MATTHEWS SHUTS DOWN ROMEO LANGFORD. AGAIN.

BLOOMINGTON — John 

Beilein didn’t want his team 
switching.

For a team with an 

elite defense — one often 
predicated on doing just 
that — it seemed like a bold 
strategy. But, as is often the 
case, the Michigan men’s 
basketball coach knew what 
he was doing.

Beilein wanted redshirt 

junior wing Charles 
Matthews on Indiana’s 
Romeo Langford in every 
way possible. On Jan. 6 
in Ann Arbor, Matthews 
locked down Langford, and 
against a Hoosiers team 
lacking in depth, it was 

imperative that Langford 
was once again kept in 
check. Matthews, a guy 
who takes every matchup 
personally, had no qualms 
with the plan.

“We wanted Charles on 

(Langford),” Beilein said. 
“Charles? He likes that.”

If the game in Ann Arbor 

was part one of Matthews 
vs. Langford, Friday was 
part two — and Matthews 
won this round even more 
handily than the first.

A shot clock issue caused 

the PA announcer to 
verbally count down the 
time remaining on every 
Hoosier offensive possession 
in the first half. For the first 
seven minutes, the action 
at that end was a surreal 
sequence of numbers and 

bricked shots and boos — so 
many boos — as Michigan 
jumped out to a 17-0 lead.

And there in the middle 

of all of it was 
Matthews, 
who had four 
rebounds 
before Indiana 
had a single 
point and 
generated 
chances for 
his team 
even through 
periods 
of sloppy 
offensive play.

Langford, 

meanwhile, 
had three fouls in the first 
nine minutes of the game 
and sat the rest of the half.

“(Matthews is) just a 

fierce competitor and he 
knows his angles really 
well,” said freshman 
forward Ignas Brazdeikis. 

“He’s also got 
that reach and 
athleticism 
but it’s also 
the way he 
defends, you 
know, he cuts 
off what you 
like to do best 
and he’s quick 
to knowing 
what the player 
does best.”

Back on 

the court in 
the second 

half, Langford started a 
mini-Indiana run with a 
layup and the Hoosiers cut 
the Wolverines’ lead to as 

little as nine at one point. 
With Langford on the floor, 
Indiana’s offense seemed to 
have the kind of flow it was 
previously missing.

Then, Matthews was 

accidentally kicked in the 
head and lay, reeling, down 
on all fours before leaving 
the court briefly as both 
teams went to timeout.

Instead of leaving injured, 

Matthews got back up and 
taunted the Hoosiers even 
more. He sunk both free 
throws, then hit a three and 
then a jump shot just within 
the arc. By then, Michigan 
was up 16 and the game was 
back out of reach for the 
Hoosiers.

“Anytime we see Charles 

doing that, it kinda rubs 
off on myself,” said junior 

guard Zavier Simpson. 
“Rubs off on Iggy, rubs off 
on the rest of the players on 
the court, we see that, we 
feel, then just keep it going.”

During their first 

matchup, Langford still 
managed to get a little. He 
still finished with 17 points 
— low by his standards, 
maybe, but not by anyone 
else’s — and found a groove 
in the second half. On 
Friday, he scored just nine 
on 3-for-12 shooting. Thanks 
primarily to Matthews, one 
of the top freshmen in the 
country looked like just 
another pedestrian.

Langford may have been 

on his home court, but 
Matthews looked like the 
one who had been there 
before.

Aria Gerson
Assistant Sports Editor

SPORTSMONDAY

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | January 28, 2019

IN STUDENT SECTION AT ASSEMBLY HALL, FRUSTRATION BOILS OVER

Alec Cohen / Daily
Design by Jack Silberman

INSIDE SPORTSMONDAY

See Page 4B

ROMEO?

wherefore art thou

46 IU

MICHIGAN SHUTS DOWN LIFELESS INDIANA. AGAIN.

“We wanted 
Charles on 
(Langford),” 
Beilein said. 
“Charles? He

likes that.”

U-M 69

