Wolverines to Face No. 3 Purdue for Second Time in Six Days

Thursday, February 10

Ann Arbor, Mich.

9:00 PM

Michigan

Purdue

Eli Brooks (Michigan Photography)

Wolverines to Face No. 3 Purdue for Second Time in Six Days

2/9/2022 5:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Tom Wywrot

» Michigan hosts No. 3 Purdue in a second matchup in the last six days.
» The Wolverines fell 82-76 at No. 4 Purdue in Mackey Arena on Feb.5.
» With his expected start, Eli Brooks will set the U-M mark for career games with 147.
» Hunter Dickinson continues to lead U-M with 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds.

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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The University of Michigan men's basketball team (12-9, 6-5 Big Ten)starts returns to Ann Arbor to face No. 3 Purdue (21-3; 10-3 Big Ten) on Thursday (Feb. 10) at Crisler Center. It is the second meeting in six days after the original Jan. 11 matchup was postponed and rescheduled following COVID protocols within the U-M program. Six days ago, U-M lost 82-76 at Mackey Arena. The second matchup is scheduled for a 9 p.m. tip on ESPN with Brian Custer (play-by-play) and Jon Crispin (analyst) on the call.

Note: Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the University of Michigan has instituted a proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative-test protocol for indoor athletic events. Face masks continue to be required and must be worn during all home indoor athletic events. [ U-M Vaccination Policy ]

The Scene Setter

• Michigan is in the midst of a three-games-in-five-days swing. It opened with a win at Penn State (Feb. 8; 58-57). Now, U-M faces No. 3 Purdue (Feb. 10) and No. 16 Ohio State (Feb. 10) at Crisler Center.

• In U-M's final nine Big Ten games, the Wolverines will face six nationally-ranked foes.

• Michigan's Caleb Houstan and Purdue's Zach Edey were teammates on Team Canada and earned the bronze medal (6-1) at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup (Latvia); the second medal in its World Cup history.

• Hunter Dickinson leads U-M with 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds. He has six 20+ point games in his last eight. In his last two games, he tied a career-best with 28 points at Purdue (Feb. 5) and tied a career-best with 15 rebounds at Penn State (Feb. 8).

• With his expected start, Eli Brooks will become U-M's career games leader with 147 games. He will pass his former teammate Zavier Simpson (146; 2017-20). Brooks already holds the program record with 117 career wins. He needs 29 points to become the 56th Wolverine to reach 1,000 career points.

New Milestone for the Professor

• With his expected start against No. 3 Purdue, Eli Brooks will become U-M's career games leader with 147 games. He will pass his former teammate Zavier Simpson (146; 2017-20).

• Brooks already holds the program record with 117 career wins -- currently the most of any Big Ten player.

• Brooks (971) needs 29 points to become the 56th Wolverine to reach 1,000 career points.

• This season, Brooks is using the NCAA's one-time response to COVID-19 granting an additional year.

The No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers

• Currently on a six-game winning streak, Purdue (21-3; 10-3 B1G) comes to Ann Arbor in a three-way tie for the Big Ten lead, along with Illinois and Wisconsin. The Boilermakers used an 84-68 win over the No. 13 Illini on Tuesday (Feb. 8) at Mackey to move into first, while the No. 14 Badgers won 70-62 at No. 17 Michigan State.

• Purdue's offense is one of the more dominant in the country as the Boilermakers are fourth nationally in scoring (84.5), third in three-point percentage (41.1 percent), third in field goal percentage (50.8 percent), sixth in assists (18.1), seventh in scoring margin (+15.8) and 11th in free-throw attempts (511; 21.3 per game). With 39.6 rebounds per game, Purdue holds an +11.3 advantage, which leads the nation.

• Purdue is led by Jaden Ivey's 17.7 points per game. He has 22 double-figure outings in 23 games with nine of 20+ points, including his last four and in five of his last six. He adds 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and has 25 steals.

• Down low, Purdue is led by the Boilermaker duo of 7-foor-4 center Zach Edey and 6-foor-10 forward Trevion Williams. Leading the nation shooting 68.1 percent, Edey averages 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. Williams adds 12.3 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds. Both average nearly 3.0 offensive boards apiece (68 and 64, respectively) and have combined for 47 of 87 blocked shots.

• In addition to his play down low, Williams is third with 73 assists (3.0 apg). He has 13 games of 3+ assists, with a season-best nine vs. N.C. State (Dec. 12).

• Recently making his 200th career three-pointer, Sasha Stefanovic has a team-best 63 long range buckets helping him to 11.9 points per game. He is shooting 40.9 percent from deep. For the season, 75 percent of his shots (154-for-201) have come from beyond the arc. He leads the Boilermakers with 89 assists (3.7 apg).

It was Just Six Days Ago

• Despite a valiant effort and a career-best-tying 28 points from Hunter Dickinson, Michigan fell 82-76 to No. 4-ranked Purdue at a raucous Mackey Arena.

• Dickinson led the Wolverines with his ninth 20-plus-point performance of the season as he closed with a career-best-tying 28 points, finishing 12-for-17 from the field, with a pair of three-pointers. He added two rebounds and two blocks.

• The Wolverines and Boilermakers each shot better than 50 percent from the field (55.8 percent and 51.7 percent, respectively), but Purdue's rebounding advantage (32 to 22) and inside scoring (44 to 26) led to the win.

Up Next

Saturday, Feb. 12 -- vs. No. 16 Ohio State (Crisler Center), 6 p.m. (TV: ESPN/2)