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How did Michigan State basketball crumble against Purdue? Start in the paint

EAST LANSING — Answers and explanations did not come easy for Tom Izzo.

Michigan State led Purdue almost the entire game Friday — including 19 minutes, 55.5 seconds of the second half — by dominating defensively, shooting above a 50% clip, containing Trevion Williams early and building a 17-point lead less than a minute after halftime.

Then came Izzo’s inexplicableness.

For the final 18:46, Williams went to work inside in seemingly unstoppable fashion. For more than 12 minutes, the Spartans missed shot after shot — nine of them, from all three scoring levels.

And for the final 19.