Purdue makes Mackey Magic in Michigan

Mackey Arena isn't a place - it's a people - and those people were in Ann Arbor on Sunday to watch the #3 Purdue Boilermakers beat a Michigan team that gave its best effort of the season against the likely the back to back Big Ten champions.

It was an environment that had Matt Painter, an elder statesmen of college basketball at this stage in his career, in a place he never had been before. Painter looked around at a surprisingly full arena on the road and was impressed.

"I came out and said this is a pretty good crowd," Painter said after the game. "Cause I know they're on Spring Break."

With Michigan students on Spring Break amidst one of the most difficult seasons in program history, empty seats were to be expected. But the thing about Ann Arbor, Michigan is that it's not that far from the state of Indiana.

In fact, it's just four hours away from West Lafayette.

"I was like this is a pretty good crowd," Painter went on to say. "And somebody said quick to me, 'now you understand that 1500 people over there to your left is all Purdue people.' So I didn't even know."

And then because Painter is as good at it gets, he added, "Head coaches don't know shit anyways, right?"

Apologies for the cursing, but I think after you hear Painter's message to his team at half, you'll likely want to let a few out yourself and find yourself a wall to run through.

"I told our guys at half time," Painter said. "This might not ever happen ever go. So give them something to cheer about."

Purdue's two stars, Braden Smith and Zach Edey, are so good on the court that it seems unfair that its home court can travel with them, too.

The score could have been a lot wider. Credit to Michigan, who has faded in most second halves this season. Michigan played one of its most complete games of the season. It hit shots and the offensive glass in the second half, and Purdue could never quite pull away as they held a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

"I thought we played well," Painter said after the game. "I thought we did some good things. We just didn't convert enough to reward ourselves to get on a run and push the game out."

Purdue was just 7 of 24 from three despite good looks from the perimeter all night.

But Purdue played hard, and it rebounded, from its smallest player Smith grabbing 8 boards to Mason Gillis coming off the bench to grab 8 boards as well.

Purdue had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half. Michigan had 10 total rebounds in the first half.

Purdue out rebounded Michigan by 13 in the game and its 24-9 second point advantage was enough to cover Michigan's hot shooting from three where the Wolverines sank 9 of its 21 three-point attempts.

Michigan's record and earned narrative might have some people thinking a certain way about the game, but Painter was pleased with his guys' play.

"A lot of people will take this as 'ahh they were just okay,'" Painter said after the game. "But you know we just didn't make some shots."

This is on the heels of Purdue becoming the top shooting three-point team after an efficient night against the second best defense in the country on Thursday against Rutgers. Purdue was under 50% from the floor and knocked down just 7 threes, but when it needed a basket, it went to its monster down low.

Zach Edey had one of his best games of his career, scoring 35 points on 14 of 18 from the floor. No shock, a lot of that rebounding edge was built in Edey's hands who grabbed 15 boards.

Purdue appears to be rounding into peak form after its road loss to Ohio State a week ago.

While the shooting wasn't what Purdue's used to, Fletcher Loyer showed signs of life in the second half, knocking down a pull up and an open three early in the half.

"It was great to see Fletch knock down a couple shots," Painter said after the game.

A game after having a career-night of 18 points on no misses, Camden Heide played well again, even if the shot attempts didn't come to him in the same capacity. He had just two field goal attempts, a lay up in transition and an open three-pointer he missed, but his defense and ability to spread the floor continues to be a net positive for Purdue. He was a team high +12 in 19 minutes of action.

"That's kind of the role, right?" Painter said after the game. "Kind of a 3 and D, right? But how much did he help us from a spacing standpoint?"

That space allowed Purdue's two cornerstones to go to work.

Again, Braden Smith was brilliant even on a night where his shot didn't fall - 3 of 14 from the floor - but he had another near triple-double, scoring 11 points, grabbing 8 boards, and dishing 11 assists. He continues to be 1b to Edey's 1a.

"I always say that about starting a team," Painter said after the game. "If you're gonna start a team, start it with a point guard and a center. Those are the cornerstones and fill in from there."

Purdue has two All-Americans holding its team up above the rest of the Big Ten conference.

Around Smith and Edey, Gillis filled in with two threes and a bunch of rebounds, as the senior went for 8 points and 8 rebounds.

But the consistent threat all season has been transfer guard, Lance Jones, whose menace in transition and on defense has overshadowed what he's consistently brought Purdue on the offense end.

He had 15 points and knocked down 3 of Purdue's 7 made three-pointers.

But the play that stands out to Painter after the game is a transition lay up.

"That drive he made in the first half was beautiful," Painter said after the game.

But beautiful is Purdue's three-loss and on the verge of winning its second Big Ten title in a row team bringing Mackey Arena up north to the Crisler Arena.

"It shows a lot about our program and our fans," Braden Smith said after the game.

"It definitely makes you appreciate Mackey more," Zach Edey said.

"It's a testament to Purdue," Mason Gillis added. "We travel. They love basketball. They love our sports. We love playing for them. We play for a little more pride when we have our guys behind us."

And then finally, Lance Jones, who is new to this still, having transferred from Southern Illinois this off-season. He's played a lot of basketball games in his career.

But he starts shaking his head no before I can finish the question. He's never been on the road and cheered for by the majority of the crowd.

"I mean it speaks volumes to our fans and how they support us," Jones said. "We fed off of their energy."

Purdue players and fans ate good as Purdue moved to 25-3 on the season. It's 14-3 in conference play and just one win away from a guaranteed share of the trophy, two from an outright championship for the second straight season.

But Lance Jones might be eating the best of all.

"Really bad," Jones said with earnestness when I asked him how bad he wants to win the trophy. And then again to make sure we believed him, "Really bad. It'll be my first championship."

The 2023-24 season means a new TV deal for the Big Ten. Football and basketball will have games scattered across FOX, FS1, BTN, NBC, CBS, and Peacock. If you're looking for a service that has live sports consider both FuboTV and Hulu (with live sports). Boiler Upload is also an affiliate sponsor with Peacock, where new Peacock subscriptions help keep the lights on here.

Finally, the best way to see a game is in person, so book a room at the Hampton Inn & Suites near campus and get your tickets via Stubhub.

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