Purdue guard Braden Smith, left, passes against Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau during the second half of the championship game of the Big 10 conference tournament on Sunday in Chicago. (AP photo)

CHICAGO — Purdue closed the regular season with four losses in six games. It won four games in four days at the Big Ten Tournament.

Oscar Cluff, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith played a major role in the turnaround. But coach Matt Painter pointed to one area in particular.

“We’re not here and celebrating this tournament championship if we didn’t play better defense the last four days,” Painter said.

Cluff scored 21 points and Kaufman-Renn had 20, leading the way as No. 18 Purdue knocked off No. 3 Michigan 80-72 on Sunday in the Big Ten final.

Smith had 14 points, 11 assists and three steals for the Boilermakers (27-8), who limited the high-scoring Wolverines to 34 points in the second half. Fletcher Loyer made three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points.

Purdue won the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2023 and third time overall. It lost to Michigan in the final in 1998 and 2018.

The Boilermakers received a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament. They will play Queens on Friday in the first round of the West Region.

“Our guys are doing great,” Painter said. “We’re playing well at the right time.”

Yaxel Lendeborg scored 20 points for top-seeded Michigan (31-3), which beat Purdue 91-80 in their regular-season meeting on Feb. 17. Aday Mara had 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

The loss seemingly had no effect on the Wolverines’ road for the NCAA tourney. They were awarded the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and a Thursday matchup with the winner of the UMBC-Howard game in the First Four.

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