IOWA CITY, IA — Purdue basketball entered the week with Tuesday's home game against Big Ten-leading Michigan looming and two road games against ranked opponents in the way.
After going 2-for-2, the No. 12 Boilermakers set themselves up to have a big say in the league championship race. The only question is whether the Wolverines will be ranked No. 1 by tipoff.
Purdue's 78-57 victory at No. 25 Iowa followed up Tuesday's 81-78 overtime win at No. 8 Nebraska. After responding to a three-game losing skid with a four-game winning streak, the Boilermakers take an 11-3 record into their only game against Michigan (14-1).
Their only chance to win the league outright — and perhaps their only chance to share the championship, considering the late date — will require beating the Wolverines. They had to take care of other business first, though.
"It's big for us, taking it one game at a time," said C.J. Cox, who hit four second-half 3-pointers and scored 14 points against Iowa. "Looking into the future, but also staying in the moment."
Purdue's seniors won Big Ten championships as freshmen and sophomores. They had designs on a rare third straight crown into February last season before losing four straight from Feb. 11-23. They finished with seven conference losses — four behind league champion Michigan State.
This season's stumble came after a 17-1 start. However, it came early enough in the season that Purdue — with help — could still battle back. One big element of that theory was the lone home date with Michigan, whose only Big Ten loss came at home to Wisconsin on Jan. 10.
The Wolverines, led by forward Yaxel Lendeborg, have won 10 straight since that three-point loss. They beat UCLA by 30 Saturday. The Bruins beat Purdue in Los Angeles earlier this season.
"They're a really tough team, but every team in the Big Ten is tough," senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn said. "Every game matters."
Michigan begins a stretch of three straight home games for Purdue. All present challenges. Indiana won the first meeting in the team's rivalry series. Michigan State is also in the mix for the championship conversation, should someone pick off the Wolverines.
The Spartans will have their own chance to do that in the regular-season finale. Michigan also still faces road games at Illinois and Iowa.
Both the Wolverines and Boilers, though, should wake up Sunday morning focused solely on each other.
"You can't look too far ahead — you've just got to focus on the scout for the game," said Gicarri Harris, who scored a career-high 14 points. "This is going to be a really big opportunity. We've all got to be locked in, all got to be on the same page. We've all got to focus, have great concentration, and we can go out and get the dub for sure."
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue vs Michigan basketball preview: Big Ten championship race heats up