Gut reactions to a valiant effort in defeat by Michigan basketball

The Michigan basketball game went just about as expected on Sunday. The Wolverines battled. They put forth a valiant effort but fell short against a superior team by double digits.

Michigan basketball came out firing in the first half as it's done for most of the season. The Wolverines even led by seven at one point in the first half. However, a late run by the Boilermakers in the opening stanza allowed them to build a 48-37 lead.

In the second half, Zach Edey dominated. He fouled out Tarris Reed and Will Tschetter and every time the Boilers needed a bucket, they threw the ball inside and Michigan basketball just didn't have an answer. Jace Howard was even guarding him by the end.

You had to be impressed with the effort. Michigan trimmed the lead to 6-7 points in the last few minutes, but just couldn't get it under five and the Wolverines ran out of time. They also ran out of players.

The most difficult thing to watch, outside of the terrible officiating, was Purdue having more fans at the Crisler Center than Michigan basketball. It was bad enough that the Wolverines were 13.5-point underdogs on their home court but that added insult to injury.

Michigan is now 8-20 on the season and 3-14 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines shot better than 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range, but it wasn't enough. Dug McDaniel had 19 points, six assists, and three rebounds. Nimari Burnett added 12 points, while Will Tschetter and Tray Jackson each finished with eight. Edey wound up with 35 points and 14 rebounds.

Here are the gut reactions

Gut reactions to Michigan loss to Purdue

• Michigan hasn't quit on Juwan Howard. They are just undermanned.

• The Wolverines did well to cover the spread, but this was a winnable game if a few bounces, calls, and breaks went their way.

• Michigan starts strong but can't make it last for 40 minutes. A lack of depth and talent are the biggest issues. Coaching is an issue too but mostly due to roster construction.

• The Purdue heavy crowd was embarrassing.

• I hope this Michigan basketball teams wins another game.

• Warde Manuel will have an interesting decision to make on Juwan Howard.