NEW YORK CITY — Purdue big man Isaac Haas was a load early against U-M as he always is, scoring seven of the Boilermaker’s first 11 points. Michigan’s offense was good early, however, and helped keep the Wolverines ahead on the way to a 75-66 win.
Moe Wagner’s three-pointer at 18:15 got U-M rolling, but he quickly went to the bench with his first foul. Sophomore big man Jon Teske replaced him and provided some great minutes, scoring four inside to tie it at seven and then putting the Wolverines ahead with a pair of free throws after another strong cut to the rim.
The Wolverines got a triple from senior shooting guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and a teardrop finish by sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson to go up 16-9, forcing a Purdue timeout.
Purdue crashed the offensive glass early and grabbed four offensive boards that led to several second chance points, but Abdur-Rahkman remained hot. He hit another triple, this one a step-back, to put the lead to 22-15 halfway through the first stanza.
U-M could have been up more, but Wagner and grad transfer Jaaron Simmons missed three wide open triples (Simmons two of them) to help keep it close. The Boilers also missed some open looks, going 0-for-3 on triples in the first 16 minutes before Carsen Edwards finally hit one.
Teske continued to play well. He took a beautiful drive and feed from Simpson to score inside and blocked a shot on the other end.
P.J. Thompson hit Purdue’s second triple to cut it to 30-29 at 3:40 of the half, but Teske answered again with another jumper, giving him 10 first half points. He hit another top put Michigan back up five, and the crowd started chanting his name when he played great defense on Haas and forced the big man to miss, and then foul after going for the offensive rebound.
Wagner scored four points inside and the Wolverines took a 38-33 lead into the break.
Teske led Michigan’s scorers with 12 points at the half, going 5-of-7 from the floor. Wagner had seven in only six minutes, but made only 1-of-4 triples, and Abdur-Rahkman added six.
U-M shot 53.3 percent from the floor and had 10 assists on 16 made field goals, no turnovers in the first half.
SECOND HALF
Haas opened the second half with a blocked shot on Wagner and a jumper over him to cut the lead to 38-35 and give Purdue the early momentum.
Freshman Isaiah Livers went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury, going to the locker room.
Wagner scored inside on a nother great pass from Simpson and Wagner’s steal in transition set up Abdur-Rahkman for three, giving the Wolverines their biggest lead at 45-37.
Robinson’s steal in transition set up a Simpson three and made it 48-37, forcing another Purdue timeout.
Purdue’s Dakota Mathias did his part to try to keep Purdue in it with five straight points, but Wagner’s three put U-M back up 53-42, and his turnaround triple as the shot clock expired at 12:05 pushed the lead to 56-42 and had the Boilers on the ropes.
The Boilers battled back to score the next four, but freshman Jordan Poole was fouled on a triple and made all three free throws to end the mini-run.
Matthews’ triple from the left side at 8:20 gave Michigan its biggest lead, 62-47. Poole missed the front end of a one-and-one and Wagner picked up his forth foul on the other end, keeping it at least a bit uncomfortable.
Simpson then missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Teske kept it alive and Robinson was fouled. He made both to push the lead to a big 17 with only 7:20 remaining.
Teske posterized Haas with a wicked two-hand dunk from Simpson to give Michigan its biggest lead, 66-48, though he missed the and-one free throw.
U-M made free throws to stay comfortably ahead before Carsen Edwards hit a triple, and Michigan started to miss some free throws. Purdue cut it to seven with 50.6 seconds left when Nojel Eastern made one of two free throws following a missed Robinson triple.
Abdur-Rahkman missed two more, but Purdue couldn't take advantage at the other end. Abdur-Rahkman hit two free throws at the other end to make it 75-66, and when Dakota Mathias missed a triple, it was all over.
Wagner finished with 17, Abdur-Rahkman 15 and Teske 14 for the Wolverines.
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