Focused No. 1 Michigan takes care of business in win over No. 7 Purdue with No. 3 Duke looming

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — No. 1 Michigan stuck to the game plan Tuesday night.

The Wolverines ignored their ranking, the fact they were playing their first game in 13 years as the nation’s highest-ranked team or the distraction of looking ahead to Saturday’s long-awaited showdown against No. 3 Duke.

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Instead, they took care of business at No. 7 Purdue.

“This is great for our fans, it’s great for recruiting, great for the attention it puts on our program and our prestigious university,” coach Dusty May said following an impressive 91-80 victory in one of college basketball’s toughest road venues. “But as far as do we care (about being No. 1)? Absolutely not. If we’re No. 1 on April 7, that’s what we’re ultimately concerned with.”

The Wolverines (25-1, 15-1 Big Ten) seem to be making a stronger case each time they step onto the court. They’ve won 11 straight, have 21 double-digit wins this season and now hold a 3 1/2-game lead over the Big Ten’s preseason favorite.

But in a game Purdue (21-5, 11-4) desperately needed to stay in the conference chase, Michigan beat the Boilermakers at their own game by dominating the middle early in a contest that felt like an NCAA Tournament game.

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“Our goal was to win the Big Ten,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “But those dudes aren’t losing four (conference) games. We’ve got four losses, and they ain’t losing four games, that’s just reality. When you’ve been in the league for 25 years, that’s reality.”

They played well enough to earn a rare day off Wednesday.

On Thursday, it will be back to work with a new goal — to continue showing there will be no drop-off from the balanced offensive, suffocating defensive or strong post play as the intensity increases and the stakes get higher.

Painter got a firsthand glimpse of just how difficult these Wolverines can be on Tuesday — just like as t hen-No. 7 Michigan State did in a 12-point loss on its home court Jan. 30.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/focused-no-1-michigan-takes-031629857.html

Author : MICHAEL MAROT

Publish date : 2026-02-18 03:16:00

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