Michigan-Purdue Fort Wayne Contest Canceled

UPDATED (12/21/21) -- The University of Michigan and Purdue Fort Wayne athletic departments announced today (Tuesday, Dec. 21), the men's basketball game against the Mastodons scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 21, has been canceled due to internal COVID-19 protocols within the Purdue Fort Wayne program. [ Read More ]

» Michigan precedes its holiday break by hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday night at Crisler Center.
» Tuesday's game will be the second all-time meeting with the Mastodons.
» Hunter Dickinson, who leads U-M in scoring and rebounding, has four straight double-doubles.
» Kobe Bufkin was named the co-Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week after scoring a career-best 11 points against Southern Utah.

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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The University of Michigan men's basketball team (7-4) hosts Purdue Fort Wayne (5-5) in its final game prior to the holiday break. The Wolverines will face the Mastodons on Tuesday (Dec. 21) at Crisler Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:01 p.m. on Big Ten Network with Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call remotely.

What Else You Need to Know

• Hunter Dickinson has started 34 straight games and has played in all 39 games of his two-year career.

• DeVante' Jones has started his last 68 straight games, while Brandon Johns Jr. has 60 consecutive games played.

• For a second season, Hunter Dickinson leads U-M in scoring (15.6) and rebounding (9.1). Eli Brooks is second with 12.6 points per game, and Caleb Houstan is third at 10.1.

• DeVante' Jones has posted back-to-back double-figure scoring games with a season-best 14 against Minnesota and 13 against Southern Utah. Jones has gone 11-for-18 from the field and 3-for-7 from deep with nine assists (4.5 apg).

• Over his last five games, Caleb Houstan has shot 50.0 percent (13-for-26) from long range.

• Houstan (19) and Eli Brooks (19) have 38 of Michigan's 73 three-pointers -- 52.0 percent.

• Caleb Houstan (4.3 rpg) has nabbed 32 of his 47 rebounds over his last six games -- 68.1 percent.

• This season, Eli Brooks has gone 24-for-27 (88.9 percent) from the free-throw line. He is 64-for-71 (90.1 percent) over the last two seasons. For his career, Brooks is an 80 percent free-throw shooter (.808; 110-for-136). Just behind Brooks is Caleb Houstan, who is 20-for-24 (.833) from the charity stripe.

• DeVante' Jones leads the Wolverines in assists with 39 (3.9 apg). He tied his season best with eight assists at Nebraska (Dec. 7) -- his first eight-dime game was vs. UNLV (Nov. 19) at the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas.

• In 28 games last season, Hunter Dickinson had 25 total assists. This season (11 games), he already has 22, including a career-best-tying four against Seton Hall (Nov. 16). He has six games of 3+ assists.

• Dickinson has grabbed 10+ rebounds in his last four games, leading to four straight double-doubles. He has 10+ boards in five of his last six games, with a season-best 14 against San Diego State (Dec. 4)

• Moussa Diabate, who is second on the team with 5.8 rpg, has 22 offensive and 36 defensive rebounds. He posted his first career 10+ board game with 13 against Minnesota (Dec. 11).

• Hunter Dickinson (12) and Moussa Diabate (10) have 22 of Michigan's 36 blocks -- 61.1 percent.

The Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons

• Tuesday's game marks the second meeting between U-M and Purdue Fort Wayne.

• In the only series matchup, U-M claimed a 91-62 victory at Crisler Center on Dec. 4, 2001. Snapping a three-game losing skid, the Wolverines were led by Chris Young's double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds) while LaVell Blanchard had 18 points and Bernard Robinson Jr. added 16 points.

• Purdue Fort Wayne's game with the Wolverines is the second Big Ten foe the Mastodons have faced during their non-conference slate. On Nov. 19, the Mastodons lost 78-49 at Minnesota.

• Purdue Fort Wayne is averaging 73.5 points, 30.6 rebounds and 13.2 assists per game. The Mastodons shoot 45.0 percent and 78.2 percent on free throws.

• Purdue Fort Wayne is led by a group of six seniors -- one graduate student, one fifth-year, two super seniors and two seniors. Five of those six players are transfers.

• Senior Jarred Godfrey (6-5; guard) leads the Mastodons with 17.7 points after posting 10 straight double-figure games, including a season-best 35 vs. Western Michigan (Nov .27). Overall, he has accounted for a quarter of the Mastodons offense. He leads the team in assists (44; 4.4 apg) and steals (19; 1.9 spg) while adding 4.1 rebounds. He is second with 20 three-pointers.

• Fifth-year senior guard Jalen Pipkins averages 14.1 points with eight double-figure games. He blends in 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while super senior guard Ra Kpedi scores 11.1 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 70 percent from the field (42-for-60).

• Sixth-Man Deonte Billups has come off the bench for 7.6 points per game and leads the team with 23 three-pointers as 70 percent of his offensive attempts are from long range.

• Purdue Fort Wayne is led by head coach Jon Coffman, who is in his eighth season. He has a 123-107 record, and in his second season (2015-16) led the Mastodons to the Summit League title (12-2) and was named the League's Coach of the Year.

Weekly Honor

Kobe Bufkin was named the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday (Dec. 20) after posting his first career double figure scoring game against Southern Utah on Saturday (Dec. 18). He shared the award with Nebraska's Bryce McGowens. Coming off the bench and playing a career-best 18 minutes, Bufkin was 4-for-9 for a career-best 11 points. He added three rebounds and was 3-for-4 on free throws. It is the first conference honor of his career.

Ascending the Coaching Ranks

• Juwan Howard needs just one more win to reach 50 for his career. He would become the fourth third-year coach to with 50+ games -- Steve Fisher had 62, while Tommy Amaker and Brian Ellerbe had 52.

• With a win over Purdue Fort Wayne, Howard would win his 50th game in his 71st game on the sidelines in Ann Arbor. That would mark the fastest a U-M coach has reached the milestone.

Up Next

Thursday, Dec. 30 -- at Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.), 7 p.m.