EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Michigan's week started with the Wolverines moving to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time since the 2012-13 season. With games at Purdue and versus Duke in a five-day span this week, however, there was some concern their time on top could be short-lived.But they looked every bit the best team in the country Tuesday at Mackey Arena, comprehensively dispatching No. 7 Purdue 91-80. Michigan led for the final 33 minutes, and its lead expanded to as many as 20 points late in the first half."We needed to deliver a lot of punches, whether it was the first or second," coach Dusty May said. "We knew this was going to go all 10 [rounds]. If we took a shot, we knew we had to respond and our guys did that over the course of the game. That was impressive the way they answered those runs with really sound play."After Purdue scored the first two baskets of the game and led after seven minutes, Michigan took the lead on a pair of L.J. Cason free throws with 12:50 to go in the first half and never trailed the rest of the way. Cason's foul shots jump-started a 16-0 run that put Purdue on the back foot and quieted what had been a raucous Purdue crowd."They set the tone," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "That, to me, is the game right there. The way they set the tone."Michigan's differentiator this season has been its size, and 7-foot-3 Aday Mara was the game changer in the paint in the first half before foul trouble forced him to the bench for much of the second period. There was a sequence midway through the first half that epitomized his impact at both ends of the floor. He began by forcing Oscar Cluff into a missed shot at the rim, followed it up with an assist to Roddy Gayle Jr. for a layup, then altered Braden Smith's attempt at the rim, and capped the stretch by tipping out an offensive rebound that resulted in a Cason 3.Mara finished the first half with 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks in just 13 minutes."We wanted to stay one-on-one with our 5s and Mara made a couple of really nice plays," Painter said. "We had to try to win that battle one-on-one because his passing is so good. So if you want to sit there and help and try to squeeze him a little bit, people will cut right off of it. He's great at making those passes, getting guys 3s, getting guys layups, getting people in the bonus, getting to the free throw line a lot. So for us, we had to be better in that scenario."In most of Michigan's biggest wins this season, the Wolverines have combined that size advantage with high-level shooting from the perimeter. They made 38 shots from beyond the arc in three games back at the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas and made 10 in a road win at Ohio State earlier this month.On Tuesday, Michigan had its second-best 3-point shooting performance of the season, going 13-for-23 from the perimeter. The Wolverines missed their first four 3s before hitting eight of their next 12 to end the first half."I thought our guys did a really nice job of getting the advantage and keeping it," May said. "We know how we're built so certain games are going to dictate us doing certain things. And I thought when they put two on the ball, Elliot [Cadeau] made really, really good plays to just get us in closeouts and I thought we drove the ball, we drove it to kick it."In a game featuring All-American Braden Smith, who entered the season as the favorite for Player of the Year, it was Cadeau who played like the best guard on the floor. He outdueled Smith, who was held scoreless in the first half. The former North Carolina transfer opened the second half with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in eight minutes, consistently making big plays when it looked like Purdue might generate momentum. He finished with 17 points and seven assists."There was a lot of openings, I felt like, in the ball screen there was a lot of openings," Cadeau said. "I feel like I just have really talented teammates that, if I get them the ball in the right place, they'll make the shot.""I felt like I was being aggressive in the first half," he added. "The shots weren't just falling. They started to fall in the second half."It wasn't just Cadeau making plays in the backcourt for Michigan. Cason came off the bench and scored 13 points, playing alongside Cadeau for long stretches. Freshman Trey McKenney, who has emerged as a consistent offensive threat over the past few weeks, also had 13 points, making three big 3s.Michigan totaled 34 bench points to Purdue's 15."When you sit there and your fourth or fifth option can carry the weight or someone like L.J. Cason can come in the game and control a game at the end of the game," Painter said. "Even though he didn't control the game today, so to speak, he made a lot of good plays. Just look at their bench and when you can go to them and get consistent, get 3s from all of them. They make their free throws, their bench doesn't turn the ball over."They're the No.1 team in the country for a reason. A lot of times people have a solid five and then they make a dip when they sub. These guys don't make a dip."Test No. 1 for Michigan in one of the most difficult two-game stretches of the college basketball season is now finished, and now awaits a date with No. 3 Duke in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. It's a chance for the Wolverines to get out of the grind and monotony of Big Ten play and an opportunity to play a high-level game against another potential Final Four team.For May, winning that game just to be No. 1 in the AP poll for a second straight week isn't the primary goal."This is great for our fans, it's great for recruiting, it's great for the attention that it puts on our program and our prestigious university," he said. "But as far as, do we care? Absolutely not."April 7th, if we're No. 1. That's what we're ultimately concerned with."
