Shortly after snapping a nine-game losing streak against in-state rival No. 4 Purdue in an emotional upset victory, Indiana men’s basketball couldn’t carry its momentum over against Michigan on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. In its 80-62 defeat, Indiana instead extended its losing streak to Michigan to nine games.
"It's disappointing,” head coach Mike Woodson said postgame. “We're still learning how to win. When you experience some success, it's new to us."
Michigan entered the nationally televised Big Ten matchup with a disappointing 8-7 record after starting the season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press poll. That desperation proved key in propelling Michigan to a quick start and handing Indiana its first loss at Assembly Hall in the 2021-22 season.
The Wolverines used the 3-point line to their advantage early and often to take the energy out of the arena, capitalizing on the Hoosiers’ slow legs on defensive rotations with wide-open triples to give themselves a promising 29-13 advantage.
“They came in clawing, scratching for a win,” junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “They needed this win bad and played harder than us."
Senior guard Xavier Johnson and Jackson-Davis were the driving forces behind Indiana’s 17-9 run after the sluggish start. The pair thrived as the pace of the game increased, scoring 10 of the team’s points during that run on the fast break.
Johnson carried over his underlooked 18-point performance against Purdue with another strong outing, scoring 14 points with six assists and six rebounds. His creativity and decision-making in driving lanes kept Indiana’s devastating scoring droughts from lasting even longer than they did.
The Hoosiers dug deep to work their way back from a double-digit deficit before halftime, but the 38-30 score at the break could’ve been closer if not for the efforts of Wolverine sophomore forward Terrance Williams II.
Each time the noise in Assembly Hall picked back up from Jackson-Davis’ finishes at the rim and Johnson’s drives, Williams positioned himself in Indiana’s blind spots before its late rotations on defense came. He knocked down timely, uncontested jump shots to silence the building and scored 10 of Michigan’s final 12 points in the first half.
Indiana’s starting lineup, which has remained untouched by Woodson for all but one game this season, couldn’t find any rhythm at the start of either half. Although fans urged for changes to the team’s rotations, Indiana’s bench was unproductive with only 8 points Sunday, showing its pattern of inconsistency after scoring 35 in the win against Purdue.
“It's unacceptable to come out with no emotion and no drive,” Jackson-Davis said. "It’s our home court. That falls on us, the starting five. That's our starting five for a reason.”
Production came from everywhere the Wolverines looked, as four of its players, including three starters, scored in double figures.
The discrepancy in long-range shooting between the two teams was blown open in the final 20 minutes as Michigan finished 11-17 from beyond the arc to Indiana’s 5-19 mark.
Before senior guard Parker Stewart knocked down the last three of Indiana’s five 3-pointers in the closing minutes, sophomore center Hunter Dickinson, who had only hit six 3-pointers the entire season, had more triples to his name than Indiana combined with three.
Dickinson, who has averaged 13 points per game in his career against Indiana, posted a game-high 25 points with nine rebounds.
“Defensively when we were doubling him, we were supposed to wait on his crab when he started to dribble the ball,” Jackson-Davis said of Indiana’s approach toward Dickinson. “He was holding the ball, so it was easy for him to look over and watch and see who's coming. We made that mistake, and he made us pay for it.”
Dickinson’s 18 second-half points came largely through dominating moves in the post against Jackson-Davis and senior center Michael Durr, but an even greater impact came from his confidence to fire away from distance, which stretched Indiana’s defense to its breaking point.
The Hoosiers only turned the ball over eight times, but were inefficient on offense as a group and failed to make the most of their momentum during scoring runs of their own. Although the Hoosiers edged out the Wolverines 32-28 in the battle in the paint, they left many chances hanging and shot 39% from the field.
“When I look at the stat sheet, everybody had minuses, so that just lets me know we weren't there tonight,” Woodson said. “It's my job to make sure that they don't drop the rope (going forward).”
Indiana will next face Penn State at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in a rematch of its 61-58 defeat on the road Jan. 2. This time around, Indiana will have home court advantage at Assembly Hall and look to split the regular season series.
