The Minute After: Michigan

Conor Enright at Michigan.

Thoughts on an 86-72 loss to the Wolverines:

Indiana started this game 1-of-15, making just one field goal in the first 10:20 of the contest. Tucker DeVries turned the ball over, air-balled a 3-pointer and picked up two fouls in the first 80 seconds of action.

If you’re looking to beat this elite Michigan team this season, that’s not the kind of start that’s going to get it done.

Still, Indiana was able to keep things respectable the rest of the half, and really, the rest of the game. After the Wolverines completely stymied Indiana’s offense, the Hoosiers moved the ball better, found the paint more often, and hit 8 of their last 12 shots in the first half. Michigan also shot itself in the foot. The Wolverines made just 1-of-8 at the line and turned the ball over on 27 percent of their possessions over the first 20 minutes of action.

Indiana trailed 40-29 at the half as a result. Not a catastrophe. But signs of a double-digit loss were written all over this one. And that’s exactly how it ended: the Hoosiers eventually lost by 14 after trailing by as much as 22. And yet, unlike its last two games, you never felt like Indiana had its will broken or, worse yet, gave up. They kept fighting despite Michigan’s superior athleticism, talent, size, length and depth being apparent.

It’s probably also true, as Dusty May alluded to during the broadcast after the game, that Michigan lost some focus as the second half wore on. It did feel a bit like the Wolerines coasted a bit, content to just ride this one out to the final buzzer.

Michigan’s size and athleticism played right into Indiana’s foul problems. Sam Alexis fouled out with 8:40 to play. Conor Enright fouled out with 39 seconds to go. Reed Bailey picked up four fouls for the contest. Michigan had a free-throw rate of 62 percent. After the aforementioned 1-of-8 start from the line, the Wolverines finished 21-of-25 (84 percent) from the charity stripe. They also rebounded over 50 percent of their misses for most of the contest before leveling off at 38 percent, leading to a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points. Michigan shot 10-of-25 (40 percent) from 3-point range. It was a balanced attack from all over the place: Elliot Cadeau led the way with 19 points, Yaxel Lendeborg scored 15, Aday Mara had 13, Trey McKenney added 10, Nimari Burnett and Morez Johnson Jr. both scored nine points.

As has been the case against better teams this season, Indiana’s offense had stretches in which it struggled to do anything but pass the ball around the perimeter and jack up a 3-pointer late in the shot clock. It didn’t help that Tayton Conerway played just two minutes in this one, sitting for most of the game likely due to the ankle injury he suffered against Iowa last Saturday. He was listed as questionable before the game began.

If there’s a silver lining to this one, it’s that DeVries finally got it going on offense. After going scoreless in the first half, he scored 15 in the second half, hitting 4-of-7 from deep. All 15 of those points came in the last 7:43 of the game.

So this is where Indiana sits right now, grabbing a moral victory for not getting completely blown away by the Wolverines. Still, it’s officially a four-game losing streak. And if the Hoosiers aren’t able to snap it Friday night against Rutgers, they’re in dangerous territory of a larger slide, with a home bout against Purdue (KenPom No. 4) and a road trip to Southern California to take on UCLA and USC up next.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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