West Lafayette, IN (Sports Network) - There's a logjam atop the Big Ten
Conference standings, and the seventh-ranked Michigan Wolverines hold out hope
for a shot of at least a share of the regular-season title, but they will need
to take care of business on Wednesday night at Purdue.
The Wolverines come in sporting an impressive 24-5 overall mark, and their
11-5 league ledger has them tied for third place with Michigan State and
Wisconsin. Second-place Ohio State is 12-5, and current leader Indiana is
13-4. Michigan, which has won three of its last four games and is just 4-5 in
true road tilts this season, hosts the Hoosiers in the regular-season finale
this Saturday.
Purdue is a game under .500 on the season (14-15), and two games below in
conference (7-9). As a result, the team is currently in ninth place in the Big
Ten, with a chance to improve to sixth if it wins out and gets some help. The
Boilermakers have won twice as many home games as they've lost this year
(10-5), and they have been victorious in two of their last three games
regardless of the venue, the latest coming at Wisconsin on Sunday in a 69-56
final.
Purdue owns an 83-63 lead in the all-time series with Michigan, but the
Wolverines have won two of the last three meetings, including a 68-53 decision
in Ann Arbor on Jan. 24 of this year.
Michigan is a potent offensive team, putting up 75.4 ppg in hitting 49.2
percent of its field goal attempts, which includes a 38.5 percent showing from
3-point range. The Wolverines boast four double-digit scorers in the form of
Trey Burke (18.9 ppg, 6.9 apg), Tim Hardaway, Jr. (14.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Nik
Stauskas (11.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Glenn Robinson III (11.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg), the
first three of which form what is arguably the top backcourt trio in the
country. Defensively, the Maize and Blue permit just 61.9 ppg, and they own
favorable margins in both rebounding (+4.4) and turnovers (+2.7) as well.
Michigan pulled out a huge win the last time out, topping rival Michigan State
in a 58-57 final. Burke led the way for UM with 21 points and eight assists,
while Mitch McGary came off the bench to tally 11 points. The Wolverines won
the game despite missing all 12 of their 3-point tries, and being outrebounded
by a 44-29 margin. The big stat that worked in their favor was that the
Spartans were guilty of 18 turnovers, while they themselves committed only
seven.
With a record right around the break-even points, it's not surprising to see
Purdue averaging nearly the same number of points as it allows (64.4 ppg-63.7
ppg). There are three double-digit scorers on the roster, and leading scorer
Terone Johnson's 12.9 ppg average isn't going to scare many opponents, but the
team does a nice job on the glass (+5.1). D.J. Byrd was high man for PU in the
recent win over Wisconsin, netting 22 points on the strength of six 3-
pointers, and Terone Johnson finished with a line of 16 points, seven boards
and four assists. Ronnie Johnson dished out eight assist, helping the team
generate a .456 field goal percentage, which included a 6-of-12 effort from
beyond the arc. Purdue claimed a 39-27 rebounding advantage, and held the
Badgers to 40.0 percent field goal efficiency, and they missed 22 of their 28
3-point tries. UW only attempted eight free throws in the game.
The Sports Network