INDIANAPOLIS — From the beginning, the Michigan basketball season was mission-driven to end the year at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Three weeks ago, the Final Four seemed more like an expectation than a desired destination.
Then came the Big Ten Tournament championship.
Purdue provided the Wolverines a subtle reminder they weren’t an unbeatable juggernaut. On that March 15 evening at United Center in Chicago, the Boilermakers were more physical and had more heart.
It was just what Michigan needed ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
“That game really humbled us in the fact that we thought everything was going to be easy moving forward,” senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said. “It was a really good punch in the mouth that we had.”
The following practice was player-led warfare.
The Big Ten Tournament was a goal. It was not the goal.
“We felt like that Big Ten championship game slipped away,” guard Nimari Burnett said. “Obviously it wasn’t every single thing, but it was a goal that we wanted to accomplish. I think that gave us the fuel to come together once again. I feel like it has been no part of the season where we haven’t been together, but it just reunited, refocused us to get us ready for the NCAA Tournament.”
Now Michigan is here, inside Lucas Oil Stadium preparing for a Final Four game Saturday night against Arizona.
They can talk about Purdue winning the Big Ten Tournament now because the Wolverines, in a loss, got exactly what they needed.
They got beat, just the third time all season someone had their number.
“The three losses that we had were super helpful for us just because all those many things we learned after the game. It’s not good to lose, but it was good for us,” 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara said. “We learned that we didn’t play our best game inside. The physicality, rebounding and playing in the paint. They (Purdue) have great players there. We knew if we wanted to win something big, we had to change that and play with more force.”
After coming up short in the Elite 8 against Arizona, that was perhaps Purdue’s contribution to the Big Ten ending a 26-year NCAA title drought. The Boilermakers were beaten physically in the second half by the Wildcats last Saturday.
And Michigan can see that, knowing full well the type of physicality Purdue is capable of bringing.
“As much as I hate to say it, I feel like that loss (to Purdue) kind of helped us out in a way,” said Yaxel Lendeborg, the Big Ten Player of the Year. “Maybe we started feeling ourselves a little too much. We underestimated Purdue because we beat them at their place. It made us lose focus, but it definitely lit a fire under us, especially in that arena. There was no way we were going to leave without that net.”
Last Sunday, Michigan was again in the United Center, a reminder of where the Wolverines had just a couple weeks prior come up short of a championship celebration. They made the Big Ten Tournament loss a distant memory in beating Tennessee by 33 points in the Elite 8.
Since that setback at the hands of a determined Boilermaker team, Michigan has laid waste to everything in its NCAA Tournament path. In wins over Howard, Saint Louis, Alabama and Tennessee, the Wolverines averaged 95.3 points and won by an average margin of 22.5.
From Michigan, a tip of the cap to Purdue for the wake-up call.
“That loss was not wanted, but necessary in certain aspects,” Gayle said.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue gave Michigan ‘punch in the mouth’ that inspired Final Four run
Reporting by Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
