ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — Pick your moment. The alley-oop to junior forward Troy Williams? The 3-pointer from Collin Hartman or Yogi Ferrell? Oh, it was probably the nonsensically deep 3-pointer from senior guard Nick Zeisloft to make it a 25-point run.
Somewhere along this run, IU proved itself.
It proved it can beat a pretty good Big Ten team. It proved it can do so on the road.
The Hoosiers beat down the Wolverines so bad Tuesday that the crowd began its mass exodus with about 10 minutes left in the game. The final 13-point differential didn’t do justice to what was a blowout.
Many of us in the media were saying IU hadn’t beat anybody, that it’s been winning against the bottom of the conference.
Maybe it still hasn’t beaten anybody good, but IU looked like it could hang with anyone in the country Tuesday.
What was so impressive in this win might not even be the 28-0 run or the way IU dominated Michigan in the Crisler Center. What was so impressive was the way it battled back after facing adversity on the road against a solid opponent.
The Hoosiers went down 15-4 in enemy territory to open this game. The Wolverines had wide open 3-point looks and the Hoosiers couldn’t control the ball or make a shot.
IU only made 2-of-8 3-pointers to start. This came after a Saturday game against Minnesota when IU shot 2-of-18 from deep. But Crean said Saturday shooting isn’t going to be something he worries about with this team.
Ferrell, a senior guard, attributed the shooting woes Saturday to not driving and kicking enough.
So what did IU do Tuesday when shooting was off? It drove to the basket consistently and it drove to the basket well. Everybody was contributing and Michigan couldn’t quite stop it.
This adjustment willed the Hoosiers back into the game and next thing you know — much like Crean predicted — shooters were open and shots were falling. They made four of their next five shots from beyond the arc.
The Hoosiers weren’t discouraged when they trailed early on and they adjusted to what wasn’t working. That’s the greater growth.
This is only the beginning of IU’s brutal 9-game stretch to end the regular season. The team still has to face the four premiere teams in the Big Ten. But beating the best Big Ten team they have played yet was important for the Hoosiers.
Michigan was also set to be the best offense IU had played yet this season. IU managed to hold it to 21-of 54 shooting when taking Michigan’s garbage-time run out of the equation.
One of the most interesting things as the game closed out was watching the demeanors of the two coaches. Michigan Coach John Beilein was sitting in his seat, his head shaking continuously in disapproval.
Crean, on the other hand, was as active as ever, hooting and hollering at his players. Maybe that’s because he knows this IU team is good, and it’s worth pushing.
