Michigan loses shootout to Purdue in West Lafayette

The Michigan Wolverines lost a hard-fought battle on the road to the Purdue Boilermakers, 82-76. Despite the loss, Michigan played well and competed for 60 minutes with a top-five team on the road. While there aren’t many moral victories at this point in the season, that is still a good sign. Hunter Dickinson was again fantastic for Michigan and kept them in the game all day long. He finished with 28 points. Purdue was led by Jaden Ivey who had 23 points.

First Half

The first half was a half of runs, with both teams trading blows throughout the first 20 minutes. Purdue opened up an early 20-8 lead, and it looked like it might be a long day for the Wolverines. Michigan responded well to keep it close, but the Boilers again went on a run to get the lead back to double digits. Michigan’s sharpshooter Hunter Dickinson knocked down a couple threes to get Michigan back within two, but Purdue got it back to six going into halftime, leading 39-33. There’s no question this Michigan team has made improvements with how they respond to adversity. It’s easy for things to spiral out of control when you go down at a place like Mackey, but Michigan did a great job keeping things close in the first half.

Second Half

The second half was much of the same. Purdue threatened to run away with things and pushed their lead up to 12, but Michigan wouldn’t back down. Dickinson put the team on his back and consistently hit timely shots to keep the Wolverines in this one. Michigan put themselves in good position to win the game, but ultimately couldn’t make the plays late to get the win. Two late turnovers and a missed box out on a Purdue free throw proved to be detrimental in the late going, and the Boilers survived at home.

Michigan gets another shot at Purdue this Thursday, this time in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines travel to Happy Valley first on Tuesday to take on Penn State. Sitting at 11-9 and 5-5 in Big Ten play, Michigan needs that win against the Nittany Lions.