Michigan defense falters in Big Ten Tournament title against Purdue

CHICAGO — Only a few times throughout the season has the No. 1 seed Michigan men’s basketball team come away from a game and said it was outmatched physically. With one of the most imposing frontcourts in the country — namely with graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr., and junior center Aday Mara named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team — being outplayed down low comes few and far between.

In the Wolverines’ loss in the Big Ten Tournament title game against No. 7 seed Purdue, that sentiment rings louder than any other.

“Purdue definitely played with more physicality than we did, and they played with more edge,” Michigan coach Dusty May said.

It wasn’t all game long that the Wolverines looked like they were being utterly dominated down low. But in the most crucial stretch in the game, Michigan couldn’t do anything to stop the Boilermakers in the paint.

“We are the best defensive team in the country, and we didn’t show that tonight,” Lendeborg said. “We have Aday and Morez, who are the best down low defenders I’ve ever played with, and today they just got the best of us. So they did a great job.”

In the first matchup of the season between the two teams, forward Trey Kaufman-Renn was the only major contributor as he finished with a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double, and center Oscar Cluff was severely limited. Sunday’s championship matchup was a different story.

“I would say our aggressiveness for sure,” Lendeborg said when pointing to the biggest difference between the first game and the championship game. “Last game, we killed the bigs well down low on the rebounding part. TKR still did his thing, like last game, too, but they definitely got the best of us. They got a low post position on us and made it a lot easier.”