NCAAB Game Preview - Michigan at Purdue

Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:00 PM EST

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Third-ranked Purdue puts its nation-best 15-game win streak on the line Thursday against No. 25 Michigan in a crucial rematch for both teams.

The Boilermakers (19-2, 8-0 Big Ten) narrowly defeated Michigan 70-69 on Jan. 9 in Ann Arbor after taking the lead on free throw by Isaac Haas with four seconds remaining. While Purdue has not beaten Michigan twice in one season since 2008, a victory Thursday would tie the longest win streak in school history.

Having lost to the Wolverines in the first round of last year's conference tournament, Purdue coach Matt Painter is drawing on that loss to keep things in perspective despite a growing prospect of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Final Four talks surrounding the team.

"From a coaching standpoint, you have to remember how you got beat in those games, and you keep reminding your guys, 'hey these things can occur again'," Painter said. "There's a lot of things out there, but I think that's your job as a coach is to keep everything grounded.

"I think with experience, you can do that. I think they understand that. I think sometimes, when you've got a younger guy, that just becomes coaches' talk. And so, they say the right things, but do they really believe in it? These guys understand that."

The Wolverines (17-5, 6-3) bounced back from that Jan. 9 home loss by knocking off then fourth-ranked Michigan State in East Lansing, earning a Top 25 nod and their first win at the Breslin Center since Jan. 25, 2014.

Thursday's rematch is Michigan's eighth conference game in a 24-day span, a result of the Big Ten's decision to push back the start of league play in order to secure Madison Square Garden for its 2018 conference tournament.

"I can't recall it," Michigan coach John Beilein said of such a stretch. "It's a scheduling quirk. We've just got to grin and bear it because we all felt that it was worth it to play in Madison Square Garden and compress things."

Even more concerning to Beilein than the Wolverines' rigorous schedule is Purdue's offense, which averages 84.8 points per game and ranks second in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers boast the best scoring margin in the nation, defeating opponents by an average of 22.6 points, and rank third in the country in 3-point field goal percentage at 44.7 percent.

"I've never seen anybody just annihilate people the way Purdue is right now," Beilein said. "I mean they're just so very, very good.

"Right now, Purdue is playing probably as good as any team in the Big Ten that I've ever witnessed in my 11 years here at Michigan. They've got a big, great inside game, and I haven't seen a team that can shoot like this. It's really a difficult matchup for everybody."

Michigan ranks third in the Big Ten and 10th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 62.5 points per game. Outside of the first meeting with Michigan, Purdue has beaten every Big Ten opponent this season by at least two possessions.

"We know how underrated they are defensively," Painter said of the Wolverines. "If you look at their numbers, they do a really good job of getting into the ball. They get a lot of deflections, so we know we have our hands full."