Takeaways: Michigan basketball vs. Purdue
The Wolverines entered the contest on Thursday night against No. 1 Purdue with an 11-8 record.
The maize and blue were coming off of a win against Minnesota while taking a tough loss to Maryland the game before that. But during that Minnesota win, Michigan’s star freshman Jett Howard injured his ankle. After hoping to play against the Boilermakers, it was announced prior to the game he would miss Thursday’s game.
Without the services of Howard, would Michigan be able to pull off the upset and get a huge boost to its résumé?
The answer is no.
Michigan put up a good effort being without its second-best player, but the Wolverines took another loss. The maize and blue struggled to contain Zach Edey in the paint and Purdue was able to hit whatever it wanted.
The Wolverines have nice contributions from Hunter Dickinson, Kobe Bufkin, and Dug McDaniel, but the maize and blue bench were nonexistent and there wasn’t enough offensive production to bring home the win.
The Wolverines fall to Purdue 75-70 and here are our takeaways.
Zach Edey and the Boilermakers were too much to handle in the paint
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Purdue is ranked No. 1 and Zach Edey is a National Play of the Year candidate for a reason. He came into the game averaging 21 points and 13 rebounds per game.
The talk building up to the game was Edey vs. Hunter Dickinson down low. Dickinson held his own but in the end, Edey was just too much for the Wolverines.
Edey had 19 points and was able to get his fairly easily. The Wolverines tried to throw different looks at the seven-footer but Purdue was able to combat those looks. The Boilermakers had 40 points in the paint on Thursday, and a lot of that was because of Edey.
Jett Howard's offensive output was missed
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Jett Howard is easily Michigan’s second-best player and one of the only Wolverines that can create his own shot. The Boilermakers play stingy defense and coach Juwan Howard had his work cut out for him to get good looks for Michigan on Thursday without Jett Howard.
But Michigan had its best player playing against the Boilermakers — Hunter Dickinson. He had a valiant effort against the tough-nosed Purdue team. Dickinson was doubled a ton on Thursday but still managed to score 21 points.
In the first half, Dickinson was the only player doing much on offense, but in the second half, Kobe Bufkin got hot. He finished the game with 16 points.
Outside of Dickinson and Bufkin, Michigan really missed a perimeter threat to help space the floor better. It’s hard to believe the Wolverines wouldn’t have had a better opportunity to seal the game if Jett Howard was playing.
Michigan needs to find more from its bench
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
With Jett Howard not playing against Purdue, Michigan really needed other players to step up. Most people figured Dickinson and Bufkin would play well, but who else would step in and fill the shoes?
Turns out not anyone off the bench.
The Wolverines lose another close game and the bench contributed nine points in the game. For comparison, the Purdue bench gave the Boilermakers 21 points.
Both Tarris Reed Jr. and Jace Howard were in severe foul trouble right from the rip — Reed Jr. even had a technical. Isaiah Barnes got run in the first half, but air balled two 3s and missed a layup.
Michigan is getting into desperation mode needing quality wins, but if the Wolverines have any shot of getting those wins, Michigan needs its bench to produce.
