Michigan 69, Indiana 46
As Michigan settled into the first possession of the game, the officials stopped play and spent several minutes with the clock operators. That was probably the highlight for Indiana; after play resumed, the Wolverines ran the Hoosiers out of the gym. It took seven minutes of game time for IU to score, and by then, Michigan had already built a 17-point lead. Indiana briefly threatened to make it competitive after halftime, but this game was over as soon as the folks at Assembly Hall figured out how to fix the clock. The 23-point margin of victory was easily Michigan’s largest ever in that famous arena.
The Wolverines scored on seven of their first nine possessions to open the game. Ignas Brazdeikis hit a wing three after a series of ball-screens; Zavier Simpson beat Juwan Morgan off the dribble for a layup; Simpson found Poole in the corner for a three; good ball movement gave Iggy an open lane for two; Jon Teske stole a post entry and Simpson scored in transition. Archie Miller called a timeout once the score reached 12-0. After the timeout, Morgan committed a careless turnover, Charles Matthews knocked down an open three, and a blown ball-screen coverage led to a Teske dunk. Indiana’s defense on ball-screens early in the game was inconsistent and extremely vulnerable, and Michigan took advantage.
Michigan’s scoring to start the game — 17 points in just over five minutes — was very impressive, but Indiana was able to slow the Wolverines down and held them to a respectable 1.05 points per possession over the entire game. Michigan’s formidable defense was enough to prevent any real chance of a comeback, though. Indiana’s first twelve possessions of the game came up empty: eight missed shots and four turnovers. It was a dominant performance on that end of the floor for the Wolverines, as the Hoosiers were held to their worst offensive output of the season (0.70 PPP). Indiana’s effective field goal percentage (30.2%) was their worst since January 2014.
It was one of those games where Michigan’s defense broke the will of its opponent. Charles Matthews decisively won another matchup against Indiana’s star freshman, Romeo Langford, allowing just one made shot as his primary defender (Langford finished with nine points on 12 shot equivalents). The Hoosiers rely on getting to the rim, and shot just 13-38 on twos — much of the credit should go to Teske, Isaiah Livers, and the rest of the Michigan defense for contesting nearly every shot inside. Langford’s drives, Morgan’s post-ups, and easy looks generated for role players are essential for the Indiana offense, but they shot just 34% on twos. They’re the worst three-point shooting team in the Big Ten and went 3-20 on threes.
[Scott]
The Wolverines went into a prolonged funk on offense in the first half after that initial outburst, but it didn’t matter. Iggy’s early three portended a quality performance from the freshman: he finished with an efficient 20 points, and some interesting tweaks — like running pick-and-pop action with him as the screener — helped open up his game. His teammates were ice cold for a long stretch, but Iggy was aggressive and kept scoring. Langford was subbed back in with two fouls at the 11-minute mark, and Iggy immediately drove at him and muscled in an and-one layup to give Langford his third foul. A right-handed finish over Evan Fitzner and a tough reverse layup helped break brief dry spells.
Michigan’s malaise over the latter part of the half left Indiana some hope, and for how lopsided the game was early on, the Hoosiers had managed to enter the break down just 33-18. After halftime, Indiana was able to string together quality offensive possessions — a physical Langford post-up, a slick move in the post by Morgan, a surprising Justin Smith drive, and a nice catch and finish from Morgan — punctuated by an Iggy three. That last Morgan bucket cut Michigan’s lead to ten and prompted a Beilein timeout; shortly after, Rob Phinisee knocked down a three to trim it to nine. On the next possession, Simpson found Iggy in the corner for a rebuttal.
From there, Matthews put the game out of reach. He pump-faked to get Morgan in the air — and was inadvertently kicked in the back of the head going up for the shot. After a TV timeout, he knocked down both free throws. On the next two possessions, Morgan switched a ball-screen and Matthews patiently dribbled into a three, then Michigan ran some action to get him going left to right and he nailed a pull-up two from the top of the key. That shot pushed the score to 48-32 with 15 minutes left, an insurmountable deficit for an offense that was shooting so poorly. Indiana only made it to 46.
The Hoosiers are imploding (they’ve lost six games in a row and have been blown out in their last two home games), but it was an encouraging performance for Michigan in a tough environment. The Wolverines played a nearly perfect five minutes to start the game, and while it wound up being a relatively middling offensive performance, the elite defense that vaulted Michigan to the top of the rankings early this season was as good as ever throughout. A home contest against Ohio State is up next; the Buckeyes are also reeling (having lost five in a row ahead of tomorrow’s game at Nebraska).
[Box score after the JUMP]
January 25th, 2019 at 11:05 PM ^
Sheesh, I remember when Indiana used to be good back when Jim's bro in law was there, wonder if they're regretting that decision yet.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:06 PM ^
Iggy > Romeo
beilein >>>> Archie (lol)
That was an awesome performance - Six in a row versus Indiana, and now the largest margin of victory we have ever had at assembly hall. It turns out everything is just fine with this 19-1 basketball team.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:21 PM ^
It's better, but I wouldn't go as far as saying "fine". Our shooting is not what it was - it's like the entire team is in a shooting funk. Iggy is the first to break out of it. Now we need Poole.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:26 PM ^
Yo blue - I am a fan of yours, but maybe you are right: Let’s not be outrageous and throw around generous compliments like ’fine’ for a 19-1 top five ranked team.
January 26th, 2019 at 1:46 AM ^
agreed, wouldn’t want him to venture out into non-troll territory.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:29 PM ^
2 of the 3 headed monster are back in Iggy and Matthews. Poole is the only one left.
Would love to get a game where all 3 are firing.
January 26th, 2019 at 12:08 AM ^
He was quiet, but not awkwardly so. 2-5 from 3 is decent, and while he made no two-point shots, he tried only two.
I’d be more worried if he were 1-6 from inside the arc or something like that. I felt like the team was taking much better shots today, even when they weren’t falling.
January 26th, 2019 at 3:10 AM ^
Let’s make it a game in April
January 26th, 2019 at 11:03 AM ^
Matthews was 3 of 10. Not sure I’d consider him back yet. Stepped up at a crucial point in the game though.
The entire team’s offense runs much better with Teske on the floor. Wonder what our splits are with him in the game vs on the bench.
January 26th, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
Matthews does the little things, but I agree, his misses were ugly.
January 26th, 2019 at 9:01 AM ^
You didnt deserve negs for your observation.
Our defense is awesome. As good as Ive ever seen from a Michigan team.
But fine is as far as I will go with the offense and thats a stretch. It is very clunky atm. A lot of that though could be the poor shooting but the drive and dish game looks off. Pick and roll/pop are much better. Also have trouble getting all the way to the hoop and when we do miss more bunnies than Id like to see. FT arent quite the adventure they were previously, so thats a plus. Assists seem down. A ton more late clock iso/hero ball.
So fine I guess is the right way to put it. And fine is not what Id call a glowing endorsement.
One big plus in this game and season so far is the teams mental toughness. Go on a run against us and we always seem to have the answer.
January 26th, 2019 at 11:49 AM ^
"Clunky" isn't a bad description. This team is odd. The numbers say dominant, but the eyes say clunky. I can't figure it, but I like the results so far.
January 26th, 2019 at 2:46 PM ^
"Drive and dish" looks off because Matthews rarely dishes, and Iggy never does.
January 27th, 2019 at 5:23 PM ^
I wonder what Iggy's numbers look like on his drives? I'm pretty sure going to the hole everytime he decides to go for has a fairly high success rate.
January 26th, 2019 at 2:51 PM ^
I wouldn't say the entire team is in a funk. Teske has made at least one 3 in each of the last 5 games, and is 8-16 from 3 in that span.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:18 PM ^
The Big 10 is stratifying a bit; OSU and IU are falling fast while Purdue and Wisconsin settle in. But still, Michigan and MSU look like the class of the conference, and UM waxing IU on the road is exactly the performance they needed to put forth.
Bring on OSU.
January 26th, 2019 at 8:28 AM ^
And Maryland looks good
January 26th, 2019 at 2:52 PM ^
Other than the loss to Illinois 6 hours after you posted this...
January 25th, 2019 at 11:27 PM ^
So this was fun.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:34 PM ^
IU appears to be a mess.
But Michigan just walked in and ate their lunch to start the game. It’s never, ever easy to do that in Bloomington, much less when they have talents like those currently featuring on their roster.
Yeah, they’re in the middle of a swoon. I still predicted Michigan would struggle and lose. They most certainly did not.
Iggy played really smart. Maybe 2 shots I didn’t like? Most of the rest were good, in the flow of the offense. Matthews wasn’t huge, but he wasn’t awful, and he made some good shots without taking a bunch of bad ones.
Honestly, though, we’d all be talking about Livers if he had made that dunk and maybe one or two other shots. So close... he could really turn a corner either this year or next.
Great road win.
January 26th, 2019 at 8:52 AM ^
They could get worse too, gotta think Langford bolts for the NBA and you're not likely to replace him with the same caliber player.
January 26th, 2019 at 9:24 AM ^
Things could also get better, gotta think only Matthews bolts for the NBA (will never get minutes, can't shoot) and the rest of a Final Four team returns with Livers added to the starting lineup.
January 26th, 2019 at 11:54 AM ^
Odd stuff happens in the NCAAs. Say Poole goes all 'Tournament McGary' and it wouldn't be a stretch for him to declare.
January 26th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
Ate their lunch indeed. More than 11 minutes into this game, IU was on pace for 4 makes and 15 points. And that's rounding up!
January 26th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
Double post ftw. They were so demoralized out there, staring a 20 point hole in the face and having no buckets to their names.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:34 PM ^
This column has the right tone.
Don't read the game open thread.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:49 PM ^
Never read the game threads here; they're filled with the worst fairweather fans (though I'm sure you know that -- you've been here a long time).
If you want to comment during a basketball game head over to UMHoops.com. Much more civil and informed discussion there.
January 26th, 2019 at 7:28 AM ^
I guess Brian and co. don't need the hits, but I've always been surprised they don't employ a little more influence to keep those threads productive. I keep trying to take part, getting disgusted, and going away. Need to learn my lesson once. There's a malign--sometimes pretty dull-witted-- edge to the discourse here sometimes that undercuts the greatness of the site.
January 26th, 2019 at 1:47 AM ^
good advice, forever and ever, always.
January 26th, 2019 at 9:13 PM ^
Unfortunately, I did read some of the open thread. There is a subset of "fans" that seem to expect perfection and post their dismay when it doesn't happen.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:49 PM ^
In the opening ten minutes of the two Indiana games this year, Michigan has outscored IU by a combined 50-17 (!). That's called... starting off on the right foot.
January 25th, 2019 at 11:57 PM ^
How did the guy who was 2 rebounds and 2 fouls away from a 23 minute trillion end up with a 195 O-Rating?
January 26th, 2019 at 12:01 AM ^
Simple -- he broke the system. He used a whopping zero possessions -- no shots, no assists, no turnovers. He gets credit for extending a possession with the offensive rebound, and that's it. There were no negative marks to balance against that because he did nothing else of note, so he ends up with a 195 ORtg basically by default.
January 26th, 2019 at 9:27 AM ^
J., Did you feel like you were on Groundhogs Day when replying to our posts? Well done and with grace and good manner.
January 26th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
:-)
I would happily repeat last night's game over and over for the rest of the season.
Now, where'd that darned groundhog go? ;-)
Seriously -- it happens. I've done it myself. No big deal. :-). It gave me an extra chance to marvel at the fact that a scholarship basketball player -- a starter, no less -- for a storied team put up just about the most ridiculous stat line imaginable.
He's actually had a couple of games like that in his career. No turnovers and no missed shots makes for a very efficient player. This is actually why KenPom puts the ORtg leaders into tiers based on usage -- the fewer possessions a player uses, the easier it is to get a high ORtg, but the less impact that has on his team.
Indiana played 4-on-5 on offense for half of the game last night.
January 26th, 2019 at 12:00 AM ^
January 26th, 2019 at 12:04 AM ^
I thought the officiating in this game was atrocious -- par for the course for the Big Ten, really -- but I didn't think it was unfair. I thought they missed a bunch of calls both ways.
I will admit I was worried when Indiana cut it to 9 that they were about to embark on a series of lucky bounces and phantom whistles, because, well, it's Assembly Hall. I really liked the way Michigan stepped up to answer each time Indiana tried to make a game of it. I think Michigan keeping IU from generating any momentum helped keep the officials from getting caught up in the emotion.
January 26th, 2019 at 7:06 AM ^
Brazdeikis
January 26th, 2019 at 2:05 PM ^
I thought the refs were giving IU some pretty weak fouls that kept them in the game
January 27th, 2019 at 5:27 PM ^
OTOH, they gave M possession on a ball they batted out of bounds. And I thought you could only take three steps to the basket in the NBA. Seems to be a fair amount of that with this team.
January 26th, 2019 at 7:30 AM ^
Yes, I've endured watching Michigan lose there since the Orr days. The officiating was openly biased for years, largely due to Bobby Knight intimidating them. It was great to see IU didn't have that advantage last night. In fact, I thought their coach was going to go after one of them at halftime. ?
January 26th, 2019 at 10:50 AM ^
Good lord, Archie Miller looks and acts like a kid who had no friends growing up. So whiny and just a major baby.
January 26th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
Beilein may agree. The end-of-game handshake was about as perfunctory as you'll ever see.
January 26th, 2019 at 8:37 AM ^
Uggh, The fab five loss. Your mention of that just magnified my delight of this victory!
January 26th, 2019 at 12:14 AM ^
Hail to the Victors! Great to get a win in Assemblerage Hall, even if it wasn't smooth.
So I guess Poole needs a kick in the head to get his offense going? Worked on Matthews. <g>
January 26th, 2019 at 9:29 AM ^
Poole is fine - let him slide under the mock NBA draft radar for the regular season with occasional offensive outbursts when we need a lift. He will be clutch for the six games at the end of the season.
January 26th, 2019 at 12:22 AM ^
Great win, I would think offensive consistency will be there by B1G tourney time as it always is with Bielein teams. How about that smooth Adrian Nunez bomb?
January 26th, 2019 at 1:36 AM ^
Just casually stroking a 30-footer like nothing. Pretty.
January 26th, 2019 at 7:11 AM ^
The kid is a pure shooter...Rick Mount/Jerry West-esque.
January 26th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
First career bucket. Down the road I hope you're right but he's currently 1-8 on the season.
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