Michigan Basketball: Key takeaways from dominant win at Purdue

For the second straight game, Michigan basketball never trailed and here are the key takeaways from the win over Purdue. 

There were a lot of impressive things about Michigan basketball‘s 70-53 win over Purdue Friday night but maybe the fact that the Wolverines never trailed tops the list.

For those keeping track at home, that’s two straight Big Ten games in which Michigan basketball didn’t trail for a second, although there was a dip in performance, since U-M did allow the Boilermakers to tie the game in the early going.

However, a 7-0 run quickly allowed the Wolverines to grab control and even though Hunter Dickinson was human again, Michigan basketball rolled.

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Here are the key takeaways.

Livers should be First-Team All-Big Ten

Going into this matchup, I said that Michigan was going to need Isaiah Livers or Franz Wagner to play really well and Livers answered the bell with a 22-point performance. He was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and attacked the bucket, getting to the line and making six of seven there too.

On top of that, he blocked two shots and grabbed 10 rebounds. It was this kind of effort and frankly, the one he had the other night that makes you think he has the talent to be Big Ten Player of the Year.

The Wolverines could have three legitimate candidates, although Dickinson is losing steam with his recent struggles, although 10 points isn’t bad. The six turnovers were a little ugly though but it’s a learning process and his defensive effort was impactful, when he was able to be on the floor.

Still, one of Michigan’s top three guys is probably going to snubbed for some postseason awards, simply due to the league’s depth.

Along with Eli Brooks and Austin Davis, Livers set the tone. His 3-point shooting helped Michigan separate as the Boilers didn’t make a trey in the first half and after watching his effort, it’s hard for me to say anyone on this roster is better.

I’m not saying he’s better than Dickinson or Wagner. But he’s as good as anyone and when he shoots the ball like he did Friday, Michigan is going to be really hard to beat.

Eli Brooks makes a monster difference

While Dickinson struggled with turnovers and fouls, Wagner struggled to get the ball to go down. But because of the way Eli Brooks opened the game, it didn’t matter. He made a 3-pointer early, played his always impeccable defense and found some creative ways to score inside.

His final line reads: 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and zero turnovers. It’s been said before that he’s the glue guy for this team but it showed again Friday night. He was the biggest difference between this result and last Saturday’s loss to Minnesota, when he didn’t play.

Big Ten’s best defense strikes again

Trevion Williams torched Michigan basketball last season, yet on Friday he was held to 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Dickinson’s length gave him problems inside, as did both Johns and Davis off the bench in different ways.

Purdue obviously missed Sasha Stefanovic and the Boilers went just 2-of-12 from deep, yet the Wolverines held them to just 33 percent on 2-point attempts too and that was a huge difference in the game.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the offense, but this win was all about the defense and at 8-1 in the Big Ten, the Wolverines are still alone atop the Big Ten standings.