At the Buzzer: Purdue 80, Michigan 72

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Rapid reaction to Michigan’s 80-72 loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament final.

THE MOMENT

Both the No. 1 seed Michigan men’s basketball team and No. 7 seed Purdue had the halftime break to reset, with the game tied at 38. A string of buckets for the Boilermakers gave them an initial lead over the Wolverines early in the second half.

After picking up two fouls in the first half, forward Trey Kaufman-Renn came out in the second half swinging. He scored on three straight possessions, all of which were shot over sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. A jumper from guard Braden Smith briefly paused the Kaufman-Renn barrage before he hit yet another layup.

To cap it all off, Smith went 1-on-1 with junior center Aday Mara — testing the over 1-foot height difference — and finished an and-1 that brought Purdue’s lead to 12.

The 11-6 run rapidly changed momentum and took Michigan out of the championship game to spoil the Wolverines’ chance at a back-to-back Big Ten Tournament title.

THE TAKEAWAY

Anything can happen in March.

In the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, No. 5 seed Wisconsin nearly pulled off an upset by the way of five consecutive 3-pointers from Austin Rapp. That fate finally caught up to the Wolverines, this time by way of getting beaten down low defensively by Kaufman-Renn and center Oscar Cluff. Kaufman-Renn and Cluff finished with 20 and 21 points, respectively, despite both experiencing foul trouble in the first half and battling through it in the second.

Michigan dominated the boards in the first half, winning that battle 20-14 and getting seven offensive rebounds compared to Purdue’s three. Even the second half was a similar story with the Boilermakers barely coming away with more rebounds.

The Wolverines looked outmatched defensively whenever Kaufman-Renn and Cluff caught the ball in the paint, a sight Michigan hadn’t really experienced at all this season. But anything can happen in March, and before the Wolverines head to the big dance, they’ll have to sit with their third loss of the season.

THE STAR

After sitting for well over half of the first half in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal with foul trouble, junior guard Elliot Cadeau brought the spark needed to help push Michigan past the Badgers into the title game. Cadeau learned from his mistakes of early foul trouble from that game and all season long by limiting himself to only one, as he constantly made an impact in the first half.

Cadeau nearly had a first-half double-double with seven points and eight assists. He was tenacious in the lane yet composed, where he constantly made smart decisions to either take it himself or dish it around a defender for an easy layup or kick it out for an open three. 

The second half, although slow at first, was ultimately no different. Cadeau ended with 10 points and 10 assists to complete the double-double with over 10 minutes to go.

His efforts may not have been enough, but Cadeau’s discipline and poise in the first half are what led Michigan’s selfless offense, and he just couldn’t come up with enough of an impact in the second half to make the difference. 

THE STAT

In the first nine minutes of the second half, Michigan had only one rebound. Much of that was due to the Boilermakers shooting 11-for-13 from the field to start the half, but the Wolverines couldn’t get anything on the offensive glass either and gave up multiple second-chance opportunities.

Purdue had six rebounds in that period, and ultimately, the beginning of the second half run, through both second chances and dominance in the paint, gave the Boilermakers enough of a cushion to finish out the game. 

FOUR FACTORS