IU’s lead was eight, then 15 and finally 21 before the end of the first half. The Hoosiers scored 25 unanswered points – as part of a 41-9 run – in an eventual 80-67 win against the Wolverines.
“Sometimes the other team is just damn better than you on that night,” he said.
Midway through the opening half, IU trailed 24-20.
Over the next six minutes, five different Hoosiers scored, senior guard Yogi Ferrell finishing the streak, and ended the game with 17 points and nine assists against the Wolverines.
It was a 12-0 run. Timeout Michigan.
But the Hoosiers picked up right where they left off out of the break.
Ferrell drove to left, drew two defenders, and then tossed a pass over both of them to a cutting junior forward Troy Williams for the alley-oop dunk. On his way back on defense, Ferrell stopped at center court.
He raised his hand to high-five Williams before running the exact play the next time down.
Ferrell went right this time, dribbled across the court — three defenders coming at him — and bounced a no-look pass to Williams.
16-0 run.
“They’re tremendous in transition,” Beilein said. “Yogi Ferrell is as good a point guard as there is because he can shoot off the bounce, he finds people — he’s playing team ball.”
Things got worse for Michigan. After starting the game 0-for-5 from 3-point range, the Hoosiers caught fire. They ended the half on three consecutive long-range shots.
“I’m not going to make excuses, they’re really good at what they do and we couldn’t stay in front of them,” Beilein said. “And few people have. They’re averaging 80 damn points a game.”
With such a big lead, IU didn’t want to give it up like they had just days before in a close win against Minnesota. In that game, the Hoosiers held a 16-point first-half advantage before the Gophers came back.
Tuesday night, IU Coach Tom Crean knew they needed a strong start in the second half.
He got it. Freshman forward OG Anunoby, who finished with 11 points, knocked down a three and the Hoosiers never let up.
28-0 run.
IU’s advantage on the scoreboard doesn’t exist without stop after stop. That’s what Crean was most impressed with, and where IU has shown the most improvement on its way to a 9-1 Big Ten record.
“You’re not going to win the game with your offense,” Crean said. “Once we settled in and we were able to go on that run, it was because they kept guarding.”
