Michigan basketball pulled away from Purdue midway through the first half and never allowed the Boilermakers to come back.
The No. 1 Wolverines (25-1, 15-1 Big Ten) beat the No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) 91-80 in a battle at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Point guard Elliot Cadeau led Michigan with 17 points while six Wolverines registered double-digit point totals.
Michigan returned to the top of the poll on Monday, Feb. 16, in the midst of a 10-game winning streak, and extended its win streak to 11 against another top-10 opponent in Purdue.
Watch Big Ten basketball on Peacock
Although Michigan’s win does not guarantee it a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the Wolverines would be awfully close, at 2½ games up with four to play. Arguably Michigan’s toughest test of the season comes on Saturday, Feb. 21, with a game against No. 3 Duke at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
Here’s how it all went down in West Lafayette.
Michigan beats Purdue, Duke up next
FINAL: Michigan 91, Purdue 80.
Purdue brought it back to a single-digit deficit with under a minute to play, but it wasn’t enough to seriously threaten the Wolverines.
Michigan faces No. 3 Duke on Saturday looking for a second-straight win against a top-10 opponent.
Purdue threatening, running out of time
2H, 1:43: Michigan 83, Purdue 73.
This one isn’t quite over.
A Purdue steal and transition bucket makes it an 8-point game with two minutes to play, but Michigan guard L.J. Cason drew a foul and drained two clutch free throws to bring the lead back to 10 points.
Michigan holding on to big lead
2H, 4:16: Michigan 79, Purdue 63.
A steal and transition layup from Purdue center Oscar Cluff brought the Boilermakers to within 11 points midway through the second half, but a Trey McKenney 3-pointer re-extended the lead for Michigan. With that bucket, McKenney became the fourth Wolverine in double figures along with Elliot Cadeau (17 points), Yaxel Lendeborg (13 points) and Aday Mara (10 points).
Purdue has played much better in the second half than it did in the first, with forward Trey Kaufman-Renn putting up a season-high 26 points. But Michigan is doing just enough to keep its double-digit lead, even with Mara on the bench with foul trouble for much of the half.
Aday Mara sitting with foul trouble
2H, 7:48: Michigan 69, Purdue 54.
With Michigan center Aday Mara in foul trouble after notching his fourth, Michigan continues to shoot well from the outside, now 11-for-20 from 3 while maintaining a 15-point lead with less than eight minutes to play.
Elliot Cadeau heating up for Michigan
2H, 11:43: Michigan 62, Purdue 47,
Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau scored only three points in the first half but has exploded for 12 so far in the second half. He now leads all Michigan players with 15 points.
The Wolverines, meanwhile, maintain a 15-point lead in the second half but haven’t been able to pull away, with the No. 7 Boilermakers continuing to hang around with key buckets.
Purdue chipping away at Michigan lead
2H, 14:42: Michigan 56, Purdue 42.
Purdue has chipped away at Michigan’s 20-point lead with swarming defense and clutch free throws. Two 3-pointers from point guard Elliot Cadeau and a dunk from shooting guard Nimari Burnett brought Michigan’s lead back to 18 points, but back-to-back buckets from the Boilermakers brought Michigan’s lead back to 14.
Aday Mara dominates the end of the half
HALFTIME: Michigan 48, Purdue 32.
Back-to-back Boilermaker 3-pointers chipped away slowly at the Wolverines lead, but two buckets and two free throws from Michigan center Aday Mara kept the Wolverines lead at 19 with two minutes left in the half.
Mara has 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks – all game highs – in the half. Four other Wolverines have at least five points, including big man Yaxel Lendeborg with 10 points, three assists and two rebounds. All nine Michigan players who have entered the game have scored at least three points so far.
Purdue’s 16-point deficit is its largest halftime deficit of the season.
Michigan hot from 3
1H, 4:17: Michigan 42, Purdue 22.
Michigan extended its lead to 17 points following back-to-back 3-pointers from point guard Elliot Cadeau and big man Yaxel Lendeborg. The Wolverines are 8-for-16 from 3, with Lendeborg knocking down two of his five attempts.
Michigan has also outrebounded Purdue so far, with Aday Mara having a game-high seven rebounds and Morez Johnson Jr. pitching in five. Nimari Burnett’s 3-pointer gave Michigan a 20-point lead before the Boilermakers called a timeout.
Michigan takes double-digit lead
1H, 6:48: Michigan 31, Purdue 20.
After a hot start, Purdue’s shooting went cold running into Michigan’s stifling defense. The Wolverines turned that defense into offense, operating an 11-0 run over a three-minute span.
A controversial call after a review applied a flagrant 1 foul to Purdue Center Oscar Cluff, with Michigan turning the possession into four points from a free throw from big man Yaxel Lendeborg and a 3-pointer from guard Will Tschetter.
Roddy Gayle Jr., L.J. Cason, Trey McKenney and Lendeborg all have five points early on for Michigan.
Michigan takes lead on free throws, layups
1H, 11:23: Michigan 16, Purdue 11.
Roddy Gayle Jr.’s 3-pointer out of the break gave Michigan its first lead of the game at 8-7, but Purdue immediately got the lead back with a penetration layup from star forward Trey Kaufman-Renn.
The Wolverines got four free throws from Morez Johnson Jr. and L.J. Cason to help hang around with the Boilermakers, while big defense from Michigan center Aday Mara led to an easy layups for Yaxel Lendeborg and Mara, extending Michigan’s lead to a game-high five points.
Yaxel Lendeborg 3-pointer cuts early Purdue lead
1H, 15:13: Purdue 7, Michigan 5.
An alley-oop from Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeu to center Aday Mara stopped a 5-0 Boilermaker run to open the game, while a Yaxel Lendeborg 3-pointer after two Michigan offensive rebounds made it a 7-5 Purdue lead.
It’s been a defensive battle so far, with both teams showing a lot of intensity on the inside.
Michigan greeted to loud boos
As expected, Mackey Arena is hosting a raucous atmosphere with the No. 1 Wolverines in town.
Purdue starting lineup
Purdue is running a starting five of guard Braden Smith, guard C.J. Cox, guard Fletcher Loyer, forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and center Oscar Cluff.
Michigan starting lineup
No surprises with Michigan’s starting lineup of point guard Elliot Cadeau, shooting guard Nimari Burnett, forward Morez Johnson Jr., forward Yaxel Lendeborg and center Aday Mara.
Robert Horry in the house
Big Shot Rob has made his way to Mackey Arena.
Wolverines arrive at Mackey
The Wolverines are preparing for the first of two top-10 matchups this week, first with a game against Purdue at Mackey Arena.
Yaxel Lendeborg in the house
Michigan big man Yaxel Lendeborg has had a busy week, first appearing in an expletive-laden video that spread across social media and then later apologizing to coach Dusty May, who called it a “learning lesson” for Lendeborg.
Andy Katz previews Michigan’s week
Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz previewed Michigan basketball’s big week, calling Michigan’s Saturday game against Duke a “potential Final Four preview.”
Brian Boesch in the house
Michigan basketball radio play-by-play announcer Brian Boesch has arrived to West Lafayette, and he had a few words to say about tonight’s game.
Michigan availability report
Per today’s availability report, Wolverines freshman guard Winters Grady is the only player from either team out for today’s game against the Boilermakers.
Michigan: G Winters Grady (out).
Purdue: None.
Michigan vs Purdue channel
Michigan vs Purdue stream
Announcers for Michigan-Purdue are Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst) and Cayleigh Griffin (sideline reporter) will call the game on Peacock.
Watch Michigan-Purdue on Peacock
[ MUST WATCH: U-M’s biggest week of the regular season is here. Make “Hail Yes!” your go-to Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify). ]
Michigan vs Purdue basketball prediction
Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press: This matchup has everything one could want: Elite offense, elite defense, proven coaches and a raucous environment. The difference will be, as it has been so many times this season, Yaxel Lendeborg. Purdue doesn’t have a wing who can physically keep up with him. Expect to see Morez Johnson Jr., Lendeborg and Aday Mara on the floor at once, and not just in the opening four minutes of each half and expect Lendeborg to feast on the boards. He could finish with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The pick: U-M 80, Purdue 74.
Michigan vs Purdue basketball odds
Betting odds via BetMGM as of Tuesday afternoon.
Michigan basketball schedule next five games
For more, here are the final five games of the Wolverines’ schedule in 2025-26.
All times Eastern.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball score as Wolverines beat Purdue on the road
Reporting by Christian Romo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
