The nation's No. 1 team faced one of its toughest tests of the season in a road game against No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday.
It passed with no issue. Michigan opened up a 16-point halftime lead and went on to a 91-80 win over a Purdue team that entered Tuesday's game with two wins over top-10 opponents and riding a four-game win streak.
But the Boilermakers were no match for a Michigan team that continues to look like the best in the nation. The win will bolster Michigan's case for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, a path that was cleared last week when previously undefeated Arizona lost two straight games.
Tuesday's game was close for only the opening minutes. The Wolverines turned an 11-10 deficit at the 13:36 mark of the first into a 26-11 lead with 9:28 remaining and never looked back.
They extended the lead to 48-28 before halftime and entered the break with a 48-32 advantage despite the best efforts of a raucous Mackey Arena crowd.
Purdue whittled its deficit to single digits late in the second half, but never got any closer than 86-78. Michigan's lead was never in peril.
This story will be updated.
