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