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