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What went down in East Lansing on Tuesday night will get overshadowed by the highly ranked teams getting got elsewhere, but there's a lot to chew on and plenty of consequence from 20th-ranked Purdue's impressive, definitive 84-73 road win at Michigan State.

Let's not waste any time.

Takeaways

1. Spartans seem NIT-bound

Michigan State's got one of the longest streaks going in college basketball. Tom Izzo's guided his program to the NCAA Tournament every year for the past two decades. The last time Sparty wasn't dancing was 1997, Izzo's second season with the program.

But this was a huge opportunity lost against Purdue. Michigan State (12-9, 4-4 Big Ten) looked good for a lot of the game. It was at home. Purdue's a quality club, one that could win the Big Ten this season. MSU's been in search of some signature wins, and at this point, the water's rising too fast. The strength of schedule, the travel, the injury issues, they can only carry this team so far.

It's time for MSU to win some games. The Spartans have a win over Wichita State, a sweep on Minnesota and a victory over Northwestern. Far from good enough at this point. Next up are two games against Michigan with a road game against Nebraska (which has given MSU problems in recent years) in the middle. This could get dark in a hurry. Splitting that road trip is borderline mandatory.

Plus, Michigan State can't stop teams from dropping bombs. Three losses in a row, and this correlates to those outcomes.

I would almost never count out Izzo in regard to March ... in January. But it's feeling close. Which is a shame because ...

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Tom Izzo hasn't missed an NCAA tournament in 20 years. USATSI

2. Miles Bridges had the best game of his career Tuesday

Bridges was not in the top 10 of the latest Frosh Watch, but he's looking like a real threat to crack back into the fold next week. The Spartans' best player had a career-high 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting including five 3-pointers on seven attempts. Seriously efficient. He also had seven rebound and four blocks. And did this often.

Bridges is healthy and looking like how he did to start the season, when he was flirting with top-five status among all freshmen. Some of that's been lost because he missed some games to injury, and MSU's been in the mud some, but wow, what a showing tonight. It's hard for MSU fans to be inspired in a loss like this, and knowing that their team is on the brink of an unusually disappointing season, but Bridges is special.

3. Caleb Swanigan pushes back on Ethan Happ

There's a great race developing for Big Ten Player of the Year. Swanigan and Purdue are battling Happ and Wisconsin in both the standings and for POY status. After Happ (averaging 13.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.0 apg) went for 28 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in a win over Minnesota, Swanigan responded on Tuesday night with his 17th double-double of the season and a dominating 25-point, 17-rebound showing. He also had three steals.

And he was hounded all night.

No, not by Michigan State's defense -- though Sparty did try -- but by the crowd. Remember, Swanigan initially had a verbal commitment to MSU before balking and opting to attend Purdue. He knew it would be a pressurized environment, and he responded by carrying the Boilermakers. All things considered, and Swanigan's had some huge games this season, I think this was one of his three best performances in 2016-17.

Seeing Bridges guard Swanigan some of the night, and watching Swanigan step out and hit 3s to match Bridges? It was captivating. Just looked different from most games you see. Wide dudes stepping out and dropping treys.

4. Win is huge for Purdue as Boilers on brink of toughest stretch of the season

No. 20 Purdue (17-4, 6-2) gets the road win at Michigan State, but here's what comes next:

  • At Nebraska on Sunday
  • Vs. Northwestern on Feb. 1
  • At Maryland on Feb. 4
  • At Indiana on Feb. 9

They won't win all those games, so take the road steals when you can get them. Purdue sits one game behind Wisconsin and Maryland in the loss column. This was Purdue's first win at Michigan State in almost six years, and Purdue's now scoring better than 75 points on the regular (13 of the past 14 games).

Purdue's offense had 20 assists on 25 field goals. No turnovers for the starting guards. That will keep Izzo awake at night.

5. MSU injuries continue

The Spartans had another big man injured on Tuesday night as Kenny Goins broke his nose. And that wasn't the only incident. Nick Ward took a Swanigan 'bow to the beak as well.

That's rough. Ward's a tough guy, though, and his improvement this year has been admirable. As for Goins, it's to be determined how he will be affected going forward. MSU needs him, that's for certain.