John Beilein met with the media this afternoon to preview Michigan’s Thursday night game at Indiana. Beilein also provided an update on injured big man Jon Horford, who will travel with the team but will not play at Indiana this week and will have an MRI on Monday. Listen to Beilein’s update below or find notes and quotes after the jump.
Opening statement … “Our goal is to go to Bloomington and try to get a win. We were fortunate enough to do that during my second year here and to do it again would be great. It’s a big challenge, but it’s a great opportunity for our kids to play in a great atmosphere.”
On the problems that Indiana poses for Michigan … “They’re probably the best three-point shooting team in the country. They’re shooting 44 percent with some good inside play also. They have a good plan — they’re scoring 80 points a game and they’re playing most of their games at their own pace. It’s difficult for teams to catch up to them. It’s very important that we don’t have to play catch-up all day long.”
On Indiana’s Cody Zeller … “I’ve seen him since he was a sophomore (in high school). He’s really a tremendous player. He can pass, he rebounds, he’s tough, and he’s really been a big difference-maker in their team from last year.”
On how to stop Zeller… “He’s not the only one. They have five or six guys averaging 10 points per game. It’s about handling the whole group because they get residual affect out of him. He can have a big day one-on-one. They have a real scorer right there in the post. ”
On holding opponents to low point totals … “There have been some moments this year, especially in the last few games, at least a half at a time, where we’ve really played good defense. We’re going to have to do that. We’re going to have to play good offense. You hear me say so many times that could be our best defense — to score baskets so that we have a chance to get back and get set in our defense, which Indiana will do as well. You can score a basket and they’ll have the ball over halfcourt in two or three seconds. It’s really important that we do that in order to stop them defensively. It goes hand in hand really.
On being worried about Tim Hardaway Jr.’s performance vs. Minnesota … “Absolutely not. He’s going to see great defenses all the time. He’s a great scorer and a great shooter. The only thing that would disappoint me is if he backed off at all.”
On playing at Assembly Hall… “They’ve had some marquee games in there of late with the Notre Dame game at Conseco, Kentucky, Ohio State, at Michigan State. They’ve played a good schedule and people are excited there. Road games are tough, there is an element to it, you have to play well. You can’t have an off game and win on the road.”
On Stu and Zack leading the way … “They are great leaders for us. Zack is more demonstrative than Stu but they both show great leadership throughout the game. Two Indiana guys going back there and they both had some big baskets the last time we won there.”
On Trey Burke in tough environments … “It’s all part of the growth. Every one of our games and practices is prep for everyone. He’s have to play very poorly for me to have to worry about that. I don’t worry about things that haven’t happened.”
On Horford … “He’s out. We’re going to do an MRI, regular exam, on Monday and we’ll know where he’s at. He will travel to Indiana.”
Transcript adapted from MGoBlue.com:
You can watch Tom Crean’s pre-game comments at Inside the Hall.
