Michigan’s offense got everything it wanted for the first quarter of its 75-70 loss to Purdue on Thursday night. Hunter Dickinson hit jumpers, and the ball screen offense spread out Purdue and manufactured quality looks.
The Wolverines scored a breezy 28 points on their first 21 possessions and looked good enough on that end of the floor to repeat last year’s performance against the Boilers. There were two problems: Purdue’s offense had matched Michigan basket for basket, and the Wolverines had to go to their bench.
Michigan was shorthanded with Jett Howard sidelined by an ankle injury which meant that it had to go deeper in its bench than normal. Purdue took advantage of that vulnerability and rattled off a 13-0 run as a 28-28 tie became a 41-28 deficit.
The Wolverines were never able to recover. They put together spurts here and there, but never seriously threatened the No. 1 ranked Boilermakers on their home floor as they let another opportunity for a quality win slip away.
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