In their first matchup of the season, Purdue dominated Michigan from start to finish and routed the Wolverines 91-64. Michigan turned the ball over 22 times, including five turnovers in the first three and a half minutes. It remains Michigan's worst loss of the season.
On Tuesday night, Michigan exacted a measure of revenge on the Boilermakers, winning the rematch 75-73 in front of a raucous Crisler Center crowd. It was a high-profile matchup of two of the best teams in the Big Ten battling to remain in contention for the regular season crown. Michigan fell behind by as many as eleven points in the first half but reduced the lead to two by the halfway mark. Purdue maintained a small lead through most of the second half before Michigan used a late 12-2 run to take the lead. Despite some late Braden Smith heroics, the Wolverines held on to earn a crucial win.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Foul trouble hurt Purdue
Purdue finished with 23 fouls called against them to only 13 against Michigan (though, to be fair, a couple of these were late-game intentional fouls). Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn both ended up fouling out of the contest, with C.J. Cox also called for four fouls. Having most of their frontcourt battling foul trouble hampered the Boilermaker’s aggressiveness on defense late.
Kaufman-Renn’s foul troubles particularly disrupted Purdue. Many of Michigan’s surges happened while he was on the bench; the Boilermakers were up by seven with less than three minutes to go in the first half when he was whistled for his second foul. While he was on the bench Michigan used the opportunity to erase most of the lead and remain within striking distance going into the break.
Michigan (sort of) contains Braden Smith
If you think it’s weird to read about a guy who recorded 24 points, six rebounds and five assists being mentioned as “contained” well, I don’t blame you; it feels weird to write it. Nonetheless, his impact on the game was less than the box score would have you believe.
Smith came out on fire, scoring 14 points in the game’s first nine minutes. Purdue built an early double-digit lead; for a while, it looked like Purdue might win this one in a similar fashion as the first matchup. However, Smith wouldn’t score again until there was only 4:49 left in the game; at this point, the teams were neck and neck for the lead. Smith would make a couple of (pretty impressive) threes in the last few seconds, but by the,n the Boilermakers were down and almost out. Michigan minimizing Smith’s impact on the game for such an extended stretch gave them a chance to win.
The Wolverines take control of the Big Ten race
As previously mentioned, this was a big game for both teams. Purdue came into the game with a narrow half game lead on Michigan and Michigan State for first in the Big Ten. Michigan particularly needed this game; a second win by the Boilermakers would have given them a tiebreaker over the Wolverines.
Michigan got the big win and catapulted themselves to the top of the standings (pending the outcome of the Michigan State-Indiana game). And while Purdue is still very much in contention, the Wolverines now control their own destiny. With two Michigan-Michigan State games remaining as well as a Purdue-Michigan State on tap, the regular season crown is still very much up for grabs.