BLOOMINGTON — Isaiah Livers saw the ball fly out of Chaundee Brown’s hands and immediately began his sprint from the 3-point line to the basket. In his way stood four Indiana players, but as they did for most of the afternoon, the Hoosiers provided an obstacle in name only. Livers leapt from beyond the restricted area, over the outstretched arms of Jordan Geronimo, and slammed Brown’s miss down for an emphatic two points.
With 11:23 remaining, the basket gave Michigan 59 points. Indiana wouldn’t get there all afternoon in an eventual, 73-57, Wolverines’ win.
The Hoosiers now, with four losses in their last five games, are on the outside of the NCAA Tournament picture looking in. Michigan is an odds-on favorite to reach the Final Four.
That basket, and the 8-0 run that it culminated, epitomized why.
Even on a low-stakes afternoon game slotted between top-10 matchups, the Wolverines’ energy is infectious. In those precarious moments just after halftime, when a first-half lead can evaporate in minutes, Michigan’s energy carries it through.
“Everybody as a team has to give,” Livers said. “Coach (Juwan Howard) talks about not being a vampire, an energy-sucker. We gotta be energy givers. I feel like when everybody is not about themselves, this team plays at a high level, national-championship level, best team in the country type level.”
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