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Michigan basketball has been alternating wins and losses for the past month, and with the Big Ten Tournament starting on Thursday after beating Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday, the Wolverines needed to break that streak.
Indiana would have something to say about that.
The maize and blue upset the Hoosiers in Bloomington earlier in the season, blowing them off the court in the first half and never looking back. But the 8 vs. 9-seed matchup in Indianapolis saw the Wolverines get out to a five-point lead early.
But as Xavier Johnson received his second foul after scoring 80% of Indiana’s points, the Wolverines stormed out to a 21-10 lead.
A Hunter Dickinson technical helped Indiana to chip into the lead, getting the game down to eight, but Eli Brooks hit a 3 to keep the Hoosiers from doing much damage. It was a 13-point advantage for the maize and blue going into halftime.
However, the second half was all Hoosiers to start, as a 7-0 run cut mightily into the Michigan lead. What was nearly a 17-point lead near the end of the first half had dwindled to just eight. But Caleb Houstan — who was scoreless against Ohio State on Sunday and also in the first half of this game — hit back-to-back 3s to push the lead back to 14.
The Wolverines stayed hot on both sides of the court, managing to take a 17-point lead with 12 minutes remaining. But the Hoosiers weren’t going to go quietly into the night.
IU started making a run, and it helped that both Dickinson and Houstan got into foul trouble. With 9:13 remaining, it was just an eight-point game. After a stellar start turnover-wise, Michigan was turning it over with impunity, and it hadn’t scored in four-plus minutes before Brooks hit two free throws. But more turnovers and a six-minute field goal drought allowed the Hoosiers to cut the lead to just one, thanks to an 18-2 run.
And then Indiana took a 63-62 lead.
The teams traded the lead for a few minutes, but the Wolverines were now at a 10-minute field goal drought. And then the Hoosiers found themselves with a seven-point advantage.
But then, Michigan’s defense stood back up, forcing things (in a good way), which allowed the Wolverines to score five in a row to cut the lead to two with 44 seconds left. It appeared that Michigan was getting the ball back, but Moussa Diabate turned the ball over to give IU the ball back with 10 seconds left.
Indiana held on to win, 74-69. Here are our five takeaways.