At The Buzzer: Michigan 86, Indiana 72

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Rapid reaction to Michigan’s 86-72 win over Indiana.

THE MOMENT

Tuesday’s game was essentially over minutes after the second half began. Michigan graduate guard Nimari Burnett and graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg both buried 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half, forcing Indiana to call an early timeout.

Up 48-33, junior center Aday Mara converted on a turnaround floater to push the Wolverines to 50, and Michigan’s lead would bubble up to 22 points after that. It was an energetic sequence supplemented by solid defense that took the wind out of Indiana’s sails.

THE TAKEAWAY

This was another game in which Michigan seemed to enter a haze with about 10 minutes left in the first quarter. The Wolverines were up 22-7 with 9:55 left and — in a similar fashion to Michigan’s win at Oregon — started to sleepwalk a little.

Michigan was hurt by poor offensive possessions that ended in turnovers and missed free throws, with nine turnovers in the first half and a 1-for-8 split, respectively.

Less similar to their win in Eugene, the Wolverines can thank their defense for keeping Indiana at bay toward the end of the second half. The Hoosiers missed two of their last six shots, and Michigan returned to the intensity it came out of the gate with.

Whatever Dusty May said to this team after the past two games (a pair of double-digit road wins that the Wolverines likely considered ‘substandard’) seemed to work, at least for the first ten minutes. Michigan has shown it doesn’t need to play a complete first half of basketball to win, and that was the case against Indiana.

Once the Wolverines’ competition ramps up, playing sustained and engaged basketball for the first 20 minutes becomes more important.

THE STAR

Elliot Cadeau was in control Tuesday, scoring 19 points, four rebounds and one assist in the first half alone. He didn’t make a basket in the second, but hit 7 free throws. This was another game where Michigan’s early, productive possessions ended with the ball in the same players’ hands.

That player was Cadeau, and he had an answer for pretty much anything Indiana threw at him, slicing and finishing through Hoosiers with relative ease. Cadeau made two threes early and set the tone for a good shooting night for the Wolverines.

He also stayed out of foul trouble, which has been a determining factor between his good and bad performances. And on a night where turnovers slowed Michigan down, at least in the first half, Cadeau wasn’t erratic with the ball.

THE STAT

It took Indiana more than 10 minutes to make a 3-pointer. The Hoosiers’ offense is predicated on making threes, and Indiana’s missing its first ten shots from deep showed how well Michigan defended those looks.

The Wolverines built their lead on defense, forcing the Hoosiers into stagnant, empty possessions that gobbled up the shot clock and had Crisler Center rocking. In the first four minutes of the game, there were several Indiana possessions that ended in missed threes and brought Michigan’s bench to its feet.

And not all of the Hoosiers’ 13 first-half misses can be chalked up to bad shooting luck. The Wolverines locked in defensively from the tip, limiting Indiana to zero points for the first six minutes. Michigan was active on switches on contests, and got a fingertip — or a whole hand — on the ball on several occasions.

Even the Hoosiers’ four consecutive 3-point makes after their first 10 misses didn’t matter in the grand scheme of Tuesday’s win. The Wolverines shut down Indiana’s perimeter shooting in the game’s “first quarter,” and stayed out of reach for the rest of the night.

FOUR FACTORS