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
in
inBloom
loom

Emma Mati/Daily | Design by Sophie Grand

