Michigan looks to break out of offensive funk at Indiana
On Tuesday night, Michigan
hit 21 of 62 shots, including a
feeble 3-for-22 from 3-point
range, and scored just 0.92
points per possession.
Thanks
to
a
buzzer-
beater
by
redshirt
junior
wing Charles Matthews, the
Wolverines escaped with a
59-57 win over Minnesota. But
that highlight aside, anyone
who bravely trekked through
the freezing rain to Crisler
Center would call it for what it
was: an objectively ugly game
of basketball.
How
ugly?
Michigan’s
effective field goal percentage
of 36.3 was, per UMHoops.
com,
its
worst
shooting
performance in a win since
2008, when John Beilein’s first
Wolverine team beat Illinois,
49-43.
It’s
a
frequent
saying,
especially in a conference
as strong as the Big Ten —
a win is a win. That didn’t
offset the ugliness or make
this particular win any more
enjoyable.
Speaking
to
reporters
20 minutes after the most
memorable play of his college
career, Matthews was subdued.
He candidly elaborated on
Michigan’s
latest
struggles
while seemingly trying to
forget about the Wolverines’
last two games.
“Yeah,
I’m
happy,”
Matthews said. “But I don’t
feel like we played that well.”
He continued: “I told the
team, (junior guard Zavier
Simpson) told us as well, we
kinda gotta loosen up. We’re
playing kinda tense out there.
We understand we want to
have a perfect season. We
want to win, but we still gotta
be out there playing with
smiles on our faces, having fun
and competing to win.”
In
the
overall
season
context,
Matthews’
explanation
for
Michigan’s
sluggishness makes at least
some sense, because it’s a story
we’ve seen before.
The
Wolverines
trudged
through December’s slate of
guarantee games and looked
similarly uninspired against
Big
Ten
bottom-dweller
Penn State. After beating the
Nittany Lions, a date with
then-No. 21 Indiana loomed.
Despite an unbeaten record,
the past month had set a
mandate:
Michigan
would
have to play more inspired,
play more consistent, play
better against better teams.
And did the Wolverines
ever do that. Matthews was
everywhere
against
the
Hoosiers, racking up steals
and fast-break dunks while
locking future lottery pick
Romeo Langford in a closet.
Highly-touted
freshman
Brandon Johns broke out to
the tune of eight points and
eight boards in 13 minutes.
Michigan led by 17 points
less than 10 minutes in and
finished with a 74-63 win that
never seemed that close. To
the extent that “flipping the
switch” is a real phenomenon,
this was it.
That contest was in line
with a trend: The Wolverines
have
played
their
best
basketball with the bright
lights on. In highly anticipated
games
against
Villanova,
North Carolina, Purdue and
Indiana, they were just about
untouchable, and they seemed
to know it. But they haven’t
always looked that way against
teams that shouldn’t be able to
touch them.
Maybe Matthews is correct.
Maybe
Michigan
possesses
the ability to flip the switch
whenever it wants. Maybe all
it needs is to have fun again.
All of this is to say: Friday
night’s rematch at Indiana will
put that theory’s viability to
the test.
It’s a matchup that has
admittedly lost a bit of its
luster. Starting with their loss
in Ann Arbor, the Hoosiers are
in a five-game tailspin. They
come in shorthanded as well
— center De’Ron Davis is out
with an ankle injury, while
starting guard Devonte Green
was indefinitely suspended
earlier
in
the
week
for
undisclosed reasons.
But it is a road game in
the Big Ten, and as cliché as
it is, winning on the road in
conference play is a challenge
itself. If there’s any place
that provides a real home-
court advantage, it’s Indiana’s
Assembly
Hall.
And
the
Hoosiers still have Langford
and forward Juwan Morgan —
who scored 25 points against
the Wolverines on Jan. 6.
Simply put? It’s a game that
Michigan shouldn’t have to
struggle to get up for.
“When you’ve got 17,000
people cheering against you,
it’s just the stuff you dream
about
growing
up,”
said
sophomore
guard
Jordan
Poole.
“You
want to be in
situations
like
this.”
Beilein spoke
more
quietly
than
usual
Tuesday, flatly
stating
his
disappointment
in
Michigan’s
lack of growth
from Saturday’s
loss. Thursday,
his tone was similar but
tempered. He admitted that
his expectations might have
been too high; that his message
after the loss to Wisconsin
needed more time to sink in.
“I was not as happy as I
probably should have been,” he
said. “I think, as a coach, you
expect too much, you expect
it to immediately kick in after
the
Wisconsin
game. And when
I
saw
some
of the similar
things that we
had pointed out
…
Sometimes
you just gotta be
ready to move
on, realize I’m
human, they’re
human, and we
should
have
enjoyed
that
win better.”
But if the lessons learned
in Madison have yet to take
effect,
any
concerns
will
keep
growing
in
urgency.
On the heels of two subpar
performances, the difference
between a two-point win, a
20-point win or a loss becomes
that much greater.
If the Wolverines indeed
have a switch, Friday night
would be a good time for them
to flip it.
“I feel like we were just
trying to go out there and
win a game, rather than being
excited to make open shots
and being excited to beat a
good team. I feel like that’s
something that decreased the
last couple games,” Poole said.
“Being able to flip the switch
and try to turn it on tomorrow
and get after it in practice,
just have fun. When you’re
there, you have 16 people
against 17,000. … Being in that
situation is something I feel is
exciting for us.”
Wolverines drop contest to Indiana, 70-60, pushing road record to 2-7
In the midst of a back-
and-forth sequence, Indiana
regained control.
First, having found space
on
the
wing,
Hoosier guard
Jaelynn
Penn
knocked down
a
3-pointer.
Moments later,
following
a
turnover
by
Michigan’s
freshman point
guard
Amy
Dilk,
it
was
Ali
Patberg
converting a baseline floater
on the other end for Indiana.
That 30-second sequence
seemed to encapsulate the
game as a whole. Despite
making
multiple
runs
to
keep the game close, the
Wolverines
(12-8
overall,
3-5 Big Ten) just never took
command, ultimately losing
to the Hoosiers (16-4, 5-3) on
the road, 70-60.
From the start, Indiana
dictated the tempo of the
contest. It jumped out to a
five-point lead and built on
it as the quarter progressed.
Three-pointers from Penn
and Brenna Wise pushed its
lead to eight with 3:30 left
in
the
first
quarter.
To
Michigan’s
credit, it fought
its
way
back
thanks in large
part to the play
of
sophomore
forward
Hailey Brown.
Down
just
six
entering
the second quarter, Brown
scored five quick points —
including a three from the
top of the key.
From
that
point
on,
the game was played at
lightning
speed.
Penn’s
second
3-pointer
of
the
game was matched by senior
guard Nicole Munger. The
Wolverines’ sharpshooter —
who was 1-16 from beyond the
arc in Big Ten away games
entering Thursday — found
her target again later in the
quarter to pull Michigan
within two. Following the
Hoosiers’
quick
five-point
burst,
freshman
forward
Naz
Hillmon
converted
two contested layups —
foreshadowing
things
to
come — to cut Indiana’s lead
to just three at the half.
The
Hoosiers
however,
came out of the break firing
on all cylinders. Off of a
defensive
rebound,
Penn
raced down the floor and
finished at the rim. Another
jumper from Patberg and
an open 3-pointer from the
corner gave Indiana even
more breathing room.
In
customary
fashion
though,
the
Wolverines
closed
the
gap.
From
a
double-team, senior center
Hallie
Thome
skillfully
found Dilk, crashing toward
the basket for an easy layup.
Hillmon, then, went to work
in the paint — gathering
an offensive rebound and
finishing
down-low
on
multiple occasions.
And
yet,
every
time
Michigan seemed to regain
its
footing,
the
Hoosiers
answered
accordingly.
During
one
exchange
at
the beginning of the fourth
quarter,
Dilk
received a pass
in
transition
and had a clear
path
toward
the
rim.
Out
of
nowhere
Indiana’s
Bendu
Yeaney
sprinted down
the floor and
stripped
the
ball
out
of
Dilk’s unsuspecting hands.
“Kinda seemed like they
were first to the loose-balls
all night,” said Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico.
“Even when we got a steal
early on, we gave it right
back to them. The ball was
going through
our hands early
on.”
The
dagger
came
with
a
minute
left
in the fourth
quarter.
Since
Thome
was
dominating
inside
defensively
—
finishing
with
five
blocks
—
the
Hoosiers had to hit from the
outside. Penn did exactly
that — finding space on the
right wing and drilling the
20-footer to bring her final
point total to 28.
The
Wolverines
fought
valiantly, but their scoreless
final
three
minutes
and
Indiana’s ability to make
plays when they had to, in the
end, resulted in another away
defeat, pushing their road
record to 2-7.
“We got really good looks,”
Barnes Arico said. “That’s the
thing — we ran stuff in our
offense, we got looks in our
offense and they just didn’t
go in. And they made ten
threes, so they shot the ball
incredibly well all night.”
JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Editor
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Freshman forward Naz Hillmon tied a team-high with 16 points and added nine rebounds Thursday, but it wasn’t enough.
From the
start, Indiana
dictated the
tempo...
Kinda seemed
like they were
first to loose
balls all night.
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Junior center Jon Teske has emerged as a focal point of the offense, scoring in double figures in each of his last four games, including 15 points on Thursday.
I was not as
happy as I
probably should
have been.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, January 25, 2019 — 7