The nation’s No. 1 team faced one of its toughest tests of the season in a road game against No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday.
It passed with no issue. Michigan opened up a 16-point halftime lead and went on to a 91-80 win over a Purdue team that entered Tuesday’s game with two wins over top-10 opponents and riding a four-game win streak.
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But the Boilermakers were no match for a Michigan team that continues to look like the best in the nation. The win will bolster Michigan’s case for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, a path that was cleared last week when previously undefeated Arizona lost two straight games.
Elliot Cadeau led Michigan with 17 points in a convincing win over No. 7 Purdue.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Michigan blows game open early, doesn’t look back
Tuesday’s game was close for only the opening minutes. The Wolverines turned an 11-10 deficit at the 13:36 mark of the first into a 26-11 lead with 9:28 remaining and never looked back.
They extended the lead to 48-28 before halftime and entered the break with a 48-32 advantage despite the best efforts of a raucous Mackey Arena crowd.
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Purdue eventually whittled the deficit to single digits late in the second half, but never got any closer than 86-78. Michigan’s lead was never in peril. Point guard Elliot Cadeau led the Michigan effort with 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
The Wolverines outshot the Boilermakers from the field 53% to 39% and were overwhelming from 3-point distance (57%, 13 of 23). Michigan secured a 39-31 rebounding advantage and assisted on 24 of its 30 made field goals.
Another impressive Michigan win
Now Michigan has another double-digit win over a quality opponent in a season filled with them. For the season, that adds up to 20 of Michigan’s 25 wins by 10 points or more. The Wolverines also have 14 wins by 20-plus points, 10 by 30-plus points and seven by 40 or more.
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This is all while playing in one of the nation’s best conferences and a preseason schedule that included No. 21 Auburn and No. 12 Gonzaga, which Michigan beat by 30 and 40 points, respectively.
Michigan’s only loss remains a 91-88 defeat to Wisconsin in January. It faces what may be its toughest test yet next — a showdown with No. 3 Duke in Washington D.C. on Saturday.
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