Field Level Media
Jan 22, 2021
Isaiah Livers had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 7 Michigan snapped Purdue's four-game winning streak with a 70-53 victory in West Lafayette, Ind. on Friday.
Eli Brooks contributed 11 points and five rebounds for Michigan (13-1 overall, 8-1 Big Ten). Franz Wagner tossed in eight points with seven rebounds and a team-best five assists.
Hunter Dickinson added eight points but also made six turnovers.
The Wolverines, who never trailed, increased their lead in the Big Ten to 1 1/2 games over second-place No. 4 Iowa and No. 10 Wisconsin.
Michigan, which scored 20 points off turnovers, shot 44.6 percent from the field and knocked down six of 15 3-point tries. Livers had half of those 3-point makes.
Trevion Williams led Purdue (11-6, 6-4) with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Jaden Ivey added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Boilermakers coach Matt Painter announced prior to the game that starter Sasha Stefanovic would miss at least three games after testing positive for COVID-19.
Without him, Purdue shot 30.8 percent from the field and made just two of 12 3-point attempts.
The Wolverines established a 34-21 lead by halftime behind Livers' 12 points.
Michigan opened up a 14-4 lead as Purdue missed 12 of its first 14 shots and committed two turnovers. Mike Smith gave the Wolverines their first double-digit lead with a 3-pointer at 12:22.
The Boilermakers cut their deficit to four points but Michigan reeled off seven unanswered points, beginning with a Livers 3-pointer, for a 25-14 lead.
Livers knocked down another 3 in the final minute of the half. That gave Michigan its biggest lead of the half, 34-19. Purdue's Isaiah Thompson scored in the paint on its next possession.
Another long ball from Livers in the opening minute of the second half lifted Michigan's lead to 18, 39-21.
The Boilermakers answered with an 11-3 spurt, capped by an Ivey three-point play, to cut the Wolverines' advantage to 10, 42-32.
Michigan scored the next six points. From there, the Wolverines maintained a lead of 13 or more points.
--Field Level Media