It has not been home-sweet-home for Purdue’s men’s basketball team this season.
Michigan handed Purdue its fourth loss at Mackey Arena this season, 71-63, on Saturday afternoon. The Boilermakers’ fourth home loss this season equals the number of combined losses at Mackey Arena over the previous four seasons.
Purdue struggled out of the game with ten missed shots of 13 taken in the opening minutes. Michigan struggled, too, from the outset. But in the final four minutes, the Wolverines opened up their margin with a 15-4 run to close out the half.
The Wolverines built a 15-point halftime lead and the Boilers couldn’t pull any closer than an eight-point deficit in the second half.
“It’s the same thing that we’ve had throughout the course of the year,” said coach Matt Painter following the game, “When shots don’t go down, we hang our head and allow one mistake to lead to two.”
With a 14-14 overall record, 7-10 in Big Ten play, Purdue's chances to reach the NCAA tournament are becoming more remote with three regular season games remaining. The last time Purdue missed the tournament was 2014.
Sophomore forward Trevion Williams led Purdue in scoring with 18 points in his second straight game off the bench. Evan Boudreaux, a senior forward, yanked down a season-high 15 rebounds.
Michigan freshman Franz Wagner led all scorers with 22 points.
Purdue's will clash with its in-state rival, the Indiana Hoosiers, on Thursday (Feb. 27).
