Michigan exhibits critical growth, maturity in statement win over Purdue

Entering this season, it was no secret the Michigan men’s basketball team had all the makings of a potential last team standing.

An All-American big man. An experienced backcourt. The program’s all-time winningest player. The reigning AP National Coach of the Year. An elite recruiting class featuring multiple five-star freshmen. The pieces have been there all year, but the Wolverines have struggled to assemble the puzzle.

That is, until Thursday night.

Against No. 3 Purdue, Michigan looked like every bit of a team that climbed into the AP Poll top five back in mid-November. The Wolverines thumped the Boilermakers in an 82-58 blowout, catapulting them back into the national conversation after a steep early-season tumble.

Whether it was a blip on the radar or a sustainable norm remains to be seen. At this point, though, Michigan confidently believes it’s the latter.

“I knew we’re a really good team,” Eli Brooks said. “We just had to be clicking all at once, and we’re finally at that point. … This team is learning how to win (and) what it takes to win. It’s a little easier, when you win, to buy into different habits, and once you see success with it, it goes a long way.”

Thursday’s example was yet another example of how far the Wolverines have come this season. In November, December and January, they blew big second-half leads against Big Ten bottom-feeders and teams that could’ve been non-conference walkovers. But against the Boilermakers, Michigan played with passion and aggression down the stretch as its lead ballooned to as many as 29. It never took its foot off the gas pedal — a testament to Brooks’ claim about learning how to win.

The Wolverines have matured before the nation’s eyes. After losing four professionals from last year’s roster, there was always going to be a learning curve. The fact that it took so long set Michigan behind the eight-ball, but all of its lofty goals remain within reach.

Now that getting guys up to speed is no longer a concern, those goals are exactly where the Wolverines are turning their attention.

“There’s that built-in excuse that we’re really young,” Hunter Dickinson said. “We’re super young compared to last year. That’s kind of the honest truth. Some guys just took a little more time to get accustomed to college basketball. It’s hard. It’s not easy. There’s a lot of highly-touted freshmen that can’t make that transition right away. For us, it was just a matter of time until the pieces started clicking. I think you saw a total team effort of guys, everyone stepping up and playing their roles and playing to their ability.”

On Thursday, that started at the defensive end. Purdue entered as KenPom’s No. 1 offense in adjusted efficiency, yet Michigan held the Boilermakers to a season-low 58 points on 44% shooting, including a dismal 22% clip from beyond the arc.

Since allowing Penn State to light up the scoreboard in the first half on Tuesday, the Wolverines’ defense has been stellar over the past three halves. As a result, Michigan has been able to put together long stretches of team basketball — something it lacked during the early stages of the season.

“Today, we just got stops the entire game,” Dickinson said. “That’s what it felt like. For us, we just played a full 40 minutes of Michigan basketball. There were no lapses out there for more than a minute or two. And so for us, I think it was just a matter of playing a full 40 minutes and everybody stepping up.”

Since a disappointing 7-7 start, Michigan has quietly won six of its last eight games. All of them have come against Big Ten competition. As the wins stack up, the Wolverines’ attitude has evolved.

Earlier in the season, Brooks voiced frustration that Michigan wasn’t making opponents “feel” its defense. Fast forward to February. The Wolverines’ defense is the anchor of their midseason turnaround, and physicality is at the top of the list of reasons why.

“If you want to play in the Big Ten, you’ve got to be tough or you’re not going to last too long,” Dickinson said. “For us, what we want our identity to be is the toughest, nastiest team out there. I think we showed that out there today.”

As the regular season winds down, that attitude could be the key to catching Thursday’s lightning in a bottle.

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