Purdue has won the Big Ten tournament after upsetting Michigan in the final. Purdue made a run to the Big Ten Championship, winning four straight games.
After entering the tournament as the seven seed, Purdue knocked off the one seed Michigan, and after the game, Trey Kaufmann-Renn told the media the message he gave the team, per CBS Sports, in his conversation with Tracy Wolfson.
“We let Michigan get the regular season title, and that's why I told our guys before, ‘we gotta win this one then,'” Kaufman-Renn said.
Michigan won the regular season by four games after finishing 19-1 in conference play. Meanwhile, Nebraska, Michigan State, and Illinois finished tied for second, all with a 15-5 conference record. Purdue finished at 13-7 in conference play, also behind Wisconsin and tied with UCLA.
Kaufman-Renn was a major reason Purdue got the upset. He finished the game with 20 points, while adding three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Meanwhile, Oscar Cluff put up 21 points, with five rebounds and an assist. Finally, Braden Smith scored 14 points, adding five rebounds and 11 assists in the victory.
The Boilermakers won the Big Ten tournament for the third time overall, winning last in 2023. Meanwhile, they had previously lost twice in the tournament to Michigan, falling in 1998 and 2018. Michigan was looking to win back-to-back Big Ten conference tournaments, being the first repeat champions since Michigan won it in 2017 and 2018.
Purdue will head to St. Louis as a two seed, facing Queens University in the first round on Friday. If they win, they will face the winner of Miami and Missouri.
