Welcome to January 25th, 2018! Location: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette IN. Forecast: Fire. The #3 Purdue Boilermakers welcome #25 Michigan to West Lafayette for a Big Ten conference match up. Purdue entered the game on a 15 game winning streak and playing like one of the best teams in the country behind the workhorse center Isaac Haas, and the litany of shooters the Boilermakers stuck around him. The Boilers could play any style and play it well. But Purdue has had issues with Michigan in the past, would the Wolverines come into the deafening halls of Mackey Arena and come out with a win? They sure tried, and one of the most entertaining college basketball games of the season ensued. Here is how it happened.

The Scene: We begin in very rare territory, our Purdue Boilermakers sat on a current 15 game winning streak and have looked unbeatable during this stretch. This 16th win would put them in a position to set the new school record for consecutive wins. Standing in their way are the Michigan Wolverines, who have always presented an interesting matchup for the Boilermakers as both teams play very different styles. Purdue content to play through Isaac Haas and use his presence to open up the perimeter for the shooters, while Michigan loves to run and gun attempting to push the pace and keep things moving. The teams had already played a classic in Ann Arbor where Purdue came away with a 1 point win with an Isaac Haas free throw as time was winding down. No doubt, the Wolverines had revenge on their minds.

The Questions: Would Purdue be able to keep us this high level of play? They had been playing near perfect in their 15 game winning streak and the thought in the back of every fans’ mind was whether they could keep it up. The Boilers are a tough out in Mackey, but Michigan wouldn’t be scared. Also, how would Purdue attack the Michigan defense? That would be answered on how Michigan chose to defend the Boilermakers because this Boiler squad would exploit your decision either way, either by pounding it inside or bombing away from three.

The Video: Watch along as you read!

The First Half: Every time I begin one of these videos I get chills hearing how loud Mackey is even on video. Purdue starts with the ball and immediately Isaac Haas scores in the post! A Mo Wagner three on the other end and one of the most efficient offensive games of the season has started fast. A couple of empty possessions by the Boilers and a layup for Michigan give the Wolverines an early 3 point lead as we see back-to-back offensive fouls. Both teams seem to be getting into the flow of the game and haven’t settled in yet. Haas gets the Boilers back on the board with a hook shot off the glass and then on defense, gets a block off a Michigan player, and scores again on a simple mid-lane jump hook and suddenly Boilers lead!

With 16:15 left in the half, Michigan’s Charles Matthews gets to feel the full force of Isaac Haas when the big man lands on top of him after a shot fake at the rim. Thankfully he is okay because 7’2 290 probably doesn’t feel too good coming down on top of you. After the free-throws, Vince Edwards gets to the rim on a beautiful up and under move, before Michigan knocks down another three and a layup and they lead by 4. With 13:50 remaining we hit the first media timeout with Michigan’s lead at 4 and Purdue can’t seem to find a clean look at the basket. Purdue has yet to hit a three and with Haas out, it seems like the balance they normally see is causing issues with the offense.

Coming out of the timeout we see Haas return to the game. Then with 12:55 left, we see Vincent Edwards knock down the first Boilermaker three and the crowd wakes up a bit! Purdue follows that up with a defensive stop and then with Haas rolling off a high ball screen, he gets fouled going up and puts it through for a chance at a three-point play! Mackey is awake finally as Purdue retakes a 2-point lead! Purdue currently going with a different lineup consisting of Mathias, Cline, Nojel Eastern, Grady Eifert, and Matt Haarms. Not a lineup many would consider productive. They do get us to the under-12 media timeout and after another Wolverine three, Michigan finds themselves up again by 3.

Coming out of the timeout we see two missed free-throws from Nojel Eastern with the second falling into Haas’ hands before Vincent Edwards knocks down a contested three to tie the game! Nojel Eastern comes up with a steal on the next possession and Haas’ finds the basket this time and Boilers lead! We then get treated to the full Mackey arena treatment as the crowd rises to their feet! Unfortunately, a missed Dakota Mathias three leads to a Michigan three to quiet the crowd. But just for a moment as Eastern scores on a layup before forcing a turnover and Mathias doesn’t miss twice as he knocks down a corner three! Then the way Michigan responds on the next possession makes this game so interesting. The Wolverines refuse to be rattled by this team and get a clean look to stop the Boilermaker run and this first half continues to be a slugfest with neither team taking control.

As we eclipse the 7:30 mark Purdue leads by 4 and both teams seem to be fully settled into this one. After a pair of empty possessions we see a great offensive possession with Carsen Edwards driving the lane before dishing it off to Vincent Edwards for the slam! Then with just over 5 minutes left in the half, after a turnover Carsen Edwards does Carsen things and knocks down a transition three forcing a Michigan timeout and Purdue leads by 7! It’s not destined to stick as we come out of the timeout to see Purdue turn it over and give up a 3 point play in transition for Michigan. Then with Haas back in after the Haarms foul, a very (read: extremely) questionable charge call against Haas sends the big man back to the bench as we reach the under-4 timeout of the first half with a Michigan foul as Carsen drives to the basket.

Out of the timeout, Carsen continues to do Carsen things and hits a very contested jumper on the left wing to push the Purdue lead back to 6, before a Michigan pick-and-roll gets them back in the scoring column. Fortunately for Purdue, Carsen is still Carsen and bangs home another tough three as we near 2-minutes remaining in the half. Then, after a Zavier Simpson three, Matt Haarms knocks down two free-throws, and Simpson gets to the rim again. The Purdue lead is only 2 before again, Carsen Edwards does his thing and knocks down another deep contested three to send us to the half with the score at 41-36 Purdue!

Halftime Thoughts: This was the first basketball season after I graduated from Purdue and it was always an interesting experience watching games this year. Even before I attended Purdue as a student, I grew up only 45 minutes away from campus so it never felt like I was that disconnected from it. After graduating and moving to San Antonio, it’s the farthest away from West Lafayette I’ve ever lived and missing games was very hard in 2017-18. I think it was because I experienced the resurgence of Purdue basketball on the shoulders of these seniors and the emotional connection I felt made this season especially hard. Especially when the season ended the way it did.

The Second Half: The second half begins and the most impressive 20-minutes of offensive basketball is underway! Michigan gets the half started with an offensive rebound and put back. Dakota Mathias responds with one of his favorite moves, the shot fake take one dribble to the side and knocks down the three! Michigan gets to the rim again but PJ Thompson makes his presence known and knocks down the second consecutive three for the Boilers! Mo Wagner responds with a three of his on before Vincent Edwards finds himself playing above the rim again off a Haas assist! Before you know it, Michigan’s Abdur-Rahkman is knocking down another transition three. Then a Carsen Edwards turnover leads to a Michigan dunk and the Wolverines lead with 16-minutes remaining 50-49.

As he always was, Haas was there to settle the team down with a basket inside to stop the Michigan run. Then Simpson gets free again with a hook, Vincent Edwards scores again off another pass from Haas, and Abdur-Rahkman gets free from deep again as teams trade baskets. The offenses have awoken and neither team seems to miss. The defense for both sides hasn’t been bad, it’s just that the offense has been that good. An Isaac Haas block leads to a Dakota Mathias three to put Purdue back up 1 with 13:30 remaining before Charles Matthews puts Michigan back up again. There have been 17 lead changes at this point in the game and you feel like there will continue to be more as the game goes on.

We come out of the media timeout and this is where a magical sequence begins where neither team can miss literally. Over the next 4 minutes of game time here is the play-by-play:

• 12:50: PUR - Vincent Edwards made Jumper (58-57 Purdue)

• 12:31: MICH - Isaiah Livers made 3PT (58-60 Michigan)

• 11:57: PUR - Ryan Cline made 3PT (61-60 Purdue)

• 11:35: MICH - Jon Teske made Layup (61-62 Michigan)

• 11:11: PUR - Matt Haarms made Jumper (63-62 Purdue)

• 10:40: MICH - Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman made 3PT (63-65 Michigan)

• 10:21: PUR - Matt Haarms made Dunk (65-65 Tie)

• 10:08: MICH - Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman missed 3PT (65-65 Tie)

• 10:08: MICH - Jon Teske Offensive rebound

• 9:41: MICH - Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman made 3PT (65-68 Michigan)

• 9:12: PUR - Vincent Edwards made 3PT (68-68 Tie)

• 8:40: MICH - Jaaron Simmons Turnover

In over 4-minutes of game time, there were no empty possessions. Even when Michigan finally missed a shot, they got the offensive rebound and got a three off of it. It was one of the most impressive stretches of shot-making I have ever seen. And if you extend the play-by-play a few more lines, Vincent Edwards is fouled and knocks down a pair of free-throws on the ensuing fast break.

After the shot-making onslaught, the game cools off a bit as we see that the teams can miss as we hit the 8-minute mark with Vincent Edwards getting an offensive rebound and putting it back up and through to give Purdue a 4 point lead at 72-68 as we go to the under-8 media timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, Abdur-Rahkman misses two free-throws to the Paint Crews delight. After a Michigan foul, Purdue finds Haas again inside and Purdue’s lead grows to 6 before Duncan Robinson finishes over Haas to end the drought for Michigan. But, Isaac Haas will not be denied down low as Mo Wagner fouls Haas for the three-point play, and Mackey can feel the momentum growing. A Carsen Edwards steal with just over 5:30 left to send him to the line where he knocks down both and Purdue leads by 9. Mackey can taste the blood in the water and be just waiting for the team to deliver the final blow.

After a Michigan timeout Mo Wagner knocks down a big three for the Wolverines to help keep them in it. Neither team scores over their next possessions as time continues to run with Michigan down 6 before a Wagner pump fake and layup over Matt Haarms prompts a timeout from Coach Matt Painter with 3:51 remaining. Purdue’s lead is down to just 4, would they be able to hold on and make enough plays to hold on? Coming out of the timeout Haas gets off-balance on a post attempt that falls short and Purdue has suddenly had trouble getting shots to fall.

From here we see a scoring drought that includes both sides as neither team can get a shot to fall. It’s not until we pass the 2-minute mark that Isaac Haas gets free and puts through a powerful one-handed dunk to end the drought and get the Mackey crowd on their feet! Purdue leads by 6 before Abdur-Rahkman responds on the next possession with a layup to reduce the lead back to 4. With 1:17 remaining, Wagner fouls Haas who goes to the line and calmly knocks down two free-throws to extend the Purdue lead back to 6, 83-77.

Wagner misses a three with 1:08 remaining and the Mackey faithful rise to their feet! A Carsen Edwards turnover leads to a Michigan transition where PJ Thompson should have been called for a foul but was awarded a block that kept the ball in Michigan’s hands. Charles Matthews makes a baseline jumper to pull Michigan back within 4 with just 43.5 seconds remaining.

From here, Michigan plays the foul game and Purdue finishes the last 45 seconds going 7-8 from the free-throw line while Michigan only manages a single basket, a three from Abdur-Rahkman with 34 seconds left before it’s too little too late. A trio of Zavier Simpson layups with 14, 7, and 2 seconds remaining pull the Wolverines a little closer on the box score, but it’s all done and dusted as Purdue makes their free-throws and puts the game away with a final score of 92-88 Boilermakers!

Final Stats (ESPN)

Individual Stats

• Vincent Edwards: 9-11 FG (30 pts) / 3-3 3PT / 9-10 FT / 5 Reb / 5 Ast / 1 Stl

• Isaac Haas: 10-14 FG (24 pts) / 4-4 FT / 6 Reb / 3 Ast / 3 Blk

• Carsen Edwards: 4-9 FG (13 pts) / 3-7 3PT / 2-2 FT / 1 Reb / 3 Ast / 1 Stl / 1 Blk

• Dakota Mathias: 3-9 FG (9 pts) / 3-7 3PT / 0-1 FT / 2 Reb / 5 Ast

Team Stats:

Purdue Boilermakers:

• FG%/3PT%: 31-50 (62%) / 11-20 (55%)

• Free Throws: 19-23 (82.6%)

• Rebounds: 21

• Assists: 22

• Steals: 7

• Blocks: 6

• Turnovers: 10

Michigan Wolverines:

• FG%/3PT%: 35-58 (60.3%) / 13-23 (56.5%)

• Free Throws: 5-9 (55.6%)

• Rebounds: 25

• Assists: 14

• Steals: 5

• Blocks: 3

• Turnovers: 11

The Results: This was an impressive win by a very impressive Purdue team. It was a night where neither team could miss and the good guys came out on top. This win tied the school record for consecutive wins at 16, where it would eventually fall and the new record would be established a couple of weeks later with the Boilermakers winning 20 straight. An extremely impressive team that unfortunately didn’t get the hardware it deserved from this season. Tough losses against Ohio State at home, and on the road at Wisconsin and Michigan State means that the regular season title slips away. A loss in the Big Ten tournament championship to this same Michigan team. And the NCAA tournament… happens. But on this night, it was all about offense and we saw our Boilermakers come out on top and even though we know how the season turned out. After this game, Purdue was on top of the world and looked absolutely unbeatable.

Why this Game? This was an offensive explosion that had hardly ever been associated with Purdue basketball. Purdue had the reputation even still that they were slow, methodical, and pounded the ball through the post. While that was true at points, this game highlighted that the opposite could be true as well. This was an extremely balanced team that had it not been for injuries… well who knows what would have happened.

As for this game specifically, this was another game I was sad I had to miss in person. This was such an entertaining game where it seemed like neither team could miss no matter the shot and no matter the situation. It was an amazing game that I love to re-watch because of the offense, the crowd (as always), and of course the win.

How do you feel? Leave a comment below or tweet at me your thoughts @BoilerInTexas on how you felt watching this game! As well as if you enjoy re-watching old games to re-live them!

What’s Next?

It always feels good to beat Nebraska in football. Their fans remind us of a certain basketball program, clinging to the past and refuse to accept that they have achieved mediocrity.

Back to the gridiron as we go on the road with the Boilermakers as they travel to Lincoln in 2018 where it was never in doubt and boos reign down.

As Always, Boiler Up, Hammer Down, Hail Purdue!