WEST LAFAYETTE - In what was pretty much a must-win game for both teams, Purdue showed that it must have needed this game more than Michigan.
Behind 25 points from Chad Austin, the Boilermakers moved closer to gaining a spot in the NCAA tournament with a 67-58 victory over No. 18 Michigan yesterday at Mackey Arena.
The loss, Michigan's third in a row and fourth in its last five, drops the Wolverines to 7-7 in the Big Ten and 17-9 overall.
What's more, after starting the season with eight consecutive victories and reaching as high as No. 4 in the national polls, the Wolverines have since gone 9-9.
With a mediocre conference mark so far and two more difficult games remaining, the Wolverines are starting to worry about their chances of even receiving an NCAA tournament bid.
"I don't think (Michigan's tournament hopes) are looking so good right now," sophomore center Robert Traylor said. "But our season's not over with. We still have four games to play in the Big Ten. We just have to finish up as strong as we can."
As has been the case throughout this recent slump, Michigan didn't come up with the plays when it most needed to. Purdue (10-5 Big Ten, 15-10 overall), on the other hand, did.
"They, unlike us, are finding ways to win and making plays to win games," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said.
The play that Michigan most needed to make came with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the game. Sophomore guard Louis Bullock and junior forward Maurice Taylor came downcourt on a 2-on-1 fast break. Bullock dished the ball to Taylor, who blew an easy layup.
Purdue marched right back down the floor and capitalized on the Wolverines' gaffe. Forward Brian Cardinal fed center Brad Miller in the low post, who beat Robert Traylor for a layup and drew a foul on the Michigan center.
The nail in Michigan's coffin came on its next trip down when junior forward Maceo Baston missed a dunk. Purdue replied with a pair of free throws from freshman guard Jaraan Cornell and then a dunk from Miller, giving the Boilermakers a five-point lead with just less than a minute to go.
Purdue closed out the scoring with eight free throws while Michigan launched one desperation 3-pointer after another.
With the victory, the Boilermakers claimed sole possession of second place in the conference, behind only No. 2 Minnesota. Michigan now sits in seventh place, half a game behind Indiana and just one game ahead of Michigan State.
"It wasn't too pretty to watch," Purdue coach Gene Keady said, "but we got the W."
Purdue led for much of the first half, thanks to the outside shooting of Austin, who hit for 15 points, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc, before halftime.
The momentum of the game swung in Purdue's favor at the 8:59 mark of the first half with the score tied at 23. Junior forward Jerod Ward picked up his fourth foul, sending the sellout crowd of 14,123 into bedlam.
With Purdue up, 47-42, with 6:46 left to play, Traylor scored eight straight Michigan points to give the Wolverines a 50-49 lead.
A free throw from Cardinal, followed by a trey from Austin, put Purdue back on top. Bullock answered with a jumper that was initially ruled a two-point basket, but was changed to a three moments later to knot matters.
But the trey was followed by Miller's three-point play and Traylor went scoreless the rest of the way.
"We need to right the ship and get a win Wednesday against Minnesota," Fisher said.
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Michigan guard Travis Conlan drives by Purdue's Jaraan Cornell during yesterday's 67-58 Michigan loss. Conlan - a guard - led the team with nine rebounds, including six offensive boards.