Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from Wolverines’ Big Ten Championship

After winning just one Big Ten Tournament title in 18 years, Michigan basketball has now won back-to-back by beating Purdue Sunday in New York.

On Saturday, at Madison Square Garden, Michigan basketball proved it was the best team in the state of Michigan. Sunday, it showed its the best team in the Big Ten with a 75-66 win over Purdue in the tournament championship game.

Michigan is now 28-7 overall, with a second consecutive BIG Tournament title. It also went 17-5 against the rest of the conference and a win over at least every other team.

While the Wolverines are once again Big Ten Tournament Champions, the circumstances surrounding Michigan basketball and its run to another title couldn’t be more different.

There was no plane crash or life-changing event, but there was Moe Wagner, maybe the biggest common factor between the two teams. The 6-11 big man was named tournament MVP.

Another thing the two teams had in common was a win over Purdue, but when it came to that particular fact, there was no comparison. In 2017, it took overtime to beat the Boilermakers. This time around, there would be no such drama.

In fact, Michigan basketball got the celebration underway pretty early. And that was thanks in large part to another outstanding performance from Wagner, as well as shots like this.

That 3-pointer proved to be one of the final daggers in the nine-point win. But truthfully, it was far from a one-man show. Everyone on the floor stepped up and contributed.

Jon Teske scored 14 points and had one block. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 15 points and made three 3-pointers. He also hit two critical free throws, helping to ice the win at the end. Zavier Simpson also added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists and lastly Wagner had 17.

Purdue made a few runs in the game, but in terms of game control, it was all Wolverines. UM led nearly wire-to-wire and was up by five points at the half and led by as many as 18, the largest lead on Purdue all season long.

Any kind of conference championship is a big deal, but winning four games in four days to win a second Big Ten Tournament Championship is extraordinary. Here are three takeaways and a look at exactly what it all means, plus highlights.