Two minutes into Michigan’s Big Ten Tournament opener against Purdue Friday, it looked like the Wolverines’ guards were headed for more of the same from the end of the regular season.
On two of Michigan’s first three possessions, junior guard Tre Donaldson missed a 3-pointer. On the other end, star Boilermakers guard Braden Smith opened the game with an assist and a layup of his own. At the 18-minute mark, Purdue led 6-0, the Wolverines looking like the team that had been blown out at Mackey and lost their final three regular season games.
But on Michigan’s fourth possession, graduate guard Nimari Burnett cut to the basket and finished through contact from Smith. The next possession, Donaldson found Burnett in transition for a 3-pointer from the wing. And on the next one, junior forward Danny Wolf kicked the ball out to graduate guard Rubin Jones on the baseline, where he drained a wide-open three.
Suddenly, the guards’ confidence began to flow. And as they broke out of their slump, so did Michigan, leading for the rest of the game.
“I feel like it was confidence,” Donaldson said. “Just knowing that we have really good players, and it’s been a rough patch for us, but just trying to get over that hump and play the right way. If we play the right way, we’re going to be able to win a lot of games and put ourselves in position to win games.”
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