Trey Burke and the No.7 Wolverines are probably just happy to escape West Lafayette with an 80-75 win over the Boilermakers because it wasn't smooth sailing at all.
A pair of outstanding performance highlighted the night as Burke's 26 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists tried to keep pace with Purdue's junior Guard Terone Johnson's game-high 32 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
It was a fun game to watch as two young men clearly had alternative intent to go at each other on every possession. Apparently, there was some trash talking going on between the two teams that seeped its way onto the court.
"There was a little trash talk from the other guards," Burke said. "But I didn't want to make it personal. I just started picking my spots. I felt like the more aggressive I was, the more open my teammates would be."
If trash talk is what motivated the performance by Trey Burke, the I suggest Indiana start sending him flowers and chocolates to sweeten his disposition.
Purdue can hang their heads high for the effort; they were just outclassed by a superior team Wednesday night. Michigan might have been looking ahead to their big match-up with Indiana for a share of the Big Ten conference finals. It was all players and coaches could talk about after the game.
"Why can't it be us, so let's just go for it," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "We will have a regular routine and whatever happens, happens."
"It's going to be a crazy environment on Sunday," Burke said. "Indiana is one of the best, if not the best. We've already lost down in Bloomington and they come to Ann Arbor Sunday so we will be ready."
All eyes are going to be on that epic match-up, especially from the boys in Ohio State who sit at 12-5, not to mention Michigan State and Wisconsin who are 11-5 in their own right.
A tight race for the crown just got tighter; we'll find out this weekend how things start to shake out.
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