WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Bodies were on the floor less than 30 seconds in and No. 7 Purdue’s fanbase at Mackey Arena was in an absolute frenzy.
The atmosphere was deafening early and the preseason No. 1 team (Purdue) against the current No. 1 (Michigan basketball) lived up to the hype for a few minutes, only for the Wolverines to put together an incredible 40-15 run in the middle 12 minutes of the first half to go up by 20.
From there, the Wolverines just had to hang on to finish off their most impressive victory this season, 91-80, extending their lead in the Big Ten and further cementing themselves as a No. 1 seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament.
Yaxel Lendeborg, days after a video from last May surfaced showing him disparaging Purdue, wasn’t bothered by the hostile crowd, posting 13 points and seven assists. But it was Aday Mara who dominated from start to finish, with a 10-point, 12-board double-double before fouling out. Elliot Cadeau added a team high 17 points, including eight of U-M’s first 10 in the second half.
Big Ten tournament picture
The win by the Wolverines (25-1, 15-1) extends U-M’s lead in the Big Ten to 2½ games over Illinois (12-3) and three games over Nebraska (11-3). The Cornhuskers played late Tuesday night at Iowa, while the Illini visit USC on Wednesday night. Michigan has four games remaining in league play and could clinch its first regular-season title since 2021 with victories in its next two Big Ten contests.
Next up for Michigan basketball
But first, the Wolverines have to deal with No. 3 Duke in a neutral-site nonconference matchup in Washington on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN). The winner at Capital One Arena this weekend could have the inside track for the No. 1 overall seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament. After the Blue Devils, the Wolverines return to Big Ten play again Minnesota at Crisler Center on Tuesday (8:30 p.m., Big Ten Network).
Bullying on the boards
Michigan has won 11 consecutive games, all without losing the rebounding battle. That continued Tuesday, when Mara, Lendeborg and Johnson came up with big boards at bigger times.
With U-M down 7-2 early, Lendeborg and Johnson came away with two extra chances on the same possession, allowing Lendeborg to hit a 3 in front of the Purdue bench. Johnson grabbed an offensive board moments later, leading to two free throws to start a 15-0 run.
But perhaps the play of the half was when Will Tschetter went up between four Boilermakers and tipped a ball behind his back to Lendeborg, who swung it to Trey McKenney for a 3-pointer to go up 15.
In all, U-M had eight offensive rebounds in the first half, leading to open looks as seven Wolverines hit at least one 3-pointer, including all four reserves making their first long ball of the night.
Bullying Braden Smith
Braden Smith was Big Ten preseason Player of the Year but looked more like John Smith on this night.
Purdue’s superstar point guard missed all four of his shots in the first half, going scoreless until he hit a baseline fadeaway with 18:31 to play; that got Purdue only within 17.
The Wolverines switched up their ball coverage on him all night: Sometimes Mara’s length stumped him, other times Roddy Gayle Jr. pestered him on the ball and, in the second half, Johnson even got a turn.
As a result, Purdue was forced to feed Trey Kaufman-Renn early; he finished with a team-high 27 points, but it took 26 shots to get there.
Purdue entered Tuesday averaging nearly 20 assists a game, best in the Big Ten. Against the Wolverines, the Boilermakers managed 12, but they struggled to string multiple scoring possessions together in a row.
Bullying the nation’s best
The Wolverines improved to 13-0 away from Crisler Center, which includes two victories in the most hostile arenas in the country − Michigan State and Purdue.
The win also moves U-M to 3-0 in top-10 matchups (Michigan State, Nebraska and Purdue) and 4-0 against top-12 teams (Gonzaga).
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball shows why it's No. 1 with pounding of Purdue