The Big Ten’s best team, No. 3 Purdue, rolled into Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sunday afternoon and kept conference-worst Michigan at bay with an 84-76 win.
Zach Edey, Purdue’s dominant 7-foot-4, 300-pound center, led all scorers with 35 points, tying his season high set earlier against Northwestern and Alabama.
Edey — who won all six national player of the year honors last season, including the Naismith Trophy — shot 14 of 18 from the floor, hit 7 of 11 free throws and hauled down 15 rebounds.
Purdue (25-3, 14-3 Big Ten) has won 11 of its last 12, with the only blemish being an upset loss at Ohio State on Feb. 18.
Short-handed Michigan (8-20, 3-14) has lost 10 of its last 11, with the only win coming Feb. 7 against then-No. 11 Wisconsin.
Michigan battled to keep the score respectable, hitting 42.9 percent of its 3-pointers (9 of 21), and pulled to within seven points at 81-74 with 1:49 left on Nimari Burnett’s 25-foot three from the top.
The Wolverines were low on firepower with No. 2 scorer Olivier Nkamhoua lost for the season after wrist surgery and backup point guard Jaelin Llewellyn banged up.
Michigan sat big men Tarris Reed Jr. and Will Tschetter on the bench for much of the last 12 minutes of the second half with four personal fouls apiece. Both fouled out before the game was over.
Lance Jones scored 15 points and Braden Smith had 11 points apiece for Purdue in support of Edey.
The Wolverines had five players in double figures, led by point guard Dug McDaniel with 19 points. Burnett scored 12, Terrance Williams II had 11 and Tray Jackson and Tschetter got 10 apiece.
Michigan came out hot in the first half and led by as many as seven when Tschetter made a three-point play for a 22-15 lead with 10:37 left in the half. McDaniel had a pair of 3-pointers and led the Wolverines with nine first-half points.
Purdue, which beat Michigan at home 99-67 at home on Jan. 23, leads the series between the schools 69-63.
–Field Level Media
