B
LOOMINGTON — Capitalizing on
momentum has been a difficult task
for the Michigan men’s basketball
team all season.
On the heels of a blowout win
against Maryland, the Wolverines looked to finally
build some by going on the road and defeating an
upstart Hwoosiers team to grab their first quadrant
one win.
Michigan (9-7 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) did just that,
defeating Indiana (14-5, 5-4), 80-62, on Sunday
afternoon. Showing a gusto on both ends of the floor
that it had lacked most of the year, the Wolverines got
off to a hot start in both halves to fuel the victory.
“We were trying to build momentum because
we needed it, especially coming into this stretch,”
sophomore center Hunter Dickinson said. “We knew
that the stretch coming up was very important for us. We
were playing for our season.”
Michigan came out playing like its life was on the line
and blitzed Indiana in the early going thanks to a barrage
of 3-pointers.
A shot that has been a point of weakness for the
Wolverines most of the season suddenly became its
biggest weapon. Indiana collapsed towards the paint to try
and stop interior looks, leaving shooters wide open on the
perimeter. Michigan started the game 5-of-6 from deep,
including two from freshman forward Caleb Houstan, who
had made three from deep against the Terrapins after just
two in his previous five games. The offense was getting
every look it wanted and raced out to a 29-13 lead.
“I think guys are just finally hitting shots that weren’t
going in the beginning of the season,” Dickinson said. “I
think (those were) shots that we were hitting last year that
led to our success and it’s carrying over now to wins for us
this year.”
Indiana, on the other hand, had been especially
lackluster from the 3-point line, shooting just
34.3% on the year — and the Wolverines looked
to take advantage. They often flashed
a zone, but the Hoosiers could not
take advantage of the open looks.
Indiana went just 1-of-8 on
3-pointers in the half.
JOSH TAUBMAN
Daily Sports Editor
Late in the half, though, the Hooisers began to show
some signs of life. They were persistent with their drives
to the basket and back-to-back and-one makes from
forward Trayce Jackson-Davis fueled a 9-0 run to cut
into Michigan’s lead.
When the halftime buzzer sounded, the Wolverines
led just 38-30. While the hot start had seemingly faded
for most of the team, the saving grace for Michigan
— surprisingly — was sophomore forward Terrance
Williams II. Williams had shot just 3-of-12 over his last
five games but went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for
10 points and prevented Indiana from doing further
damage.
“I just wanted to provide something off the bench
along with my energy and effort,” Williams said.
“Today that just so happened to be scoring.” In
the second half, the rest of the Wolverines’ lineup
rediscovered its early mojo. Just under 90 seconds
in, fifth year guard DeVante’ Jones laid in a bucket
for the and-one off the fast break. Houstan splashed
a three the next possession and the lead ballooned
back up to 14.
“It’s great when you see the ball go through the net,”
Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “It definitely
builds confidence for the players and it also helps on the
road and the ball goes to the net because it takes some of
the energy out of the crowd.”
After a sporadic stretch over the next several minutes
that saw both teams go cold from the field, Houstan was
once again there to bail the Wolverines out. He drained a
three from the left corner to make it a 58-45 ballgame with
just under 11 minutes to play.
Houstan shot the ball with the confidence that had made
him a highly touted shooter coming into the year, finishing
with 19 points and going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. The
team as a whole fed off this energy, shooting 11-for-17 from
deep.
Every time Indiana made a basket to give the crowd life,
Michigan responded to sit them back down. As time trickled
down, the Wolverines nursed a double digit lead that had
grown to 16 with six minutes to go. Dickinson led the way,
making threes and drawing and-ones that garnered celebra-
tions with continually growing enthusiasm.
“I think we had a few runs in the game,” Jackson-Davis said.
“But every time we got close, they would pull away.”
With 1:15 to go, Houstan drained an elbow three, putting an
emphatic exclamation point on a resounding road victory for
Michigan that it dominated from the start.
“They’re getting better and better each and every game,”
Howard said. “I just see that from what we have from the
disposition at practice, I’m not surprised that our team played
well today.”
Michigan
shines in
statement
win over
Indiana
S P O R T S W E D N E S D AY
S P O R T S W E D N E S D AY
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