Two of the best teams in the Big Ten clashed on Tuesday night, as Michigan visited Purdue. Michigan took an impressive win over Purdue, winning the game 91-80.
After the contest, Purdue coach Matt Painter made sure to give credit to the Wolverines in his post-game press conference, per Chris Balas of On3Sports.
“Our goal was to win the Big Ten. These dudes ain’t losing four games,” Painter said. “We’ve got four losses. They ain’t losing four games. So, that’s just that. That’s reality. When you’ve been in the league for over 25 years — that’s reality.”
Purdue had entered the season as one of the favorites to win the Big Ten, and Painter had sights on winning a third regular-season Big Ten title since 2023. Now the Boilermakers are 11-4 in conference play, placing them tied with Nebraska and Michigan State, and a game behind Illinois.
“Give them credit. Just like in the last two games for us, where we set the tone on the glass, they set the tone for the game right there. Their size was there, but also they were quicker to the ball. I thought their guards did a good job of being around the basketball,” Painter added. “They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason.”
Painter also noted the depth of the Michigan roster. The Wolverines had six players scoring in double digits, led by Elliot Cadeau, who scored 17. Meanwhile, Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 17 for Purdue, but only three players got to double digits. Further, the Michigan bench outscored Purdue 34-15.
Michigan controls its own destiny in the Big Ten, with just one conference loss, a 2.5 game lead, and just four conference games remaining. Michigan now turns its sights to another top match-up, as they face Duke on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Purdue is 21-5 on the season. They return to the court on Friday night against Indiana at home.
