Thoughts on a 73-69 loss to Michigan:
Well that got interesting.
After Indiana found itself down by as many as 22 in the second half and just about dead on the afternoon, it mounted an aggressive 25-7 run over the last 5:26 of the ballgame and nearly pulled this sucker out.
Michigan’s inept free-throw shooting in the closing minutes helped a good deal. (It only finished 19-of-37 (51.4 percent) from the line for the game.)
But the Wolverines mounted that big second-half lead on the strength of some healthy three-point shooting (8-of-15 for 53.3 percent), as Indiana struggled to defend from beyond the arc. Tim Hardaway Jr. was also unstoppable for a stretch in the second half, exploiting a mismatch with Daniel Moore. The freshman scored a career-high 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting (4-of-6 from three), though he was part of the free-throw problems (4-of-9).
Indiana turned the ball over on several occasions to start the game, which limited shot opportunities and got the Hoosiers off on the wrong foot. But they held Michigan to just three points in the last 6:38 of the first half — all coming on free throws — and went into the locker room down eight despite 10 turnovers and just 37 percent shooting from the field.
Looking at this weird, unbalanced one during the low stretches, Indiana just wasn’t sharp enough this afternoon. But the Hoosiers showed much resilience in only losing by four.
