No. 7 Michigan Cruises Past Purdue, Grabs Top Spot in Big Ten
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Isaiah Livers does everything that Michigan coach Juwan Howard asks of him, and the star forward delivered again on Friday night in an easy 70-53 win over Purdue.
With the win, the No. 7-ranked Wolverines now sit alone at the top of the Big Ten standings as we near the midway point of the season. The Wolverines, 13-1 overall and 8-1 in the league, have sole possession of the top spot now after Iowa's loss to Indiana on Thursday.
"Everyone who stepped on the floor really played well for us tonight,'' Michigan coach Juwan Howard said.
Livers had 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for the Wolverines, who were never threatened by Purdue, and even though the Boilermakers came into the game with a four-game winning streak, they had been struggling to shoot the ball from the perimeter in the past couple of weeks.
It was no different Friday night. The Boilers missed all six of their three-point shots in the first half, which continued a disturbing trend.
Against Michigan State, there were 0-for 12 in the first half, and were 2-for-19 against Penn State and 2-for-12 against Ohio State. The only game in the streak where they shot well was at Indiana, when they were 11-for-17 shooting on the day. Outside of Indiana, those four first halves add up to 4-for-49 shooting, a mere 8.1 percent.
Michigan came out blazing and was quickly up 14-4. Purdue was never closer than four points in the half, and the Wolverines led by 15 at one point, and led by 13 at the break, 34-21.
Purdue could never mount any kind of challenge in the second half, either, and never got any closer than 11 points. The Boilermakers are now 11-6 overall, and 6-4 in the Big Ten.
"We had some bad turnovers and we just didn't have it tonight. It showed all over,'' Purdue freshman Jaden Ivey said. "It was us, I know I missed some easy layups. Their size didn't bother me. It's tough. The turnovers bother me the most, because we can control that. You can't always control whether shots fall or not.
"We won four in a row, and this one is tough. We really wanted this game, but we'll bounce back from this.''
Purdue played without junior guard Sasha Stefanovic, who will miss at least the next three games after testing positive for COVID-19. He missed Friday's game, plus the Jan. 30 game with Minnesota and a Feb. 2 road game at Maryland.
Per Big Ten protocols, Stefanovic will miss the next 17 days from his positive test and must pass further testing to return to action. Stefanovic has started all 16 games this season, ranking first in the Big Ten in three-point percentage (.456) while averaging 11.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
"Sasha is a huge part of this team, and there's not one guy who can replace him,'' Purdue's Brandon Newman said. "We all need to step up.''
Purdue shot only 31.7 percent from the field for the game, and finished 2-for-12 from three. Trevion Williams (14) and Jaden Ivey (12) were the only Boilers in double-figures.
Michigan now has eight days until its next game, a showdown with Indiana next Saturday in Ann Arbor. Purdue has a similar break, not playing again until hosting Minnesota next Saturday as well.
"COVID is rough. I lost a family member to COVID, and for a kid like that, I just hope he gets back healthy,'' said Michigan's Howard, who said they never considered not playing after the positive test. "Purdue did a great job of testing, and when all the other players tested negative, we got on the bus to come here.
"I talked to every player about this and they all have a voice. They were all comfortable in coming here and playing.''
Related stories on Big Ten basketball
- INDIANA STUNS IOWA: No. 4 Iowa went cold in the second half, going nearly 12 minutes without a field goal, and unranked Indiana took advantage in an 81-69 upset of the Hawkeyes. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN DAILY: Rutgers struggling through five-game losing streak. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN TOURNEY TO INDY?: Rumor has it that league officials are considering moving the Big Ten basketball tournament to Indianapolis from Chicago this year. CLICK HERE
