Michigan
18-9,9-7Big Ten
Purdue
14-14,7-10Big Ten
Wagner, First-Half Runs Push Michigan to Victory at Purdue
2/22/2020 5:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan won its fifth straight game with a 71-63 victory at Purdue.
» The win was the first at Mackey Arena since Feb. 26, 2014.
» Franz Wagner scored a career-best 22 points.
» Isaiah Livers added 19 points, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
» The Wolverines capped off a regular-season sweep of Purdue.
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena)
Score: Michigan 71, Purdue 63
Records: Michigan (18-9, 9-7 B1G), Purdue (14-14, 7-10 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Feb. 27 -- vs. Wisconsin (Crisler Center), 7 p.m. (TV: ESPN2)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Using multiple big runs in the first half and a career-high 22 points from freshman Franz Wagner, the University of Michigan men's basketball team got out to a substantial lead and held onto it for a 71-63 victory over Purdue on Saturday (Feb. 22) at Mackey Arena.
The win at Mackey marked Michigan's first since Feb. 26, 2014, when Michigan earned a 77-76 overtime victory. With Saturday's victory, U-M capped off a regular-season sweep against the Boilermakers; the Wolverines earned a 84-78 double-overtime win at Crisler Center on Jan. 9.
Wagner's career day marked his second game of 20 points ot more. The freshman also added five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Three players reached double-digit scoring with Isaiah Livers scoring 19, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, and Jon Teske pouring in 11.
Michigan turned the ball over just three times and forced Purdue into 12 miscues, which turned into eight U-M points. The Wolverines grabbed 39 rebounds, including a team-high seven from Zavier Simpson and six from Livers.
Despite a slow start for the offense, the Michigan defense kept the Boilermakers off the board for more than two minutes to help U-M take a 10-9 advantage into the second media break of the first half.
The defense continued to play an active role in U-M's success, forcing three Purdue turnovers over a four-minute span and went up, 19-11, with a 9-0 run that was capped off with a Livers layup.
In a half of runs for the Maize and Blue, it closed out the first 20 minutes on a 10-2 run with a Teske dunk in the closing five seconds to take a 15-point, 36-21 advantage into the break.
Wagner led Michigan with 11 points, including three three-pointers, while Teske added nine points and Livers scored seven.
Neither team could find a scoring rhythm coming out of halftime as Michigan maintained at least a 10-point lead over the first 10 minutes of the second half.
David DeJulius provided a big offensive tip-in with 4:25 remaining in the contest to give the Wolverines a comfortable 55-42 advantage into the final media break of the game.
Purdue closed the gap to single digits in the final two minutes and called a timeout with 1:30 left, trailing, 58-49. However, with time dwindling, the Boilermakers were forced to foul and put Michigan at the line. Livers hit all eight of his free throws over the last 1:25 of the game to seal the win.
The Wolverines will return to Crisler Center on Thursday (Feb. 27) when they host Wisconsin. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
