After winning three games over the previous three days Purdue headed to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game to face a Michigan Wolverines team who dominated them in Mackey Arena in their lone matchup back in February. This one of course was for not just the championship, but also had seeding implications for the Boilermakers who will soon learn what seed line and what location they will be heading to next week.
John Wooden Memorial Player of the Game (JWMPOTG): Oscar Cluff wins this one again
today. He had 21 and 5 and each one seemed more important than the last.
After starting on fire offensively the previous two games with 13-3 and 15-2 starts Purdue fans were hoping for a similar hot start today against the also red hot Woleverines. No such luck today as both teams came out struggling to find their offensive flow. At one point in the first half each team was sitting at a not so great 7-19 from the field. Neither team was able to find a consistent flow, and neither team was able to run away with a big lead. Purdue’s biggest lead in the first half was four while Michigan built a six point lead at best. Neither was safe though. Especially with the physical play of the Wolverines. That play saw Oscar Cluff get two early fouls to go along with a pair of early fouls on Trey Kaufman-Renn that all came on rebounds. Not what you want when you’re playing a Michigan team with length and size at nearly every position.
Then, with Daniel Jacobsen in the game the Michigan offense attacked the redshirt freshman and found dunks on three straight possessions to build their lead. Somehow though, Purdue found a way to hang in this one in the first half. Purdue hung around thanks to some spectacular offense from Loyer including a four point play and a nice take to the basket. He’s been active on both ends this entire tournament and is making a reasonable case for Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. In a 28 span of time in the first half Braden Smith, wearing #41 because his #3 was ripped, had an assist to TKR, grabbed a rebound, then made a bucket on the other end. The senior was making the most of his minutes. Unfortunately, a quick 4-0 Michigan run to end the half sent the teams to the locker room all tied up at 38. Just 20 minutes left to find the champion.
Purdue came out in the second half like a team on fire. A 20-8 run to take a 12 point lead and Michigan looked dejected and they knew that they would have to claw and fight for every possession the rest of the way. Purdue was led by great performances by TKR, Cluff, Loyer, and Smith who did absolutely everything you could want on the floor in the second half. Just look at these second half only numbers:
- TKR had 12 second half points despite injuring his shoulder late in the half.
- Cluff had 12 second half points on 4-5 shooting.
- Smith scored 7 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and even 1 block!
- Loyer had 5 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds.
This was just about as perfect of a second half as you could imagine for the Boilermakers. They hit their free throws down the stretch and come away with a Big Ten Tournament Championship for the third time in program history. This senior class might not have won the regular season title but they dominated in this tournament and improved their March seeding along the way.
