GAME NOTES: The Michigan Wolverines will look to keep a two-game win streak going as they travel to face the Purdue Boilermakers in a Big Ten Conference showdown at Mackey Arena Saturday.

Following a three-game slide that began with an upset against NJIT and finished with an 11-point defeat at SMU, Michigan has now won two in a row over Coppin State (72-56) and Illinois (73-65 OT) to get to 8-5 on the season.

Purdue ended a two-game skid with a 72-68 comeback victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. The Boilermakers are 9-5 on the season, and own a 7-2 mark at Mackey Arena so far.

This matchup will be the 151st in the all-time series between these two Big Ten rivals. Although Michigan has won the last four meetings against Purdue, the Boilermakers own the 84-66 advantage in head-to-head games against the Wolverines.

Michigan held on in overtime to take down an Illinois program that has been a serious scoring threat all season long, thanks in large part to an 0-of-4 3- point shooting mark by the Fighting Illini in the extra session. Michigan was led by 20 points from Aubrey Dawkins, who came off the bench and shot 6-of-7 from 3-point distance. Caris LeVert added in 19 points, and both Ricky Doyle and Zak Irvin contributed 13 points to the winning effort.

The Wolverines went through a three-game stretch of losses that made the nation believe the team wasn't very good at containing opponent scoring. But Michigan now comes into this clash with Purdue surrendering just 62.5 ppg on 44.1 percent shooting, while the Wolverines themselves manage 68.1 ppg themselves. LeVert tops the squad in scoring, averaging 15.2 ppg with team highs in assists (52), rebounds (5.2 rpg) and steals (25), although Irvin is right behind him at 15.1 ppg. Derrick Walton Jr. rounds out the team's trio of double-digit scorers at 10.3 ppg this season.

Purdue fell behind against Minnesota by 11 points at halftime, but a strong second-half comeback allowed the Boilermakers to erase any deficit and take the late lead. Purdue connected on 53.6 percent of its second-half shot attempts, and made 14-of-16 from the free-throw line to defeat the Golden Gophers. Kendall Stephens paced the Boilermakers with 19 points, but Rapheal Davis was right on his heels with 18 points, adding in a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. A.J. Hammons scored 11 with nine rebounds, and Jon Octeus added 10 points in the winning effort that ended a Minnesota eight-game win streak.

Stephens has taken over the top scoring spot for the Boilermakers, leading a group of four double-digit point averages with 11.2 ppg. Isaac Haas comes right behind with 11.1 ppg, followed by Vince Edwards (10.2 ppg) and Hammons (10.0 ppg). Edwards (5.9 rpg) and Hammons (5.6 rpg) are the two best rebounders on the team this season. The Boilermakers are netting an average of 75.9 ppg this season on 46.3 percent shooting from the field, and are holding opponents to 65.4 ppg in the same frame. Davis, at 9.9 ppg, finds himself right on the cusp of averaging a double-digit point total.

If Purdue can channel the momentum the team experienced in the second half against Minnesota, and use that for 40 minutes every game, the Boilermakers could be unstoppable. Michigan is a well-rounded team led by LeVert, but at home Purdue can be a different kind of beast, especially when a handful of players get involved on the offensive end.