ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Playing basketball in the Big Ten takes a lot of resolve, as each game is filled with ebbs and flows, especially for the Michigan Wolverines.
Last week, the men in maize held on to beat the Northwestern Wildcats in what many have called an 80-76 overtime snails race to the finish.
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The game, which had 19 lead changes, a flagrant foul, an ejection, and many replay reviews, lasted two hours and 40 minutes in Ann Arbor.
--> Michigan basketball seeks to end Mackey Arena drought vs. Purdue amidst shaky play
But after watching their primetime matchup inside Mackey Arena on Friday (Jan. 24), Michigan (15-5, 6-2 Big Ten) vs. the Purdue Boilermakers was laughable as Michigan was defeated before the team even got off the bus.
The Boilermakers jumped all over the men in maize as they opened the game on a 13-2 run while eventually jumping to a 36-13 lead in the middle of the first half.
The Wolverines turned the ball over five times in the game’s first four minutes, and their deficit grew to 29 points. They trailed 51-26 at the half.
Michigan couldn’t get the ball past half-court and, once again, turned the ball over (22 times) at every opportunity. Purdue applied a vice-like grip from the opening tip to boat race the Wolverines 91-64.
“It was a tough start for sure with the turnovers,” said Nimari Burnett. “There were some shots that we wish could of fell for us. I feel like those turnovers led to easy layups in transition, and then once the crowd gets into it, especially at Purdue, it’s hard to come back. So, everything is a learning lesson, but I really think this is that punch in the mouth that will change our view and our approach for the rest of the season.”
Michigan couldn’t set up its offense and looked out of sync early and often. As the deficit continued to increase, it looked like a junior varsity team was taking the court against the varsity team.
At the end of the game, Michigan shot a combined six for 29 from the three-point line while Purdue was clicking on all cylinders.
“How we respond is going to be much more important than the actual outcome of that one game. I love the way we competed, but Purdue was in a similar situation like that about three weeks ago when they went to Penn State, who had their way with them.
They responded and won seven games in a row before their loss to Ohio State. So, I think it’s about what we can learn from that, how we respond, and at the end of the day, it’ll make us a much better basketball team.”
Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Dusty May
It looked like an NBA All-Star game was being played as three-pointers, alley-ops, and layups were constant against a Wolverines team that now has a 7-15 record at Mackey Arena since 1999 and are losers of four straight and five of their last six matchups.
Graduate student center Vladislav Goldin led the Wolverines with 14 points, while Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle, and Burnett chipped in with 11 points each.
“It’s a hard place to play, and they have a great environment,” said Goldin. “Obviously, we had a couple of careless turnovers, which gave them more energy. It really took away our advantage, and we had to just find another way to beat them.”
Michigan will look to get back on track when it hosts the Penn State Nittany Lions at Crisler Center.
The last time the Wolverines played a game after a loss, they took down Northwestern to extend their home winning streak to 10 games.
“We have to be mature enough to get back to working with each other enough that we can get through this and build a vibe that good teams stay together no matter what,” Goldin said.
The Monday home showdown tips off at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
“They (Penn State) are obviously a very tough opponent that does what’s been our Achilles heel as they’ll turn you over, and so a major concern for us going into the game is how well we value the basketball and how ball strong we are, and so if we don’t it’s going to be a tough game but if we manage and take care of the game like I know we are going to then I think we should be much better,” said Dusty May.
