Michigan 86 Purdue 68, Game Recap
[Indianapolis, IN]- For the first time in four years, Purdue will not be playing in the Big Ten Tournament Semi-Finals.
The Boilermakers were eliminated from the conference tournament 86-68 by Michigan Friday night.
1st Half
Purdue opened the game on a 6-0 run through the first two minutes of play. A three pointer by Michigan’s Rubin Jones would give the Wolverines their first lead at 8-6. No other shots from the field would be scored by either team through the next two minutes of play. Those two minute scoring gaps would prove repetitive in the first half, as it would happen three times throughout the half. Purdue would pull within four of Michigan’s lead seven times, with the closest being within three after surrendering the lead in the early stages. At the half, Purdue trailed 40-36.
Trey Kaufman-Renn (13 points), Braden Smith (10 points), Cam Heide (3 points), Gicarri Harris (1 point), Fletcher Loyer (3 points), Caleb Furst (2 points) and Myles Colvin (3 points) all scored in the half for Purdue. Will Tschetter, Vladislav Goldin, Danny Wolf, Rubin Jones, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Nimari Burnett scored for Michigan.
Purdue’s defense held Michigan from a made shot from the field in the final 3:10 of the half.
2nd Half
Michigan’s Jones opened the second half scoring with a three pointer to push the Wolverines’ ahead 43-36. Purdue’s first second half points would come on a Kaufman-Renn dunk after a C.J. Cox assist. The Boilermakers had no answer though for Michigan’s scoring, the closest the game came was seven in the second half at the 14:56 mark with Purdue trailing 52-45. With a stalwart final 1:34 and Purdue trailing 86-68, the Boilermakers surrendered the game, and Michigan dribbled the final thirteen seconds off the clock to advance to the Semi-Finals on Saturday.
The win was Michigan’s first in the Big Ten Tournament since 2021 and Coach Dusty May’s first at Michigan.
The loss wraps up what was a final last month for Purdue. The Boilermakers went 4-5 from February 4th through March 7th, including a four-game losing streak that started with Michigan on February 11th.
Team Stats
Purdue shot just 33% from the field, the lowest in a loss this season, and 31% from three-point range. Michigan outrebounded the Boilermakers 40-34, had fourteen more assists (25-11), and had eight more points in the paint (38-30). Purdue converted 77% of their free throws, while the Wolverines hit 81%.
The biggest statistic in the game was Michigan’s field goal percentage. The Wolverines hit 52% of their shots from the field in the win.
Individual Stats
Trey Kaufman-Renn led the scoring stats for Purdue with 24 points, going 9-24 from the field, and 6-10 from the free throw line. Braden Smith once again scored 12 points, shooting 5-18 from the field and 2-10 from three-point range. Smith would also add six rebounds to his stat line. Purdue’s bench produced 23 points in the losing effort. Giccari Harris led that group with 11 points.
For Michigan, Danny Wolf led the team with 18 points, 70% from the field, 50% from three-point range, and ten rebounds. Wolf would lead the team in assists with six. Vladislav Goldin would finish second in individual points with 15. Other double-digit scorers for Michigan include Tre Donaldson (13) and Roddy Gayle Jr. (11).
Check out the final full box score:
Michigan 86-68 Purdue (Mar 14, 2025) Box Score – ESPN
Purdue now will wait to see where they will land in the NCAA National Tournament. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm both project the Boilermakers to be a four seed when selection Sunday concludes this weekend.
