WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Michigan walked into Mackey Arena, it had its sights set on leaving with a signature win.
The Wolverines had their chance. They put up a fight against one of the top teams in the nation, mucked the game up and trailed by four with two minutes remaining.
But Michigan couldn’t get enough stops against one of the best offenses in the country, made a pair of critical turnovers down the stretch and fell short in an 82-76 loss to No. 4 Purdue on Saturday.
Sophomore center Hunter Dickinson scored a career-high 28 points for Michigan (11-9, 5-5 Big Ten), which shot 55.8% from the field (29 for 52). Grad transfer guard DeVante’ Jones added 13 points and freshman forward Caleb Houstan scored 11.
Jaden Ivey finished with 23 points, Trevion Williams added 19 points and Zach Edey had 13 points for Purdue (20-3, 9-3), which shot 51.7% from the field (30 for 58) to win its fifth straight and stop a five-game losing streak against Michigan.
The Wolverines got off to a strong start out of the break and leaned on Dickinson to put pressure on the Boilermakers. He made his first three shots in the second half — a pair of jumpers and a layup — with his last basket cutting Purdue’s lead to 45-44 at the 16:47 mark.
The Boilermakers shrugged off the threat, made eight straight shots and maintained control thanks to Ivey. He spearheaded a 16-4 run with three consecutive baskets in the paint, found Williams in transition for a dunk and capped it with two free throws as Purdue pulled ahead, 61-49 with 11:43 remaining.
Michigan turned to a press to help it cut it back to single digits. After forcing a 10-second backcourt violation, Dickinson knocked down a mid-range jumper. Then after getting another stop, Jones scored in the paint to make it 61-54 with 10:14 to go.
The press continued to give Purdue problems as Michigan continued to battle. After the Boilermakers pushed the lead to 12, the Wolverines forced another turnover, got another layup from Jones, used two free throws from fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks and used a hook shot from Dickinson to trim it to 68-63 with 5:46 remaining.
Michigan continued to hang around. After Purdue extended the lead to nine, the Wolverines used four straight free throws from Houstan and Dickinson to cut it back to five. Then after Purdue missed the front end of a one-and-one and grabbed the offensive rebound that led to an Ivey layup, Jones buried a corner 3-pointer to make it 76-72 with 2:19 left.
That’s as close as Michigan would get. After getting a stop, Dickinson turned the ball over. Then after Purdue made two free throws, the Wolverines turned the ball over again on their next offensive possession. From there, Purdue closed out the game by making six free throws in the final 1:20.
The early stages featured a healthy helping of touches for the big men. Dickinson scored Michigan’s first two baskets on a hook and mid-range jumper but had his work cut out for him on the other end. He picked up an early foul, Edey grabbed three offensive boards in the first two minutes and Purdue took a 12-4 lead.
The deficit grew as Purdue showed off its outside shooting. The Boilermakers drained three deep balls within a three-minute span during a 4-for-7 start from deep and jetted out to a 20-8 lead, forcing a Michigan timeout with 12:32 left in the first half.
But after a slow start on offense, Michigan recovered and found its footing with an 11-for-13 shooting stretch. The Wolverines countered with a 7-0 spurt that featured a driving layup and corner 3-poiner from Brooks to cut it to 22-17 at the 9:55 mark.
Then after Purdue pushed the lead back to 10 on back-to-back dunks by Jaden Ivey, the Boilermakers went cold from beyond the arc and the Wolverines started to heat up. Michigan rattled off an 11-2 flurry that featured three 3-pointers and was capped by back-to-back deep balls from Dickinson to pull within 32-31 at the 4:31 mark.
From there, the empty possessions piled up for the Wolverines. They made just one more shot down the stretch but remained within striking distance as they trailed 39-33 at halftime.
Michigan won’t have to wait long to get another crack at Purdue. The Wolverines will host the Boilermakers on Thursday night in a game that was originally scheduled for Jan. 11 but was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within Michigan’s program.
