Michigan 91 Purdue 80
Michigan dominates first half, fends off Purdue
Michigan’s 2nd chance points helped them to jump out to a double-digit lead early on, and as high as a 20-point lead in the first half . Michigan outscored Purdue 11 to 0 in 2nd chance points to start the game.
Braden Smith began the game unusually off on his shooting, missing 5 of his first 6 field goals and going scoreless in the first half. The normal “automatic” stop-and-pop shots continued to rattle out in the first half. Smith’s scoring bounced back in the second half with 20 points.
Michigan’s efficient shooting was a key factor, especially from the 3-point line where they shot 13-23.
Purdue slowly chiseled the deficit back in the 2nd half eventually cutting Michigan’s lead to 8 points, but Michigan always seemed to have an answer.
Key Stats
Michigan won the rebounding battle, 39 to 31.
Michigan shot 53%, including 57% from three.
Purdue had zero free throw attempts in the first half. In the second half, they went to the line 20 times.
Key Individual Performances
Point guard Elliott Cadeau responded from a poor night at Northwestern to lead Michigan in scoring with 17 points and 7 assists.
Purdue’s Trey Kaufmann-Renn had his best performance of the season with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. had 12 points, 11 rebounds before fouling out.
What it means
Michigan clearly stands in front of the pack in the Big Ten standings at 15-1 in conference. They also remain the country’s overall #1 seed.
Purdue’s 4-game hot streak ends after huge road wins at Nebraska and Iowa this past week. They next face Indiana in a rivalry matchup at Mackey Arena on Friday.
Purdue likely remains on the 2-seed line. A Big Ten championship seems far-fetched at this point. Purdue still hopes to stay in the top four of the conference to receive a triple-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
Quotes
Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, referring to the Purdue crowd responding to his viraltrash-talking Instagram post, “We have experience with hostile atmosphere we preach everyday in practice to stay togther and stay poised. The atmosphere was great. My teammates had my back.”
Michigan head coach Dusty May, “What an incredible basketball environment. Our guys were able to respond when the crowd went nuts.”
Purdue head coach Matt Painter, “Michigan set the tone with offensive rebounding early. Their size was important but they were quicker to the ball.”
No Comments