No. 1 Michigan looks invincible these days. No. 7 Purdue’s chances of catching the Wolverines in the Big Ten standings hinge on the Boilermakers’ ability to discover some weaknesses.
The Wolverines carry a 10-game winning streak into Tuesday’s meeting in West Lafayette, Ind.
Michigan has won its last five games by double digits, including an 86-56 pounding of UCLA on Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines outscored the Bruins 46-18 in the second half.
“We took a real step forward tonight in the second half, where we were able to simply regroup and figure out different ways to play good basketball on both sides of the ball,” coach Dusty May said.
With Arizona losing back-to-back games, the Wolverines took over the No. 1 ranking on Monday for the first time since 2013.
“This team has such a high ceiling, and we have such a long road in front of us,” May said. “To be honest, I challenge our guys to turn the page to Purdue as soon as they leave the locker room today. We have a quick turn against a team with two preseason first-team All-Americans and a preseason No. 1 ranking. And so, you don’t have time to bask in this year compared to last year.”
What makes the Wolverines so dangerous is that they don’t rely on one or two players to carry them. Yaxel Lendeborg led them against UCLA with 17 points and eight rebounds, but Morez Johnson Jr. (15), L.J. Cason (13) and Nimari Burnett (12) were close behind in points. They’ve had eight different players lead them in scoring this season.
“We had four guys in double digits. We had a couple more with nine,” May said. “And then the guys that didn’t have double digits or had nine made several winning plays that had a direct impact on us being able to separate.”
Wisconsin dealt the Wolverines their only loss Jan. 10, 91-88. Just one game since has gone down to the wire — a 75-72 triumph over Nebraska on Jan. 27. Michigan (24-1 overall, 14-1 Big Ten) has won 13 games by 20 or more points.
Purdue (21-4, 11-3) has won four straight since a three-game losing streak late last month. After squeaking past Nebraska in overtime, the Boilermakers dismissed Iowa 78-57 on Saturday. Purdue held the Hawkeyes to 37.7% shooting.
Oscar Cluff had a double-double against the Cornhuskers with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Trey Kaufman-Renn recorded a double-double against Iowa with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
“The goal is for us to really play well and do a good job in March, but our front line has to keep showing up like they did (Saturday), like they did against Nebraska,” coach Matt Painter said. “They were big time against Nebraska. You’ve got one guy getting 10 offensive rebounds, you’ve got one guy getting 16 defensive rebounds. That pays the bills.”
Braden Smith had 12 assists against Iowa, the 12th time this season he’s reached double digits in that category.
“Braden does a great job of running the show,” Painter said.
Michigan and Purdue faced each other three times last season. They split their regular-season matchups before the Wolverines dominated the Boilermakers 86-68 in the Big Ten Tournament.
–Field Level Media
