INDIANAPOLIS -- A.J. Hammons was ready for whatever Michigan decided to throw at him on Saturday in the Big Ten tournament's first semifinal.

The Wolverines gambled on one-on-one coverage against No. 13 Purdue's 7-foot senior center. While that strategy worked well in Michigan's February victory in Ann Arbor, it didn't work this time.

No. 4 seed Purdue got 27 points and 11 rebounds from Hammons, and the Boilermakers pulled away for a 76-59 victory against No. 8 seed Michigan in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Michigan got to within 60-54 with 7:35 to play on Derrick Walton Jr.'s three-point play, but Hammons scored the next five points to push the Purdue lead to 65-54 with 4:38 remaining.

"He made two really big plays at that juncture of the game," Walton, Jr. said. "It probably was the key point in the game, because we were making a nice run."

Purdue (26-7) limited the Wolverines (22-12) to five points during the final 7:34.

The Boilermakers will play either No. 2 seed Michigan State or No. 3 seed Maryland in Sunday's title game.

"I was ready to play and came out with a lot of energy," said Hammons, who made 11-of-17 shots from the field. "Before the game, we talked a lot about the loss at Michigan and that we didn't want it to happen again.

"Then my teammates went out and had a lot of confidence in me."

The Boilermakers also got 11 points and two rebounds from reserve center Isaac Haas, and seven points and eight rebounds from power forward Caleb Swanigan, giving Purdue 45 points and 21 rebounds from its huge front line.

"Purdue's size is a tough matchup for us," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "In the first game at Purdue, we tried to double (Hammons), and it was a disaster when he found guys wide open.

"We went with one on one coverage in the second game, so we elected to go that way again. Hammons was virtually unstoppable. They're a tough team to stop."

Vince Edwards added 14 points for Purdue.

Michigan got 15 points from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, 14 from Walton Jr. and 11 from Zak Irvin.

Purdue opened the second half on a 6-0 run, taking a 44-30 lead with 18:21 remaining, prompting a Michigan timeout. The run extended to 9-0 on Hammons' dunk and Edwards' free throw, giving the Boilermakers a 47-30 advantage at the 17:19 mark.

"I thought a big key was that we were ready to play at the start of both halves," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "The way we finished the first half and then started the second half probably was the difference in the game.

"Our goal was to dominate on the glass and play good defense, and for the most part, we got that done."

Getting 15 points from Hammons, Purdue led 38-30 through 20 minutes, shooting 50 percent from the field (17-of-34). The Boilermakers also out-rebounded the Wolverines 18-15.

"We're playing with a lot more confidence right now," Edwards said. "We're playing together, and A.J. has been really good."

Irvin and Abdur-Rahkman each scored six first-half points for Michigan, which shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28).

"Purdue is a tough defensive team," Abdur-Rahkman. "Still, we missed a lot of shots we should have made."

Purdue scored the game's first eight points before the Wolverines countered with an 11-4 run to close to within 12-11.

After Michigan closed to 26-25 on an Irvin jumper with 7:56 remaining, the Boilermakers finished the half on a 12-5 mini-run, with Hammons, Swanigan and Haas collecting nine of those 12.

NOTES: Michigan advanced by defeating Northwestern on an overtime jumper by G Zak Irvin and then eliminated No. 1 seed Indiana on a Chatman 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left. ... The Wolverines defeated the Boilermakers in the first Big Ten tournament championship game in 1998. ... Purdue advanced with an 89-58 quarterfinal victory over No. 12 seed Illinois. ... The Boilermakers brought a four-game winning streak into this semifinal. ... Purdue is gunning for its second Big Ten tournament championship, having won in 2009 in Indianapolis.