Watch the full press conferences for both Tom Crean and John Beilein following Indiana’s 80-61 win over the Wolverines in Assembly Hall on Saturday night in the embedded media players below:
Michigan Postgame Video: Hulls, Jones, Watford
by Alex Bozich in Video | January 15th, 2011
Watch the postgame comments of Jordan Hulls (13 points, 4-of-4 from the field), Verdell Jones (24 points, 9-of-10 from the field) and Christian Watford (17 points, 10 rebounds) following Indiana’s 80-61 win over Michigan on Saturday at Assembly Hall in the embedded media players below:
The Minute After: Michigan
by Ryan Corazza in The Minute After | January 15th, 2011
Notes on an 80-61 victory over Michigan. Photo by Jamie Owens.
This team badly needed a strong defensive performance.
Tonight inside Assembly Hall, they brought just that — and more.
From the onset, the Hoosiers displayed intensity, emotion and aggression on both ends of the floor, all of which snowballed throughout the game to their eventual victory.
Indiana denied Michigan their first rebound until 10 minutes into the game. The Wolverines only managed 15 points in the first half. They only shot 36.4 percent from the field (20-of-55) and 29.2 percent from three (7-of-24).
The Hoosiers needed this game in so many ways. For their first Big Ten win. To snap their six-game losing streak, one that seemed like it never wanted to end at times. For pride.
But most of all, to prove to themselves, their coach and their fanbase that they’re better than they’ve been. That they are capable of contending in this conference, and capable of defending on their home court.
It’s been suggested this was perhaps a bit of a letdown game for Michigan after it played strong in losses to Kansas and Ohio State. Maybe there’s some validity to that.
Or maybe, for the first time in too long, Indiana finally put it all together for a victory.
Communication key against Michigan’s transition offense
by Zachary Osterman in Media | January 14th, 2011
BLOOMINGTON — Transition defense was the hot topic Friday afternoon during media availability at Assembly Hall. Tom Crean called Michigan “the best transition basketball team in the Big Ten,” and Jeremiah Rivers said he and his teammates have spent a large portion of the week working to improve in defending against points on the break.
Defending in transition has been a problem for Indiana this season, in large part due to Indiana’s struggles with talking and on-court communication. That, in turn, has created problems when shooters come free on the break and aren’t picked up, John Shurna’s ability to shake loose for open shots Sunday in the Hoosiers’ 93-81 loss at Northwestern being a recent example.
Rivers was particularly adamant about the importance of communication against a team that has shot more 3-pointers than any other in the Big Ten:
“Being quiet out there doesn’t help at all. I think being quiet out there gives us inconsistency because you don’t know if your man has your back, you don’t know, if you get beat off the dribble – which will happen in games – if the next player’s gonna step out and help you. So I think all week, that’s all we’ve been doing, or one of the main things we’ve been doing on defense is helping each other on defense. So I think it’s been real good.”
Michigan will provide an excellent case study into how productive Indiana’s week has been. The Wolverines are trigger happy, as are most John Beilein-coached teams, but they’ve got several pieces that cause problems, foremost among them Darius Morris.
The sophomore is enjoying a breakout season, averaging 15.4 points, 7.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. He has been the conduit through which much of the Wolverines’ offense has run, both in scoring and in creating for others.
“Well he’s the new Manny Harris in the sense that he attacks, creates for others, he can get to the rim really well and the ball is gonna be in his hands when it’s winning time,” Crean said. “He does a good job of finding shooters if they’re open, like Zach Novak, Stu Douglass, Tim Hardaway Jr., and he’s playing like a floor leader for them.”
The others for which Morris likes to create include sharpshooters Zach Novak and Stu Douglass, who both shoot north of 38 percent from 3-point range and average 9.2 and 7.4 points per game, respectively. Novak in particular was a player Rivers termed the Wolverines’ “x-factor” in terms of scoring, and keeping both him and Morris from finding an early rhythm could go a long way for Indiana.
Win proves again that it’s all about defense
Throughout the build-up to this season, defense was the word on the lips of everyone inside the Indiana program. It was, they said, the primary focus of the Hoosiers’ offseason work, and the peg upon which they would hang their basketballing hat this winter, a prediction that played out favorably until tougher opponents started appearing on the schedule.
Over their recent four-game losing streak, the Hoosiers were allowing a rather putrid 76.5 points per contest. And to skirt the border of an awful cliche, their worst was last — a 93-81 loss at Northwestern, during which the Wildcats tortured Indiana in transition and in the halfcourt in almost equal measure.
Saturday night could not have been more different.
From Michigan’s very first possession, Indiana’s gameplan against Michigan was laid clear — take away Darius Morris’ ability to drive his right and close down his options on the kickout, primarily Zack Novak. That plan was executed (buzz word) precisely.
Verdell Jones, playing straight up for much of the game on Morris, played him hard to the Michigan guard’s right, practically inviting him to drive to the left. It was an invitation Morris rarely accepted. When he did, he looked uncomfortable, and on the drives that made it to the basket, he still switched to his right hand to try a layup, costing him at least one bucket.
Novak was so far removed from the game it was hard to tell when he was on the floor. The sharpshooter hit a barren 2-of-6 from the field, and 1-of-5 from behind the arc. Jeremiah Rivers in particular shadowed the junior from Chesterton to fine effect, closing him out of a first half that ended with Michigan having scored just 15 points, the lowest halftime total for an Big Ten opponent since 2002.
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