Elliot Cadeau led a balanced attack with 17 points and seven assists as newly-crowned No. 1 Michigan downed No. 7 Purdue 91-80 on Tuesday in West Lafayette, Ind.
Playing for the first time as the nation’s top-ranked team since 2013, the Wolverines (25-1, 15-1 Big Ten) led by double digits for the majority of the game.
Yaxel Lendeborg had 13 points and seven assists. L.J. Cason and Trey McKenney also had 13 points, while Morez Johnson Jr. supplied 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Aday Mara added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in Michigan’s 11th straight win.
Trey Kaufman-Renn led the Boilermakers (21-5, 11-4) with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Braden Smith had 20 points and doled out six assists while Fletcher Loyer added 11 points.
The Boilermakers held their last lead at 11-10 after Kaufman-Renn scored in the lane. From that point, it was all Michigan in the first half.
The Wolverines took control with a 16-0 outburst, sparked by Lendeborg and Mara throwing down alley-oop dunks off feeds from Cadeau. Cason knocked down a 3-pointer and Will Tschetter finished it off with another 3-point make.
Michigan maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the half. After Purdue pulled within 10 points, the Wolverines went on a 14-4 run to make it 42-22.
That included a 3-point barrage, with McKenney, Cadeau, Lendeborg and Nimari Burnett all hitting from long range.
Kaufman-Renn made a pair of baskets in the last 45 seconds of the half but Michigan’s lead was still 48-32 at the break. Mara and Lendeborg led the way with 10 points apiece.
Cadeau opened the scoring in the second half with a 3-pointer. The Boilermakers scored the next six points before Cadeau knocked down another 3-pointer. Michigan’s lead then fluctuated between 13 and 18 points until Oscar Cluff made a steal and layup to pull Purdue within 69-58.
Gicarri Harris made a steal and layup with 2:05 left to cut the Wolverines’ lead to 81-73. Johnson closed out the game with six points in the last 1:26.
