Takeaways from Michigan’s win over Purdue Fort Wayne

It was good to be back home for the #Michigan Wolverines, who shot the lights out from three and cruised to victory over Purdue Fort-Wayne. @Kellen__Voss has takeaways from the win:

Michigan got back in the win column a few days before Christmas, with the Wolverines improving to 9-3 overall after beating Purdue Fort Wayne, 89-58.

As my colleague Kyle Yost mentioned in the preview article , this isn’t a typical cupcake game. Purdue Fort Wayne was picked to tie for first in Horizon League preseason poll, has a top-100 offense on KenPom with a 56.7 percent eFG rate, and returned most of their core from last season.

That said, heading into this game, Michigan was coming off back-to-back losses against Arkansas and Oklahoma , and needed a bounce-back game to get their mojo back heading into the holidays. They did exactly that, with lights-out shooting and excellent defense leading to a fairly stress-free beatdown.

Here are some takeaways from the victory.

Getting off to a quick start thanks to hot shooting

In buy games like this one, it’s important to get off to a quick start and establish an early lead to crush the spirit of the underdog and avoid the visiting team hanging around. The Wolverines got to the quick start they needed to in this one, with a 14-2 run over a five-minute stretch powered by solid defense to get out to an early 17-4 lead.

Michigan was able to keep a 15-20-point lead for most of the half thanks to some red-hot shooting. The Wolverines made 21 of their first 27 shots (83 percent) and nine of their first 12 threes (75 percent) in the first half, including one stretch midway through where they made 11-of-12 baskets. Michigan finished the game shooting 63 percent from the field and 48 percent from three.

Per Brian Boesch on the radio broadcast simulcast on B1G+, Michigan had three runs of 7-0 or better in the first half. Hot shooting and great defense played a big part in that.

Michigan’s defense gets back on track

Speaking of defense, after showing cracks over the last few weeks, the Wolverines tightened up their defense in this one, refusing to let the Mastodons get back into the game after taking hold of a double-digit lead.

Michigan closed out well on shooters, rotated well on the help-side, and forced a good amount of turnovers. The Wolverines also racked up three steals and four blocks, never letting Purdue Fort Wayne get comfortable. More than a few of those takeaways led to easy buckets in transition, with the Wolverines scoring 12 fast-break points.

The hot shooting is the main takeaway from this one, but Michigan’s defense was real good. Michigan ranked 23rd in defense on KenPom entering the game, and it proved that ranking.

Michigan keeps scoring balanced

But as has been the case in all of Michigan’s wins this season, the scoring was incredibly balanced. Ten Michigan players saw the floor in the first half, and all of them had at least three points in the first 20 minutes.

After getting off to a hot start this season, Michigan guard Tre Donaldson has cooled off a bit. While the Auburn transfer is great in spurts and has been a reliable second-half spark plug, he hasn’t been as consistent as you’d like this season.

Donaldson played real well, getting to the basket and shooting the ball well for an efficient 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half. He led the Wolverines in scoring with 16 points, but Vlad Goldin (13 points, three rebounds), Roddy Gayle Jr, (12 points, six rebounds), Nimari Burnett (10 points) and Justin Pippen (10 points) also scored in the double digits.

It was refreshing to see Michigan have an all-around great offensive game heading into the holiday break.

Turnovers are still a problem

As fun as this win was, it’s still concerning how often this team turns the ball over. Michigan turned the ball over 16 times, including 11 times in the first half, one turnover more than the Wolverines logged all game in the Oklahoma loss.

Some of it was general sloppiness and carelessness with a big lead, but 12 games in, it’s still concerning this continues to be the crack in Michigan’s armor. Their New Year’s resolution has to revolve around cleaning those up.

A freshman check-in

Both Justin Pippen and L.J. Cason logged some decent minutes in this one.

Pippen posted his best game in a Michigan uniform. He was a little too steal-friendly on defense, but he knocked down half his shots for a career-high 10 points to go along with two assists and zero turnovers. He didn’t look much like a freshman, moving the ball well and showing discipline when it came to decision-making with the ball in his hands.

While Cason hasn’t played the last few games — logging DNP-Coach’s Decisions against Arkansas and Oklahoma — he came in when Pippen picked up his second foul in the first half. The Florida native shook off the rust quickly, hitting a three from the wing in his first minute back on the floor. He finished with five points.

We also saw Durral Brooks get in the game in garbage time and showcased his high quality defense.

Games like this are valuable for the young guards to get experience, Michigan will likely need them in conference play and beyond.

Up Next

Before restarting Big Ten play after the New Year, the Wolverines have one more buy game to close out the calendar year, hosting Western Kentucky (111th in KenPom) on Sunday, Dec. 29. That game against the Hilltoppers tips off at 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network.