WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Elliott Caddo scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and Aday Mara added 10 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 Michigan beat No. 7 Purdue 91-80 on Tuesday night.
Trey McKinney, Yaxel Lendeborg and LJ Cason each scored 13 points for the Wolverines, who won their 11th straight game. A big step has been taken First Big Ten regular season championship in five years.
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The win came a day after Michigan (25-1, 15-1) Ranked first in the country For the first time since January 2013.
It was the early tone-setting presence of the 7-foot-3 Mara. That helped the Wolverines turn the tables on Purdue’s usually dominant front line, with two-time national player of the year Zach Edey watching from the second row. Mara made all of his first four shots and scored 10 points and eight rebounds in the first half. He was in foul trouble for much of the second half, shooting 4 of 6 from the field and giving Michigan a 39-31 rebounding advantage.
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Boilermakers through a night in which most of his teammates struggled. Braden Smith scored 20 points as the Boilermakers (21-5, 11-4) snapped a four-game winning streak. They are now 3 1/2 games behind Michigan State in the league.
The Michigan team quickly took control of the situation and started with a 13-0 spurt to lead 23-10. A 14-4 scoring spurt gave Michigan a comfortable 44-22 lead with 4:23 left in the first half, forcing Purdue to play a futile pursuit the rest of the night.
Next
Michigan State: Faces another tough challenge against No. 3 Duke on Saturday in Washington.
Purdue: Looking to tie the season series at home against Indiana on Friday night.
