Purdue Basketball Preview: Game 25 — @ Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Purdue’s first real marquee road game of the Big Ten season will hold particular significance in the Big Ten race, as the Boilermakers visit co-contender Michigan Tuesday night, looking to complete a two-game regular season sweep of the Wolverines.

DETAILS: Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 | 8 p.m. ET | TV: Peacock (Noah Eagle, Robbie Hummel, Caroline Pineda) | Radio: Purdue Radio Network
PURDUE (19-5, 11-2 B1G): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS
MICHIGAN (18-5, 10-2 B1G): ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS

Team	AP	Coaches	NET	KenPom	KenPom Win%
Purdue	7	7	8	7	48%
Michigan	20	17	18	20	52%

A FEW THINGS ABOUT PURDUE

• Purdue is about two weeks removed from routing Michigan 91-64 in Mackey Arena, behind a defensive effort that forced 22 turnovers and scored 29 points off them; held Michigan to 37-percent shooting; and held standout big Danny Wolf to four points on 1-of-7 shooting, with four turnovers. (stats)

This is the Boilermakers’ first double-play Big Ten rematch of the season.

• Looking for their third straight Big Ten regular season title, Purdue visits Michigan for its first of four remaining games against those with four or fewer conference losses. The Boilermakers are alone in first at 11-2 but tied in the loss column with both Michigan and Michigan State. It has road games remaining vs. both, as well as home games vs. four-loss UCLA and Wisconsin.

• Trey Kaufman-Renn is Big Ten Player of the Week for the third time this season after averaging 24.5 points o 60-percent shooting, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in Purdue’s wins over Iowa and USC.

Kaufman-Renn is 14-of-15 at the foul line the past three games.

He’s scored 23-plus points in five of the past six games, with his low in that time frame being his 15 vs. Michigan, but that came in only 24 minutes as that game was decided in the first 10 minutes, essentially.

• Braden Smith has grabbed 17 steals over the past four games. He leads the Big Ten in that category.

He went for 24 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals with just one turnover in the first meeting with the Wolverines.

• Caleb Furst is averaging 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds the past two games.

• Purdue’s last visit to Ann Arbor was one of the stranger scenes you’ll see, as the Boilermakers won 84-76 in front of a decidedly pro-Boilermaker crowd in a Sunday afternoon CBS game. That that was a Sunday and that Michigan fans had tuned out Juwan Howard by then certainly contributed to that environment, so it’s unlikely to repeat itself.

ABOUT THIS GAME

• Since losing at Purdue, Michigan has won four straight, but by a total of 14 points, none of those games against KenPom top-40 teams, of which the Wolverines will now face four straight, and seven out of their final eight regular season games.

• As was apparent during the first meeting with Purdue, Michigan is extremely turnover-vulnerable, turning the ball over on nearly 20 percent of its possessions in Big Ten play. (Purdue is No. 1 in the league defensively in forcing turnovers.)

Michigan does not force many turnovers, either, and has benefited this Big Ten season from a bit of good fortune in the opponents have shot only 71 percent at the foul line. That’s just luck.

• Wolf is one of the few non-Purdue players for whom a case can really be made in the Big Ten Player-of-the-Year race, as the most unique player in the league averages 14.2 points and 9.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in conference games. A 7-footer who frequently serves as Michigan’s primary ball-handler, Wolf shoots 40 percent from three and often runs pick-and-roll with fellow 7-footer Vladislav Goldin, who averages 18.7 points in Big Ten games.

The first Purdue game was Wolf’s worst of the season.

THREE KEYS FOR PURDUE

TURNOVERS	THREES	CALEB FURST
This was the game in the first meeting. Purdue may or may not be able to get 22 turnovers or 29 points off them, again but it certainly can be disruptive and take care of the ball itself. Purdue’s ball pressure in Game 1 was exceptional and will be an emphasis for both teams again.	Purdue shot really well vs. Michigan in Round 1, but that was a home game and one of those nights for the Boilermakers where they could do no wrong. Replicating the conditions of that game is no guarantee but a few early threes sure would help.	Furst’s interchangeability on defense was critical in the prior win over Michigan and key to defending those 4-5 ball screens the Wolverines use. And the Purdue senior’s effort has been exceptional on the glass, dulling a real vulnerability for his team, but one that can present itself again at any time.

GOLDANDBLACK.COM PREDICTION: PURDUE 75, MICHIGAN 71

The outcome of the first game shouldn’t mask the reality that this should be a tough one for Purdue. Game 1 was one of those Mackey Arena buzzsaw game and the Wolverines were dealt a bad hand catching the Boilermakers after a loss. But, Michigan has to show this time that its guards can handle themselves better than they did that day. And Purdue did a masterful job exploiting Michigan’s size at the defensive end of the floor and it still has Braden Smith.