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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Michigan basketball players may need blocks of ice after a deadly showdown with Purdue, and a tight whistle may ring in their ears until Saturday morning. But hitting the road in a flawed game, Michigan claimed another big, uneven victory, proving once again that they can be ranked among the best teams in the country.
In an evening that included an absence of COVID-19, low scoring nights of Hunter Dickinson and Franz Wagner (16 points on a combined 4-in-17 shot) and 18 Michigan fouls and a lot of unnamed physicality, the Wolverines, ranked seventh, still pulled away for a comfortable win, hitting Purdue, 70-53.
Boilermakers were held to 30.8% of shoot, including an 11 for 30 clip on layups and a 2 for 12 on 3s. Michigan saw just two players scoring in double digits in the defensive effort and committed 18 unusual fouls, but were led by 22 points and 10 rebounds from Isaiah Livers and some serious defensive effort across the board.
While the Wolverines took an early double-digit lead, the evening was not without drama. About two hours before the prediction, Purdue revealed that starting forward and second-best scorer Sasha Stefanovic had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be out for 17 days.
While fans expressed concerns online about the safety of playing the game on Friday night, it is evident that Michigan was told of the positive tests before heading to Purdue on Thursday, and after requesting several PCR tests from players and to the boilermaker staff, was happy to play the game.
And play the game the Wolverines did. Once again, showing a high level of energy and physicality in defense, Michigan took a 14-4 lead early on. The Wolverines held the Boilermakers 2 for 14 to open the game with a pair of turnovers to accompany several missed layups. Michigan didn’t set the world on the offensive end of the ball, but pushed the lead to double digits with a few 3 kicks.
That was the key, because while Purdue didn’t capitalize, the Wolverines played an uncomfortable first half, fraught with potential pitfalls. Hunter Dickinson struggled once again, recording his second with nine minutes left in the half, and Austin Davis himself was called up for two fouls. So, while the two were playing impressive defense, they were stepped down from the bench as Michigan put forward Brandon Johns Jr. at 5.
Despite a noticeable height and weight disadvantage against Trevion Williams (6’10, 265 lbs) and Zach Edey (7’4 ”, 285 lbs), Johns held on in an underrated performance. As a team, Purdue only made 3 of his first 10 layup attempts, shot 8 for 16 in the first half in the paint, got just seven points on nine shots from Edey and Williams and failed any of their six 3- point attempts.
The first half was far from pretty for Michigan. The Wolverines shot just 41 percent from the field – including a 2-for-10 performance from starters Mike Smith, Franz Wagner and Hunter Dickinson – and were mired in seven fouls. Still, with nine rolling points, a solid 12 points from Livers and physical defense, Michigan entered at halftime with a 34-21 lead.
In the first minute of the second half, the Wolverines looked set to retire with a quick 5-0 run, but Purdue, foreshadowing the rest of the half, responded with a quick 8-1 run.
The Boilermakers, playing shorthanded and clearly struggling to shoot the ball, were successful in their effort to make the game a fight. Every Wolverines push that seemed likely to end the game was fulfilled, and Michigan’s lead never reached 19 points again.
Still, the Wolverines have shown throughout the season that they are comfortable winning in a number of ways and won some ugly Friday night. Whether it was Livers’ score, Eli Brooks’ courage, Johns’ defense or Wagner’s play, Michigan made the right decisions to win Friday night at Mackey Arena.
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