Boilermakers hope for repeat of last year's tournament matchup against Wolverines
WASHINGTON -- The storylines for Friday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinal game featuring No. 13 Big Ten regular-season champion Purdue and Michigan, whose trip to the tournament has been difficult to say the least, are plentiful.
The No. 8 seed Wolverines (21-11) showed their poise and mental toughness Thursday afternoon by responding to a scary slide off the runway in heavy winds in Michigan by defeating No. 9 seed Illinois 75-55 in a second-round game at the Verizon Center.
Forced to wear their practice uniforms because their equipment is being held on the damaged aircraft as part of an investigation, the Wolverines flew from Detroit to the D.C. area early Thursday, arrived at the Verizon Center at 10:40 a.m. and tipped off at 12:25 p.m., a 25-minute delay.
Unfazed, Michigan raced to a 31-11 lead and was never really threatened, getting 19 points from Derrick Walton Jr. and 18 from Zak Irvin, shooting 53.6 percent from the field (30 of 56) and outscoring the Illini 16-8 in points as the result of turnovers.
"It has been an incredible 24 hours with what these guys have been through," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "It has been emotional for many of them. They played connected today like they were connected yesterday. We really feel blessed to be in this situation. I could not be more proud."
It certainly hasn't been easy.
"The hardest part was getting back on that plane Thursday morning," Irvin said.
Added Walton: "Once we got on the court, it was back to what we do."
Now, Michigan gets a second shot at the Big Ten's best team -- Purdue (25-6) -- which the Wolverines defeated 82-70 on Feb. 25 in Ann Arbor, Mich. This will be only the fourth time Purdue and Michigan have met in the 20-year history of the Big Ten tournament, although the Boilermakers defeated the Wolverines 76-59 in last year's semifinals in Indianapolis.
It's also fascinating that one of Purdue's late-season strengths has been the play of fifth-year graduate transfer point guard Spike Albrecht, who spent four seasons playing for Michigan.
"I thought Spike played well late in the regular season and deserved to get more minutes," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "He has subbed in and played well. It is hard for the role that he is in. It is hard to be really productive in 10 to 12 minutes. He definitely has given us a boost. We look forward to having him play well in Washington, D.C."
While Purdue is led by Big Ten Player of the Year sophomore power forward Caleb Swanigan (18.7 points and 12.6 rebounds), its strong junior class of Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas, Dakota Mathias and P.J. Thompson will be vital if the Boilermakers win this event for the first time since their only other tourney title in 2009.
"Those guys have been through it," Painter said. "This is their third Big Ten tournament and their third NCAA tournament.
"They have seen a lot of different things. I think that kind of shows up in that they play with that mature pulse and confidence. All four of those players have had a lot of tournament experience now."
Until Michigan put the finishing touches on Illinois on Thursday, Purdue practices this week centered on themselves.
"We knew we were going to play Illinois or Michigan, so for us, Tuesday and Wednesday were days to get in a lot of shooting and just kind of worrying about ourselves," Painter said. "We didn't practice Thursday in the D.C. area until after the game between Illinois and Michigan.
"This time of the year, everybody knows everything about their opponents. We want to make sure everybody is on the same page in this game, and you want to shoot well. You have to work toward executing and getting good shots."
Vince Edwards said Purdue is eager to add to its impressive resume in the rematch with Michigan.
"We can't be content with the Big Ten regular-season milestone," Edwards said. "We have to keep on moving. It's good that we have that (conference title) locked in and secure. Now we move on to our next goal, which is the Big Ten tournament championship."
Thompson wants another shot at Michigan.
"Every game matters," Thompson said. "You're always trying to improve your NCAA seeding. Anytime you beat a tourney team like Northwestern at their place on Sunday, it's huge. It adds to our resume."
