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Michigan's win over Purdue shows it may have future in NCAA tournament

Wagner, U-M's best trash talker and best player, paves way for tournament-resume-cementing win

Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press
Michigan forward Moritz Wagner, center, celebrate with teammates after U-M's 82-70 win over Purdue Saturday at Crisler Center.

He isn’t going to get rich bullying big men in the NBA. He’s much too skilled for that.

But it was obvious how much Michigan’s basketball team has grown when Moe Wagner, a 6-foot-11-inch shooting guard, held his ground against the burliest forward in the Big Ten.

There, in that moment, Wagner stood up to Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan and forced a travel. The Wolverines were up 15 early in the second half when U-M’s German transplant caused the turnover, and the symbolism said plenty.

No more backing down.

Not from Wagner, whose best skill might be his American penchant for trash talk. Not from Duncan Robinson, who is showing he can play defense to compliment his deadly jump shot. Not from Zak Irvin, the senior whose offensive game may be gone but who spent this afternoon chasing Purdue’s shooters off the three-point line.

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Michigan notches season-making win over Purdue, 82-70

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And not from Derrick Walton Jr., the point guard who walked out onto the court before the game with his parents to celebrate senior day, then led his team to its best victory of the season.

“He’s such a great unselfish player,” said his head coach, John Beilein.

But when U-M’s 22-point lead shrank to six and the Boilermakers were knocking down threes and trapping the Wolverines all over the court, it was Walton who decided to be selfish. He launched a double-clutch three-pointer as the shot clock expired.

Went it snapped the net, the Wolverines were back up by nine and had thwarted Purdue’s surge. It was the shot of the game.

But Walton wasn’t the player of the game. That was Wagner, whose combination of size, skill and attitude are getting harder to ignore.

Walton might be the heart of these Wolverines, but Wagner is the spirit.

“He is so loved by his teammates,” Beilein said. “He has empathy for everybody.… There is a lot of love on this team, and Moe has really promoted that.”

It isn’t just love that he’s bringing. Ask him, said Walton, “why he thinks he’s Kevin Durant?”

Walton was joking as he talked about Wagner’s uncommon skill set for his size. And while Wagner doesn’t have Durant’s easy athleticism and ball handling, he does have the NBA superstar’s versatility. He also has his confidence.

“He’s got a little chippiness to him,” Walton said. “He adds a different dynamic. When he gets it going it’s so electric.”

Also: “He’s always talking, regardless how he’s playing.”

This afternoon, Wagner blitzed Purdue with 20 first-half points. He hit four threes. He took Swanigan off the dribble. At one point he flew down the baseline and tried to dunk over Purdue’s redwood center, Isaac Haas, who is 7-2.

He missed the dunk and landed on his rear. But the attempt created a stir with the fans in the Crisler Center and, more important, with his teammates, who rose off the bench in anticipation. The truth is that when Wagner gets rolling, he lifts the team in a different way than when Walton or Robinson does.

Because he makes a play and then howls.

“He’s not afraid to let you hear about it,” Walton said. “I think that’s a guy, me personally, that’s how I grew up playing. Seeing another guy with that fire makes you get relaxed and follow suit.”

Walton said Wagner played with “American grit.” Which is clearly rubbing off, because the rest of the team is too.

Three weeks ago, U-M got outworked and outmanned on its home floor against Ohio State. That loss left the Wolverines two games under .500. It also left them searching for toughness.

They have found it in the six games since — U-M is 5-1 and looks to keep adding to its emerging identity. Beating Purdue likely sealed a bid to the NCAA tournament. Yet these Wolverines want to stay a while once they get there.

If Wagner has his say, they will.

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!