Wolverines win Big Ten title
NEW YORK – Michigan will hang another banner in Ann Arbor.
And for the second consecutive year, John Beilein’s basketball team will enter the NCAA tournament with a blaze of momentum.
Moritz Wagner had 17 points and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 15 as the Wolverines ran through Purdue on Sunday at Madison Square Garden 75-66 to capture their second consecutive Big Ten tournament title.
Wagner was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
The Wolverines (28-7) followed their stunning 2017 Big Ten tournament run with another four wins in four days in New York City. They will take a nine-game winning streak into the NCAA tournament.
Michigan will take the week off before finding out its NCAA tournament seed next Sunday.
Michigan had to dig into its bench early, and it paid off as backup sophomore center Jon Teske put together his best stretch of the season with 12 points in 10 minutes against Purdue center Isaac Haas to help the Wolverines push to a five-point lead at the break.
As it did Saturday against Michigan State, Michigan came out firing to start the second half, taking an eight-point lead after a three-pointer from Abdur-Rahkman. Two minutes later, Zavier Simpson made it 48-37 with another threepointer with 15:52 to play.
Every time Purdue made a push, Michigan responded with a hammer.