IU rebounds to road win

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-- IU sophomore guard Marshall Strickland said it's anybody's ballgame when you're talking about Big Ten basketball. \nWhile history shows that it's difficult to play on the road in the Big Ten, Sunday's game in Ann Arbor was clearly one for the Hoosiers.\nAfter a 34-point loss on the road to Wisconsin, IU bounced back from the loss and defeated the Michigan Wolverines, 59-57. IU made 42.9 percent of its field goals and made five of its six free throw attemps.\n"Anytime you get a road win in the Big Ten, it's like getting two wins," IU coach Mike Davis said.\nIU (7-6, 1-1 Big Ten) defeated Michigan (10-3, 1-1) in a game where IU sophomore guard Bracey Wright was held scoreless in the first half. \nThe 6'3" Wright had already received Big Ten Player of the Week honors twice this season and averaged 20.9 points per game coming into the Michigan game. On Sunday, he scored 11 points and had a team high 9 rebounds.\nDavis said that although Wright didn't score in the first half, he was still a crucial part of the win, making big plays and then quick shots in the second half.\nThe IU starting line-up changed once again as Davis started Wright, Strickland, senior forward A.J. Moye, junior guard Donald Perry and, returning from injury, senior center George Leach.\nMichigan started the game with a 6-1 run, with IU not scoring its first field goal until over five minutes into the game. But when IU's shots began to fall, they came in streaks.\nIn a little over one minute, three different Hoosiers scored from behind the arc, putting IU in the lead 10-6. IU then held the lead for the majority of the rest of the first half.\nThanks to three treys and a field goal from Strickland in the first half, IU went to the locker room at halftime up by ten, 29-19.\nStrickland said his ability to score in the first half helped take the stress off of Wright offensively. Strickland led the IU team in scoring with 14 points and recorded 5 assists.\n"We had our rhythm offensively," Strickland said. "We stayed under control and got open shots."\nMichigan coach Tommy Amaker said the Michigan team played as individuals in the first half.\n"I take full responsibility for that," Amaker said. "It was a hard lesson to learn this afternoon."\nThe second half also began with IU making shots, as they increased their lead to 16 points four minutes into the second half. But the IU team saw its lead dwindle away as it became Michigan's turn for shots to fall. \nDavis said that's when IU began to lose its composure.\nLosing composure brought Michigan within two points of IU with less than 20 seconds left in the ballgame. \nSophomore forward Sean Kline, who has been averaging 8.9 points a game, helped out the IU team with two crucial field goals in the last few minutes of the game and secured the Hoosier win with a block in the final seconds.\nForward Bernard Robinson Jr. led Michigan in scoring with 16 points.\nStrickland said the win makes it easier for the team to return to class for the second semester, coming off of a Big Ten road win.\n"We work too hard to have let downs," Strickland said. "We're going to keep fighting to win."\nIn the press conference following the game, a member of the media told Davis that he had heard a player say one game wasn't enough for the team to gain back their full confidence.\nBut Davis smiled and disagreed.\n"One game feels good to me," Davis said.\n--Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu