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Despite almost giving this one away, Michigan eked out a 73-69 win over the Hoosiers.
Once again, Indiana made a late run once the game was essentially over. They’ve done that several times, most notably when they played Northwestern in Evanston. That shows that this team never gives up, which, of course, is a great thing. But the fact that they start to come back once there is no pressure to actually win is troubling.
Despite trailing by 22 points in the second half, a 23-4 run late in the game took Indiana to within 3 points with 27.9 seconds left.
It was like all of a sudden the Hoosiers decided they could find creases and get to the rim. They were aggressive, assertive and confident going to the hoop. If they had played like that all day they could have won the game easily. I’m not sure what happens to this team late in games but for some reason when they get down big they play harder, smarter and tougher.
Tom Crean and his coaching staff need to figure out how to mine that level of play out of their team for the entire game.
Indiana was led by Christian Watford’s 14 points, while Verdell Jones added 12, Victor Oladipo finished with 13 and Jordan Hulls had 10.
Michigan was led by a career-high 26 points by Tim Hardaway Jr.
Despite almost giving this one away, Michigan eked out a 73-69 win over the Hoosiers.
Once again, Indiana made a late run once the game was essentially over. They’ve done that several times, most notably when they played Northwestern in Evanston. That shows that this team never gives up, which, of course, is a great thing. But the fact that they start to come back once there is no pressure to actually win is troubling.
Despite trailing by 22 points in the second half, a 23-4 run late in the game took Indiana to within 3 points with 27.9 seconds left.
It was like all of a sudden the Hoosiers decided they could find creases and get to the rim. They were aggressive, assertive and confident going to the hoop. If they had played like that all day they could have won the game easily. I’m not sure what happens to this team late in games but for some reason when they get down big they play harder, smarter and tougher.
Tom Crean and his coaching staff need to figure out how to mine that level of play out of their team for the entire game.
Indiana was led by Christian Watford’s 14 points, while Verdell Jones added 12, Victor Oladipo finished with 13 and Jordan Hulls had 10.
Michigan was led by a career-high 26 points by Tim Hardaway Jr.
Indiana trails Michigan 61-42 with 7:07 left in the game.
Well, I was right, the officials are trying to balance things out. The problem is the Hoosiers are just 6-of-12 from the free throw line. Jeremiah Rivers fouled out of this one with 9:49 left in the game with just 2 points. He got hosed on a few calls but the last one was a good call.
The problem with this game has been Indiana’s defense. The Hoosiers haven’t stopped anything the Wolverines have done and now that Michigan has hit a few 3-pointers (seven in the second half) things have gone south quickly.
Offensively the Hoosiers are out-manned because of injuries and rust, especially to Watford. But Indiana also isn’t finishing at the rim well and when you get layups and don’t finish them off, you’re going to be in trouble. Especially when you aren’t defending well.
Can’t win on the road if you don’t defend, and you’ll get blown out of you can’t score. Perfect storm today in Ann Arbor for the Hoosiers.
Indiana trails Michigan 32-24 at the half.
The Hoosiers just wrapped up a wretched half of basketball in Ann Arbor. If you were watching, I’m sure they would like to apologize.
Indiana shot 37 percent from the field (10-for-27), turned the ball over 11 times and committed 14 fouls.
Ouch.
The officials got a little whistle-happy on the Hoosiers but only called 8 fouls on the Wolverines. But, as we all know, Big Ten basketball officials are by far the worst in the country. Michigan shot 18 free throws, while the Hoosiers only went to the line five times. That’s ridiculous.
A perfect example happened with 2 minutes left in the half when Jeremiah Rivers was hammered under the basket by Darius Morris, didn’t get the call then hit Zack Novak and was immediately whistled for a personal. Then Morris and Rivers were each given technical fouls. Rivers is now sitting with four personals.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Michigan gets the short end of the stick after the break.
Michigan has been impressive going to the hoop. The Wolverines were led by Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 9 points.
Indiana has just not hit open looks. The Hoosiers were led by Victor Oladipo. The freshman finished the opening half with 8 points, and appeared to be the only guy consistently looking to take the ball to the rim. Verdell Jones attempted to assert himself late in the half, but he needs to be more consistent with his driving. Jones needs more than the five points he’s racked up early if the Hoosiers hope to win.
Indiana trails Michigan 19-11 with 10:55 left in the first half.
Indiana is down early at Michigan largely due to some sluggish offensive possessions. While Christian Watford is in the game, he didn’t start and is clearly still bothered by his heavily wrapped, broken left hand.
The only guy looking good early on is freshman Victor Oladipo, who had IU’s first two baskets off of steals that led to breakaway dunks.
A big problem for the Hoosiers early on has been Michigan’s penetration. The Wolverines have gotten virtually all of their points off of drives to the middle of the lane. For a team that is known for its 3-point shooting, that is impressive. And it shows that Indiana is clearly overplaying to stop the threes.
Indiana Basketball Preview: Hoosiers Looking To Get Back To .500 Against Michigan
Sports Network | February 12, 2011
GAME NOTES: The Indiana Hoosiers will try to solve their road woes when they visit Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor for a Big Ten Conference clash with the Michigan Wolverines this afternoon.
The Hoosiers have played 10 games outside of their own building this season, and they have lost all 10. Their latest road venture resulted in a 67-53 setback at 14th-ranked Purdue on Tuesday night. Following today's outing, IU will be idle until next Saturday's bout with Northwestern.
After a slow start in league play, Michigan has picked things up by winning four of its last five contests, with the lone loss in that stretch coming at top-ranked Ohio State last Thursday. The Wolverines have won two games since then, including Wednesday's 75-66 triumph over Northwestern. They have taken care of business at home this season, logging a 12-4 mark at Crisler Arena.
These two teams met a month ago in Bloomington, where the Hoosiers snapped a six-game slide with an 80-61 rout. As a result, Indiana owns a 100-54 edge in the all-time series.
The Hoosiers put up a decent fight at nationally-ranked Purdue earlier this week, but they simply did not have enough firepower and managed to shoot just 35.5 percent from the floor. IU often settled for jumpers rather than attack the rim, as they attempted only seven free throws for the game while Purdue sank 23-of-28 at the charity stripe. Will Sheehey led the Hoosiers with 14 points in a losing effort, while Jordan Hulls scored 13 and Verdell Jones finished with 10 points. The team has been playing with a short deck, as top scorer and rebounder Christian Watford (17.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg) is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on his left hand earlier this month. Watford had started 22 straight games before his injury, which also leaves the Hoosiers without their best foul shooter -- he was converting 83.5 percent at the charity stripe and was attempting more than six free throws per game. His absence puts more pressure on guys like Jones (12.2 ppg) and Hulls (11.3 ppg) to step up their respective games.
The Wolverines are a bit more balanced at the offensive end, and they have used that scoring depth to their advantage over the last five games. Darius Morris leads the way with 15.4 ppg, while Tim Hardaway, Jr. is averaging 12.2 points and has knocked down a team-high 48 three-pointers. Zack Novak (9.2 ppg) is right on Hardaway's heels with 47 treys and is shooting a very efficient 40.2 percent out on the perimeter. Novak also paces the squad with 5.9 rebounds per tilt, while Jordan Morgan (9.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has been very efficient with 62.7 percent field goal accuracy. As a team, the Wolverines have done a solid job taking care of the basketball, committing only 10.5 turnovers per game and they boast a 1.3 assists/turnover ratio. Morgan put forth a monster effort against Northwestern on Wednesday, as the redshirt freshman led all scorers with a career-high 27 points. Hardaway, another freshman, notched his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 boards.
All 12 of Indiana's wins this season have come at home. Playing on the road once again, the Hoosiers will now take on a Michigan squad that has gotten hot lately and has been tough to beat at Crisler Arena this season.
GAME NOTES: The Indiana Hoosiers will try to solve their road woes when they visit Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor for a Big Ten Conference clash with the Michigan Wolverines this afternoon.
FACTS & STATS: Site: Crisler Arena (13,751) -- Ann Arbor, Michigan. Television: Big Ten Network. Home Record: Indiana 12-3, Michigan 12-4. Away Record: Indiana 0-8, Michigan 3-4. Neutral Record: Indiana 0-2, Michigan 0-2. Conference Record: Indiana 3-9, Michigan 5-7. Series Record: Indiana leads, 100-54.
Saturday, February 12th, 4:00 p.m. (et).
Michigan 75, Indiana 64
Feb 12 8:12p by Brad Wells - 0 comments