The Big Ten Conference Tournament Quarterfinals will take place on Friday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Target Center. The first game of the day will feature two programs with strong basketball histories: the 8^th-seed Michigan State Spartans and the 1^st-seed Purdue Boilermakers. The game is scheduled to start at 12:00 PM ET on Friday afternoon and will air on the Big Ten Network.

Michigan State has had a disappointing season by their standard and were overhyped entering the 2023-24 college basketball season as they entered the year ranked 4^th in the AP Poll and failed to live up to that expectation as they struggled to start the season with a record of 1-2 with a loss in overtime at home against the James Madison Dukes and a 65-74 loss against the Duke Blue Devils and ended the season losing four of their final five games including a 64-65 loss on the road in their regular season finales against the Indiana Hoosiers. 

The Spartans defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday by a score of 77-67. However, Michigan State will have to face one of the best teams in the nation and the regular-season champion in the Big Ten Conference, the Purdue Boilermakers, a team they lost to on the road in their only other meeting this season by a score of 74-80. 

Following the win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Spartans are likely to be in the NCAA Tournament. Still, they will look to avenge the loss against Purdue when they face the Boilermakers in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

The Purdue Boilermakers are one of the top teams in the nation this season. They enter this game as the regular-season champions in the Big Ten Conference after finishing the season with a conference record of 17-3. If they win the Big Ten Tournament, they will have a chance to secure the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, a feat they accomplished last season.

Zach Edey is one of the best players in the country and is a Wooden Award finalist this season after winning the award last season and leads the nation in scoring while being 3^rd in the nation in rebounds with an average of 24.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. The Boilermakers are ranked 3^rd in the Coaches Poll and 3^rd in the AP Poll with an overall record of 28-3 and defeated the Spartans at home in the only other matchup this season by a score of 80-74. 

Purdue will look to improve its record to 2-0 against Michigan State when it faces off in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon.

JustBet has the Purdue Boilermakers listed as 7-point favorites against the Michigan State Spartans in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon. Michigan State has only defeated Purdue once in the last five seasons, going 1-7 against the Boilermakers, including a 74-80 loss on the road in the only other matchup this year. However, the Spartans covered the spread as a 10-point road underdog in the matchup this season.

Purdue is one of the best teams in college basketball this season and won the regular season championship in the Big Ten Conference. At the same time, Michigan State failed to meet its preseason expectations after entering the season ranked 4^th in the AP Poll. The Boilermakers have won seven of the eight games in the series over the last five years, and I expect the trend to remain in this game. I also expect the Boilermakers to have an impressive showing in the Quarterfinals against the Spartans. As a result, I am laying the points with the Purdue Boilermakers when they square off against the Michigan State Spartans in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon.