Top seed Michigan falls to Purdue in Big Ten Tournament title game

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Mar 15, 2026

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CHICAGO — Michigan’s bid for a Big Ten double-double ran into trouble.

All that stood between the Wolverines and the chance to become the first team in program history to sweep both conference titles in the same season was the Purdue Boilermakers.

Top-seeded Michigan couldn’t overcome a rough start to the second half and fell short of that goal in an 80-72 loss to No. 7 seed Purdue in Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament final at the United Center.

Yaxel Lendeborg had 20 points, Aday Mara had 14 points and seven rebounds, Nimari Burnett scored 12 and Elliot Cadeau had 10 points and 10 assists for Michigan (31-3), which beat Ohio State and Wisconsin to reach the tournament final.

After a tight first half ended with the teams tied, Michigan fell behind during a rough start out of the break. Cadeau had a turnover. Burnett missed an open layup. Purdue scored the first seven points and took a 45-38 lead roughly two minutes into the second half.

Things continued to get worse and the deficit grew for the Wolverines, who had no answer for Trey Kaufman-Renn’s push shot and post moves as Purdue made 11 of its first 13 field goals in the half.

Kaufman-Renn scored four times around the rim in a three-minute span to give the Boilermakers their first double-digit lead, 55-44. He extended the margin on a drive, spin and finish over Mara to put Purdue up, 60-46, and Michigan on the ropes with 11:25 to play.

The Wolverines tried to claw back and cut it to single digits four times. The first three times Michigan pulled within eight, Purdue immediately countered with a bucket to push the margin back to 10.

The fourth time, Michigan followed a Morez Johnson Jr. putback with a defensive stop and Lendeborg drained a 3-pointer from straightaway to make it 68-63 with 3:47 to go. But the Wolverines couldn’t get any closer.

Oscar Cluff answered with a hook shot to make it a seven-point game. Then after Burnett missed an open 3-pointer, Fletcher Loyer was fouled on a 3-point shot and made two free throws to make it 72-63 with 2:44 remaining.

Michigan trailed by at least seven the rest of the way as Purdue made six free throws in the final 1:33 to seal it.

Cluff scored 21, Kaufman-Renn had 20 points, Braden Smith had 14 points and 11 assists and Loyer had 14 points for Purdue (27-8), which was playing its fourth game in four days after beating Northwestern, Nebraska and UCLA to reach the final.

The Boilermakers shot 52.6% from the field and outscored Michigan 16-5 at the free-throw line, with many of those foul shots coming in the final minutes. The Wolverines shot 46.9% from the field, won the rebounding battle by a 33-29 margin and scored more points in the paint (46-40).

In a matchup between the Big Ten’s No. 1 team and the preseason No. 1 team, neither side could gain much separation during a back-and-forth first half that was within two possessions the whole way.

Purdue made its first three shots and ripped off a string of seven straight points to grab a quick four-point lead, with Cluff being a tough cover in the paint.

Cadeau assisted on Michigan’s first five baskets, including three 3-pointers in the opening five-plus minutes. Burnett canned a pair of deep balls and Lendeborg knocked one down to give the Wolverines a 13-11 advantage with 14:37 left in the first half.

The scoring slowed down as Purdue made just two shots – a pair of baskets at the rim by Kaufman-Renn – over a seven-minute stretch. Michigan missed six consecutive shots before Johnson snapped the drought with a tip-in and Trey McKenney scored on a step-through move in the paint for a 17-15 lead at the 9:55 mark.

Michigan eventually found its groove during a stretch where it made five consecutive shots and a dunk fest broke out. After Cadeau drained a 3-pointer, he connected with Mara on an alley-oop slam to give the Wolverines a 22-17 advantage.

After Lendeborg fouled Loyer on a 3-pointer that led to a four-point play, Mara found Lendeborg for an alley-oop jam. Then after Lendeborg picked up his second foul attempting to block a dunk by Cluff, a drive and dish by McKenney led to a Johnson dunk.

Michigan took its largest lead of the half when Cluff was whistled for his third foul and Johnson made two free throws to make it 32-26 with 3:14 left in the half.

Purdue, with Cluff on the bench, ripped off a 12-2 burst to briefly pull ahead before Cadeau countered with an alley-oop feed to Mara and a buzzer-beating layup to tie it at 38 at the break.

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