8 — Friday, January 27, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MICHIGAN
INDIANA
Field Goal Percentage
3-Point Field Goal Percentage
Points Off Turnovers
Offensive Rebounds
Defensive Rebounds
Turnovers
Bench Points
Time Leading
63
55
25
8
15
6
20
37:31
55
Final
90
60
54
4
5
15
16
21
0:32
Consistency the question
‘M’ now needs to answer
On
Michigan’s
opening
possession of the second half,
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
had a bit of a mental lapse.
After
sophomore
forward
Moritz Wagner passed the ball
out to the junior guard, Abdur-
Rahkman took a couple steps
back, thinking the shot Wagner
just rebounded hit the rim and
the Wolverines were working
with a fresh shot clock.
Instead,
Abdur-Rahkman
stood 30-plus feet away from the
basket with under five seconds
to shoot and both the bench and
Maize Rage behind him urging
him to pull the trigger.
So he did. And not one person
in Crisler Center was surprised
when
his
NBA-range
three-
pointer found nothing but twine.
That was the kind of night
Michigan
was
having.
The
Wolverines shot 63 percent from
the field, outrebounded Indiana
23-20 and committed just six
turnovers.
They could do no wrong.
Those
numbers
strongly
suggest
that
Michigan
has
returned to the team we saw
in New York — the team that
left Madison Square Garden
considered not only an NCAA
Tournament lock, but had ESPN
commentators trying to convince
the audience they were watching
a top-10 team.
But don’t start taking guesses
at where the Wolverines will be
playing in the first round of the
NCAA Tournament just yet.
Right after returning from
New York as the 2K Classic
champions, Michigan hit the road
again. In their very next game at
South Carolina, the Wolverines
looked like a different team.
Senior guard Zak Irvin lost his
handle on the ball — committing
eight turnovers — and the pair of
Wagner and redshirt sophomore
forward DJ Wilson vanished
after breaking out on the big stage
at the Garden.
Fast forward to Thursday
night, and Michigan once again
put together two performances
in a row that make it look worthy
of a top-25 ranking. Its defense
prevented two of the Big Ten’s
top offenses from scoring over
60 points, and its offense was as
precise and efficient as it has ever
been.
“We just wanted to continue
to play with the same energy and
the momentum that we carried
over from Illinois,” Irvin said. “I
think we’re playing consistent
right now as a team. I think we
did that for a full 40 minutes.
If we do that, we’re gonna be a
dangerous team.”
Just a couple weeks ago, many
posed questions ranging from
the Wolverines’ lack of grit and
fortitude to Michigan coach John
Beilein’s job security.
Now, two wins later, the
question everyone will be asking
is how can this team keep doing
what has been working well.
Thursday
night
was
the
first time each one of Beilein’s
“starting seven” showed up and
did their respective jobs for an
entire game.
That
ranged
from
Abdur-
Rahkman
holding
Indiana
guard James Blackmon to four
points;
Wagner
controlling
his post matchup with center
Thomas
Bryant;
Irvin
and
senior guard Derrick Walton
making consistent and positive
contributions on each end of the
floor; and even redshirt junior
guard Duncan Robinson and
senior forward Mark Donnal
coming off the bench and hitting
big shots to extend the lead.
When those seven players
come together and connect the
way they did for 40 minutes, this
team shows it is capable of going
toe-to-toe with anybody in the
country.
But how can the Wolverines
keep this going over a stretch of
80 minutes? Or 120 minutes? Or
two weeks from now?
What evidence has Michigan
given us that suggests it won’t
lay an egg when it travels to the
Breslin Center on Sunday like it
did against the Gamecocks?
Beilein and his players have
suggested the team has grown,
not only physically, but more
importantly, mentally.
“Games aren’t won at halftime,
and trophies aren’t given out with
time still on the clock,” Walton
said. “It’s all about finishing each
play, having the same focus that
got you there, increasing that to
prevail you forward.”
Walton and Irvin realize they
combine to form the engine
that makes the Wolverines go.
Irvin had arguably his worst
individual game of the season in
South Carolina after one of his
best against Southern Methodist.
The two varied performances
demonstrate that Michigan relies
on his consistency now more than
ever.
And while Wagner and Wilson
have grown tremendously since
the start of the season, they’ve yet
to show their respective skill in
stretches of two or three games.
“There are going to be times
when we look like a million
bucks and times we’re not ready,”
Beilein
said.
“Don’t
forget,
(Wilson) and (Wagner) are really
evolving yet. They are really
playing crunch time minutes for
the first time. They are going to
do things sometimes they have to
learn from.”
Thursday showed what the
Wolverines can be: A team that
more than belongs in the NCAA
Tournament, and a team that
deserves a larger share of Big Ten
and national attention.
“Personally, as a team that
wants
to
win,
we
honestly
believe that we can make a run
in March,” Walton said. “Some
things are gonna change, the
ball’s not gonna go in like it did
tonight every night. You can only
control what you can control.”
Now the question becomes
how long will this level of
performance last?
We’ll find out Sunday in East
Lansing.
Wolverines dominate Hoosiers
Do
you
remember
the
Michigan men’s basketball team
from New York City? The one
that entered Madison Square
Garden and made it look like its
home court?
And do you remember the
Wolverines
that
traveled
to
Pauley Pavillion? The same ones
who matched No. 8 UCLA shot
for shot and – at least for a half
– looked capable of outshooting
the third-best scoring offense in
the country?
Well, that Michigan team was
back Thursday night, welcoming
Indiana to Crisler Center only to
send the Hoosiers home with a
brutal 90-60 loss.
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,”
said senior wing Zak Irvin. “I’ll
see us do this in practice, and we
show spurts of it at times in games
as well. For us (to shoot) the ball
that well, you know, I always see
that happening. But for us to be
able to sit down and check on the
defensive end the way we did,
that’s really something special.”
Something looked different
about the Wolverines from the
opening tip. Indiana (4-4 Big
Ten, 14-7 overall) might have
drawn first blood, as center
Thomas Bryant got to the basket
with ease, but after that, things
got ugly for the Hoosiers.
Following
Bryant’s
basket,
Michigan (4-4, 14-7) went to
Moritz Wagner early and often,
clearly trying to expose the void
left in Indiana’s frontcourt by
forward OG Anunoby’s season-
ending knee injury. Wagner
scored the first six points of the
game to spark an 18-2 run in just
over five minutes.
And with the run came the
lead, and with the lead the déjà
vu.
Like the Wolverines’ trip to
the Garden in November, their
offensive performance made it
look like the hoop was a little
bigger than usual.
Michigan
ended
the
half
shooting 66.7 percent from the
floor and 7-for-11 from three,
leading to a 50-35 advantage. It
was the first time the Wolverines
hit the 50-point halftime mark
since the UCLA matchup.
By the end of it all, Michigan
had
posted
90
points
and
outscored the Hoosiers 40-25
in the second half. Senior guard
Derrick Walton Jr. led the way
with a game-high 21 points, but
five other Wolverines scored in
double digits.
More impressive than the
incendiary offense, though, was
the new energy Michigan seemed
to find against the Hoosiers — the
same energy that was there in
New York City.
Take Wagner as only one
example. With 14:05 left to play in
the first half, the ball was deflected
out of bounds and Wagner was
clapping his hands together down
the sideline with an intensity
that this team has lacked for the
majority of conference play. And
that was when the ball went out in
favor of Indiana.
That energy turned into an
ability for Michigan to do the
small, dirty things that it hasn’t
done all season – sticking out its
legs for deflections rather than
letting a pass land safely in its
target’s hands.
The enthusiasm transferred
to the stands too. For the first
time all year – as the Wolverines
stretched their lead to as much
as 19 in the first half and 30 in
the second – Crisler Center was
rocking, helping inject life into
a team that had looked lifeless
before its past two games.
“(It was) exciting to see a good
crowd,” said Michigan coach
John Beilein. “I think we’re
running a record for 9 pm games,
but it was still a good crowd. And
to have our team play that way in
front of them.
“I think we saw that a little
bit at the beginning of the year, a
long time ago — seems like years
ago — in the SMU and Marquette
games, which are turning out to
be great wins now, where we get
clicking offensively and it leads
to better defense as well.”
Michigan’s defensive effort
showed encouraging signs as
well. While Indiana hurt itself at
times, the Wolverines still scored
25 points off 16 turnovers.
In the first half, the Wolverines
essentially scored themselves out
of a troubling defensive effort,
as the Hoosiers shot 60 and 62.5
percent from the field and from
three, respectively. The second
half, though, saw Indiana shoot
54.5 percent from the field
and 53.8 from three, all while
sophomore guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur Rahkman held Hoosier
guard James Blackmon Jr. to just
four points on 2-for-3 shooting
after he had a 33-point outburst
against Michigan State in the
Indiana’s previous matchup.
As the game drew to a
close, there were points where
Michigan fans even had the
audacity
to
chant,
“Hoosier
Daddy.” In those moments, it
seemed they knew this was
the most complete game of the
Wolverines’ season. In those
moments, it felt a lot like New
York again.
MARINA ROSS/Daily
Senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. scored a game-high 21 points in Michigan’s blowout vicotory over the Hoosiers.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
MARINA ROSS/Daily
Senior wing Zak Irvin and the Wolverines returned to their early-season form Thursday night at Crisler Center.
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer