It’s been a rough year for Michigan basketball, to say the least.
The Wolverines entered Sunday’s showdown with reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey and No. 3 Purdue having won just twice in their last 16 games.
While that wasn’t quite as obvious on the court as many expected ahead of Purdue’s 84-76 win, it certainly showed in the stands.
Boilermakers fans took over Crisler Center on Sunday, with a whole lot of fans having made the trek up from West Lafayette. And they were making lots of noise as Purdue closed the half on a 21-11 run.
Michigan fans haven’t had a ton to cheer about this season, so it’s somewhat understandable if fans have become apathetic about showing up to watch Juwan Howard’s struggling team.
But for the most part on Sunday, they didn’t play like an eight-win team sitting dead last in the Big Ten. Thanks to 19 points from Dug McDaniel, the Wolverines kept the Boilers within striking distance for most of the second half.
Michigan were within seven points at the 3:15 mark, and again with under 2:00, but that’s as close as the Wolverines would get the rest of the way.
Edey looked every part of the National POTY once again, putting up 35 points and 15 rebounds. It was his 20th double-double of the season and 14th time scoring 25 or more.
The loss gives Michigan its third separate five-game losing streak of the season.
The Wolverines have a pair of road games at Rutgers and Ohio State next week before finishing the regular season at home against Nebraska on March 10.