MICHIGAN STAYS UNBEATEN, TAKES CARE OF IU

As Zavier Simpson converted 

a hook shot, extending the 
Wolverines’ lead to 16 with 
14:35 to go in the game, Indiana 
coach Archie Miller shouted 
and punched the air in anger, 
frustration spilling into body 
language.

Miller spent most of Sunday’s 

game standing on the visiting 
sideline with his hands on his 
hips, shaking his head after 
missed shots, exasperation 
open — putting on display just 
how far ahead Michigan is of 
his team.

If there was a game for the 

Wolverines to lose, this was it. 
Sophomore forward Isaiah Livers 
missed his second straight game 
with back spasms, meaning 
Michigan coach John Beilein 
had no choice but to rely on 
freshman Brandon Johns and 
redshirt sophomore Austin Davis 
at backup center. The Wolverines 

have sputtered in every game for 
a month. Indiana is a top-25 team 
with two All-Big Ten-caliber 
players in Romeo Langford and 
Juwan Morgan.

It took only minutes for 

Michigan (15-0 overall, 4-0 Big 
Ten) to prove otherwise, and 
minutes more for the Wolverines 
to take an insurmountable lead 
on No. 21 Indiana (12-3, 3-1) on 
their way to a 74-63 win.

This, in contrast to a month 

of games against subpar 
competition, was the Wolverines 
of November, back in full force. 
This was the team that went 
into Villanova and stunned the 
national champs, then ran North 
Carolina out of the building 
two weeks later. They stayed 
undefeated and they looked good 
doing it.

From the jump, this was 

Michigan’s game. Sparked by 
Charles Matthews on both 
ends, the Wolverines started the 
contest on a 9-4 run, extending 
their lead to 23-9, then 30-13, all 
before the 10-minute mark of the 

first half.

“We made some shots and we 

really guarded them,” Beilein 
said. “I think we were in better 

rhythm man-to-man, ’cause we 
just played Penn State — we had 
been into a funk there a little 
bit when we were just playing 
against all the zones. You don’t 
know how people are gonna play 
you. And so I thought we just hit 
a really good rhythm and we set 
the tone.”

Matthews, a redshirt junior, 

looked as good as he ever has in 
a Michigan uniform early on, 
getting to the basket and creating 
points in transition seemingly 

at will. He drew two fouls on 
Langford, a future NBA lottery 
pick, in the game’s opening 
minutes, then held the five-star 
recruit to 17 points on 5-of-11 
shooting. By the end of the first 
half, Matthews had 16 points 
on 6-of-9 shooting, ultimately 
finishing with 18.

“He’s a dominant scorer, 

and he’s a dominant defender,” 
said sophomore guard Jordan 
Poole. “And Charles doesn’t put 
himself in situations where he 
thinks about anybody else. Or 
matchups, or guys going lottery, 
or whatever situation. Charles is 
looking at who’s in front of him 
and he’s gonna try to kill him 
every night.”

In front of a multitude of NBA 

scouts, Matthews wasn’t the only 
one to impress. After two early 
3-pointers, Poole finished with 
18 points, his third straight game 
with over 15.

Indiana did manage to cut 

Michigan’s lead to single digits 
midway through the second half, 
buoyed by Langford and Morgan, 
who combined for 17 points in the 
first 10 minutes after the break. 
After junior center Jon Teske 
picked up his fourth foul with 
just over eight minutes to go, the 
window seemed open for the 
Hoosiers to mount a comeback.

Johns slammed it shut.
In 13 second-half minutes, 

Johns did everything asked 

of him, banging down low 
and slamming home dunks 
on his way to eight points and 
eight rebounds on the day — a 
performance that could see the 
backup center job become his to 
lose.

“He’s sort of trying to learn, 

‘What’s the next step? What’s 
the next play?’ And it’s just 
really simple things that, as the 
game slows down for him, he’s 
more capable of going further,” 
Beilein said. “But that was a 
matter of foul trouble by Austin, 
foul trouble by Jon (Teske) and 
Brandon getting in there.”

After the game, a calmer 

Miller stood at the podium trying 
to describe what happened, 
the same fate that has befallen 
the prior 14 coaches to face the 
Wolverines.

“Undisciplined,” he called his 

team. “Just some backbreaking 
plays. Fouling shooters. And 
again, not being able to convert 
some easy ones. Just led them 
to be able to, pretty much, 
comfortably play the game.”

Ethan Sears
Managing Sports Editor

SPORTSWEDNESDAY

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | January 9, 2019

Hoosier
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MATTISON & WASHINGTON SPURN HARBAUGH, DEPART FOR COLUMBUS

Alexis Rankin / Daily
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INSIDE SPORTSWEDNESDAY

SportsWednesday Column Page 4B

U-M 74, IU 63: MICHIGAN MOVES TO 15-0

