Michigan held the early advantage in a battle of the big men in the title game of the Big Ten tournament, even as Mo Wagner headed to the bench with his first foul less than two minutes into the game.
Purdue took advantage as Isaac Haas scored the first seven points for the Boilermakers, but the Wolverines responded with six points from Jon Teske as Michigan took a 9-7 lead. It expanded that advantage to 16-9 after a layup from Isaiah Livers and a 3-pointer from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman that forced a Purdue timeout with 13:51 left in the first half.