If Michigan basketball can beat Purdue on Sunday in the Big Ten tournament championship game, the Wolverines will have won a total of three Big Ten banners in two seasons.
For perspective, in the previous the seven seasons, the Wolverines hung one Big Ten banner, after winning the 2021 regular-season championship.
Michigan was knocked out of the Big Ten semifinals that season, following an injury to Isiah Livers, which might have cost that squad a shot at a national title. The Wolverines season ended in the Elite 8.
The point is, it's hard to hang Big Ten championship banners, whether it's for winning the regular-season, or the tournament title.
John Beilein won four in his legendary career, with two Big Ten regular-season titles (one shared, one outright), as well as a back-to-back Big Ten tournament titles in 2017-18.
Beilein is considered by many to be the best Michigan basketball coach of all time, and with a win over Purdue, May would have three Big Ten titles in two season.
How Michigan basketball can get the best of Purdue
It's been a remarkable turnaround. And after close wins in the first two rounds, the Wolverines will need to play preseason No. 1 Purdue, a team they beat a few weeks ago by double digits in Mackey Arena.
The matchup will be similar. Purdue isn't going to change what they do. Their offense is as good as any in college basketball, which was true even during a 2-4 finish.
The Boilermakers have won three games in a row this week, which featured wins over UCLA and Nebraska the past two days. If the first matchup was any indication, Purdue won't be able to handle Michigan's size downlow.
The Wolverines should get plenty of open looks. Purdue isn't a good defensive team, and the way they defend leads to open threes. However, Michigan basketball shot 56 percent from 3-point range in the first meeting, while Purdue shot 30.8 percent.
That's the reason the score was so lopsided. Michigan won the rebounding battle, too. The Wolverines only shot 50 percent on twos. That number will could easily improve, while the 3-point number could fall back to the earth a little.
That could mean a close game, which is what fans should expect on Sunday. However, there are three elite units on the court: The Michigan offense, the Michigan defense, and the Purdue offense. The Boilermakers' defense is atrocious.
It will have to find a way to be effective against Michigan's offense, as Ohio State was for part of the game, or they will need to have to shoot the ball as well as the Badgers did on Sunday.
Otherwise, it's hard to imagine Michigan basketball leaving Chicago without the Big Ten tournament title, and the third banner of the past two seasons.