Michigan
Michigan basketball vs Purdue: Two powerhouses colliding for Big Ten Tournament title
Breaking down Michigan’s win vs Wisconsin to make Big Ten tourney final
Tony Garcia and Carlos Monarrez break down Michigan basketball’s win over Wisconsin to make the Big Ten Tournament final vs. Purdue.
CHICAGO − It’s fitting, really, this Big Ten Tournament championship matchup.
The showdown at United Center features 1-seed Michigan basketball (31-2) – the undisputed regular-season champs and a potential No. 1 overall NCAA seed – and 7-seed Purdue (26-8) – which was projected to be the top team in the conference, if not the nation, to open the season.
One of the Wolverines’ crowning achievements − of which there were many − during this season was their thumping of the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Feb. 17. The Wolverines built a 20-point first-half lead and then held off coach Matt Painter’s team in a 91-80 victory.
“Give them credit,” Painter said following that game. “Just like in the last two games for us, where we set the tone on the glass, they set the tone for the game right there. Their size was there, but also they were quicker to the ball. I thought their guards did a good job of being around the basketball.
“They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason.”
The Wolverines won at Mackey Arena in large part because of they neutralized last season’s Big Ten player of the year, point guard Braden Smith. Though he finished with 20 points, none came in the first half at all and half came at the free throw line, with just four field-goal makes.
Likewise, U-M’s bigs controlled center Oscar Cluff.
The 6-foot-11 255-pounder, who averaged 10.1 points and 7.2 rebounds this season, put up just four and three respectively, against the Wolverines. He has rounded into form, however, during this Big Ten Tournament run for the Boilermakers, averaging 16 points and 11 boards in wins over Northwestern, Nebraska and UCLA.
Michigan advanced to the title game in thrilling fashion. On Friday, U-M was down two against Ohio State with less than five minutes to play, before forcing OSU to go just 2-for-12 from the floor in the Wolverines’ 71-67 victory.
Then, the real fireworks came against Wisconsin on Saturday. U-M built a 15-point lead with less than 10 minutes to play, only for the Badgers to shoot the lights out with a six-minute 23-4 run that featured seven 3s en route a 62-58 lead. With the score tied at 65, Michigan held the ball for the final possession ended by a Yaxel Lendeborg 25-foot 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.4 seconds left.
“What a fabulous basketball game, kind of a modern Big Ten game where teams were fighting, clawing, scrapping, competing at the highest level, but also making some high level shots and plays,” Michigan coach Dusty May said afterwards. “This is very, very healthy for us to be where we are right now, still finding some things out about ourselves and discovering new ways to win.”
Lendeborg didn’t score until there were 11 seconds in the first half, while Cadeau played just six of the opening 20 minutes with foul trouble. The two were critical in the second half, as they were in West Lafayette, where Cadeau scored 17 points and Lendeborg added 13 points and seven assists.
Michigan had six players in double figures that night, including L.J. Cason, who is out with an ACL tear. Michigan has played four times without Cason and each was a one-possession game with less than four minutes to play.
But the Wolverines have had the answers on every occasion.
Now, they have one last test against one of the most experienced teams in the league, to determine if they’ll become the first Big Ten team with back-to-back tourney titles since the Wolverines in 2017-18.
Michigan vs Purdue Big Ten Tournament championship game prediction
With the Boilermakers on their fourth game in four days – not to mention myriad poor matchups with U-M – they won’t be able to hang with Dusty May’s crew, which will earn its third banner (2025 tourney, 2025-26 regular season, 2026 tourney) in exactly 365 days. The pick: U-M 83, Purdue 72.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.