three Big Ten crowns — and their coaches have combined for 16 league titles — this is not an insignificant concession.

“Not being able to win the Big Ten championship is tough,” said Purdue head coach Matt Painter, whose team comes off a 93-64 rout of Indiana on Friday. “That’s tough. But we’re the ones that lost the games. So we’ve got to try to get better, try to improve. I thought (Indiana) was a great bounceback for our guys, but it’s hard to take. It’s really hard to take when you have lofty goals and one of them is out the window.”

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Purdue comes in having won five of its last six games. The only problem for the Boilermakers is that the defeat was a 91-80 home loss to Michigan, which essentially ended their hopes for a league title.

Purdue will forge on and focus on Michigan State in what will be a battle of two of the best point guards in the country.

In fact, Michigan State junior Jeremy Fears and Purdue senior Braden Smith are 1-2 in the country in assists. Fears averages 9.2 assists while Smith, who ranks fifth all-time with 994 assists, averages 8.7 per contest.

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The Spartans are coming off back-to-back home wins over UCLA and Ohio State, but they have lost their last two road games and don’t have a signature road win yet.

After Purdue, Michigan State will have another tough road game at Indiana.

“We have to get better,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “We talked a lot with the group about what the next couple of days are going to be like and what the next couple of weeks are going to be like. Our schedule ends about as tough as anybody’s.”

Michigan State will try to achieve that in a place that’s been a house of horrors lately.

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The Spartans have lost their last five games at Mackey Arena — six if you count an NCAA Tournament loss to UCLA during the COVID-plagued 2020-21 season.

The last time Michigan State won at Mackey Arena was in 2014.

“Mackey Arena is one of the toughest we play in during the conference or nonconference,” Izzo said. “I think this is a really experienced Purdue team. They’ve got three guys in Smith, (Fletcher) Loyer and (Trey) Kaufman-Renn where it seems like they’ve been there forever.”

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–Field Level Media

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5 lower order batters who have scored more runs than Abhishek Sharma in T20 World Cup 2026 so far

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25 February 2026

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Team India opener Abhishek Sharma was expected to the Men in Blue’s X-factor in the T20 World Cup 2026. He had been in terrific form with the willow in the build-up to the ICC event. Expectations were so high from the southpaw that a number of critics had backed him to finish as the leading run-getter into the tournament. However, the script that has played out has been a completely opposite one.

After four innings in the T20 World Cup 2026, Abhishek has scored 15 runs at a paltry average of 3.75 and a strike rate of 75. He has struck two fours and a six in the ICC event so far. The left-handed batter began the T20 World Cup with three successive ducks. In India’s first Super 8 match against South Africa, he got off the mark, but ended up being dismissed for 15 off 12 balls.

Abhishek will be desperate to find form in India’s second Super 8 match against Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, February 26. Ahead of the game, we look at five lower order batters who have scored more runs than the Indian opener in the T20 World Cup 2026 so far.

#1 Brad Evans (Zimbabwe) – 43 runs

Zimbabwe fast bowler and lower order batter got a chance to bat in the T20 World Cup 2026 for the first time in the Group 1 Super 8 match against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Even as Zimbabwe crumbled in a chase of 255, Evans gave a good account of himself, smashing 43 off just 21 balls. Coming into bat at No. 8, Evans slammed two fours and five sixes.

The Zimbabwe batter was looking good for a half-century when he was caught at short third man off Matthew Forde’s bowling. Evans was the last man out as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 147 in 17.4 overs. In his T20I career, the 28-year-old has played 29 matches and has scored 131 runs at a strike rate of 119.09.

#2 Sompal Kami (Nepal) – 26 runs

Nepal’s right-arm pacer Sompal Kami scored an unbeaten 26 runs off 15 balls in the T20 World Cup 2026 Group C match against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Sent into bat, Nepal were held to 133-8. Coming into bat at No. 8, he struck four fours in a handy cameo.

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Kami (30) has the experience of 88 T20I matches. In 52 innings, he has scored 391 runs at an average of 11.50 and a strike rate of 114.32, with a best of 40.

#3 Noah Croes (Netherlands) – 25 runs

Netherlands’ Noah Croes featured in the T20 World Cup 2026 Group A match against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This was the same match in which Abhishek was cleaned up for a three-ball duck by off-spinner Aryan Dutt. India recovered to post 193-6 in their 20 overs.

In the chase, Netherlands responded with a commendable 176-7. There were handy contributions all round. Coming in at No. 8, Croes hammered an unbeaten 25 off 12 balls. His knock featured five fours. Croes has played 21 T20Is in which he has scored 228 runs at an average of 22.80 and a strike rate of 131.79.

#4 Nadeem Khan (Oman) – 22 runs

Oman left-arm spinner Nadeem Khan played three matches in the T20 World Cup 2026, scoring 22 runs at an average of 7.33 and a strike rate of 95.65. Nadeem’s best of 20 came off 18 balls against Zimbabwe in Colombo (SSC) in a Group B match. Batting at No. 9, he struck one four and one six.

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Nadeem was dismissed for two against Sri Lanka in Pallekele and registered a duck in the game against Ireland in Colombo (SSC). In 11 T20Is matches (eight innings), the 24-year-old has scored 84 runs at a an average of 16.80 and a strike rate of 123.52, with a best of 30*.

# 5 Oliver Davidson (Scotland) – 21 runs

Scotland’s bowling all-rounder Oliver Davidson played four matches in the T20 World Cup 2026, making his T20I debut during the tournament. In four matches (three innings), the left-arm spinner scored 21 runs at a strike rate of 123.52. Davidson’s best of 20* came off 15 balls against England in Kolkata. Batting at No. 9, he struck two fours and a six in his cameo.