Purdue Basketball Preview: Game 21 — Michigan
Following Tuesday night’s stunning loss to Ohio State, 11th-ranked Purdue faces a consequential Big Ten game Friday night vs. No. 21 Michigan, the Boilermakers’ first meeting with a Dusty May-led Wolverine team.
DETAILS: Friday, Jan. 24, 2025 | 8 p.m. ET | TV: FOX (Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson) | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
PURDUE (15-5, 7-2 B1G): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
MICHIGAN (14-4, 6-1 B1G): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
A FEW THINGS ABOUT PURDUE
• Purdue’s loss to Ohio State snapped a seven-game winning streak this season and a 26-game winning streak in Mackey Arena.
• Since making 19 threes in a rout of Nebraska, Purdue is just 8-of-24 from three-point range the past three games.
• Purdue scored a staggering 30 points off turnovers vs. Ohio State, only “staggering” because it didn’t lead to a win. The Boilermakers average 14.9 points off turnovers this season, but that number inflates in Big Ten play. In the seven games since conference play resumed, Purdue’s gotten 19 points per game off turnovers.
Purdue is No. 1 in the Big Ten in league play in defensive turnover percentage, at 21.9 percent.
• This is Purdue’s sixth game in 16 days. Saturday will be its first day off since Jan. 6.
ABOUT THIS GAME
• Michigan won the off-season and now is winning this season because of it. Not only did the Wolverines land the plum of last year’s hiring cycle in Dusty May, but it hit big on its transfers, led by May’s star big man from FAU, Vladislav Goldin, and Yale’s Danny Wolf, a pair of inside-out 7-footers who’ve co-existed beautifully together because of Wolf’s playmaking skills at forward. They make Michigan really different and really effective on offense.
• Goldin is leading the Big Ten in scoring in league games at roughly 23 points per game on 60-percent shooting.
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• The two 7-footers are a combined 16-of-36 from three-point range in Big Ten play, 44 percent. Wolf can shoot off the dribble, as well.
They are surrounded by 40-plus-percent shooters Tre Donaldson, Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter, as well. Michigan has shot 36.6 percent from three-point range in Big Ten games.
• Five Wolverines average double-figures in the Big Ten, including Roddy Gayle, the transfer from Ohio State who Purdue should know well.
• Michigan is definitely vulnerable to turnovers, giving it away on 18.6 percent of its possessions in conference play, per KenPom.
• Statistically, Michigan doesn’t generate many turnovers or offensive rebounds.
THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE
| TURNOVERS | BRADEN SMITH’S J | CALEB FURST’S DEFENSE |
| This is an area where Purdue’s strengths may line up with Michigan’s vulnerabilities. The Boilermakers force a lot of turnovers and the Wolverines commit a lot. This profiles as even more important than usual for Purdue.˜ | Purdue needs to make Michigan’s bigs run around in ball screen defense. Pull-up jumpers should be there for Smith against drop coverage if he has legs enough to make them. | This is a game where the Boilermaker forward’s interchangeability on defense should matter, as Michigan uses those 4-5 ball screens. He has to be active and physical, without fouling and while maintaining position to rebound. |
GOLDANDBLACK.COM PREDICTION: PURDUE 78, MICHIGAN 74
The scheduling dynamics here are real. Purdue has historically been near impossible to beat in Mackey Arena but if that listless, worn-out team from the second half vs. Ohio State shows up again, look out. The turnover give-and-take should matter and Purdue is due for some some three-point shooting normalization. Purdue in a close one.
