Michigan, Purdue In Big Ten Final

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 7, 1998 / 9:12 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

Michigan, Purdue Set To Square Off In First Big Ten Title Game

CHICAGO -- Purdue continued its domination of Illinois, Michigan kept cruising and Sunday the two hot teams will meet in the first-ever Big Ten championship game.

The Boilermakers beat the Illini 85-69 in Saturday's second semifinal. The victory was Purdue's third victory over the regular-season co-champions, marking the first time the Boilermakers have ever beaten a team three times in one season.

Earlier, Michigan rolled past Minnesota 85-69 behind deadly outside shooting and the brute inside force of Robert "Tractor" Traylor. The Wolverines hit 13-of-23 3-pointers, and Traylor scored at will before finishing with 18 points.

Purdue beat Michigan 89-82 on Jan. 29 in their only meeting this season.

A Roundup Of Saturday's Big Ten Semifinals:

No. 17 Michigan 85, Minnesota 69

They're making 3-pointers as if they were layups. And if Michigan's perimeter players are guarded too closely, they just pitch the ball inside and let their "Tractor" roll to the basket or toss it back out.

For the second straight game, the Wolverines' offensive versatility was too much to stop. No. 17 Michigan hit 13-of-23 3-pointers and used the underneath power of Robert "Tractor" Traylor to beat the Golden Gophers 85-69 Saturday in the Big Ten tournament semifinals.

"Robert Traylor is probably the best big man in the country. Once he gets it down low, you're pretty much at his mercy because he's so big and powerful," Minnesota coach Clem Haskins said.

No. 9 Purdue 68, No. 18 Illinois 47

If only every opponent could be Illinois, Purdue would be celebrating its first NCAA title in a few weeks.

Brad Miller scored 19 points and led a defense that held Illinois to 36 percent shooting as No. 9 Purdue advanced to the Big Ten title game by winning 68-47 Saturday, its third victory in two months over the 18th-ranked Illini.

"We've been looking all year to break a game open against a great team and we finally did. Our defense was excellent," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "It's one of those situations you don't expect. We probably thought they would do that to us since we beat them twice. It's hard to beat a team three times in one year."

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