Trey Kaufman-Renn can't think of a time. Fletcher Loyer is sure he hasn't. Ditto for Braden Smith.

The trio that constitutes the heart, soul, and most of the points for this Purdue basketball team has already lived a thousand basketball lives it seems. There's not much they haven't done or accomplished at this level. Smith and Loyer are three year starters, Kaufman-Renn is in his second. They've all played for a National Title and won two Big Ten titles.

Which is probably why this thing, the thing that happened to them at Michigan State, against Wisconsin, and at Michigan, is a first for them.

Purdue's best players have never experienced three losses in a row at any level.

That is a staggering truth considering the years they've played, the level that they've played, and that this is their third year in college basketball. It's staggering when you consider how good the Big Ten has been, how stacked Purdue's non-conference has been, and that its three players with three different high school careers. The common thread that has united them at Purdue and brought them to Purdue is winning.

Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer have never existed not being Big Ten Champions. This Purdue team finished last season in the sport's final game. Purdue has won the Big Ten by three games each of the last two seasons.

Now, Purdue is in unchartered waters, with players that haven't dealt with this succession of losing in their lives. The question is now how will they respond.

It wasn't 20 of 22 like Wisconsin where the Badgers couldn't miss, but on the road, it was just as damning.

Michigan State's athleticism, pension for turning turnovers into points, and getting out to run was Purdue's #1 fear going into the game. That fear was justified, and it got the best of Purdue.

"You can't go on the road and give up 10 dunks, and that's what they did," Matt Painter said after the game.

It was death by a thousand thundering dunks for Purdue. 8 Michigan State players scored 7 points or more, but it was Izzo's collections of bigs that had too easy of a time against a Purdue defense that Painter said he didn't have prepared enough. Instead of being on the ball handler, Purdue's low man got stuck unable to get back to the big while the ball handler had an easy time of finding cutters for the lob inside.

Jaxon Kohler, Szymon Zapala, and Carson Coooper combined for 25 points, but more damning, they were 11 of 13 from the floor.

Purdue has to be perfect in execution on defense, especially in the paint, because of its lack of any rim protection. While Purdue has been game for most of the season, and even thrived during the start of the year, the defense is starting to show cracks in its foundation without a back line that can erase mistakes.

12 turnovers is not normally a death sentence for Purdue. It's just above what Matt Painter wants from his team, but not all turnovers are created equally. 10 of those 12 turnovers were steals, which meant they were live and gave Michigan State a chance to do what it does best - turn them into points.

The Spartans did just that, turning those 12 turnovers into 19 points. It was a 10-0 run in the first half sparked by two Purdue turnvovers that turned a six point Purdue lead into a two point deficit going into the first half.

"Tough to scheme and walk through 4 on 3 breaks and 3 on 2 breaks," Painter said after the game.

Maybe even more painful is that the turnovers came from Purdue's best players, again.

Braden Smith was uncharacteristically sped up at times taking on a Michigan State team that swarmed his passing lanes, and used its speed to clog up the paint when he was able to penetrate. Smith had 6 turnovers.

"I gotta do a better job of taking care of the ball in the first half," Braden Smith said after the game. "At the end of the day, it's life on the road and I've got to do better."

It got to a point in the second half that Matt Painter even pulled his star point guard who had played all 40 minutes in 4 of the last 5 games before this one. Painter said he did it to let Smith clear his frustrations a little bit with around eight minutes remaining in the second half.

"It's probably good that he did because I probably would have said something that I shouldnt' have," Smith said after the game.

Purdue's schedule has the least amount of prep days left on the schedule in the Big Ten, but thankfully for Purdue, it will get a few days off this week to prepare to head to Bloomington to take on its in-state rival.

Indiana will have plenty to play for. If the Hoosiers are going to save its season, it will need to win out and a big win over Purdue could go a long way when the selection committee looks at IU's resume.

But for Purdue, it might be even more dire. If Purdue will have any chance to win the Big Ten, it almost definitely has to stay at five losses in the conference. Even if it does, Purdue's fate is out its hand. It will need help to keep its hopes for a three-pete alive.

There will be some added motivation perhaps for Smith, Loyer, and Kaufman-Renn. They had never lost three games in a row, they damn sure don't want to find out what four losses in a row feels like.