Michigan basketball team hangs on to beat Indiana, 73-69, for third consecutive victory

Topics: Sports, UM Basketball, UM Campus

Posted: Feb 12, 2011 at 6:02 PM [Today]

The shot clock wound down as Michigan junior guard Zack Novak drove down the right side of the lane and hit the baseline as the clock hit 4.0. He whipped a pass across the baseline to an open Tim Hardaway Jr. in the corner.

As the shot clock buzzed, Hardaway Jr.’s shot fell through the net. The basket gave the freshman forward a career-high in points and accentuated the second half for the Michigan basketball team Saturday in a 73-69 win against Indiana.

As Hardaway Jr. obliterated his former career high of 20 points by scoring 26 against the Hoosiers, Michigan turned a single-digit game at halftime into what looked like a rout.

The Wolverines (16-10, 6-7 Big Ten) led by as many as 22 points after a Darius Morris layup, 66-44, and they looked like they might coast to their third straight victory. Indiana cut into the lead late on its own 10-0 run, similar to what Northwestern did toward the end of Michigan’s win Wednesday.

Indiana's Matt Roth made a 3-pointer from the left wing with 40 seconds left to cut the Michigan lead to four, 69-65. The lead was down to three at 70-67 after a Christian Watford layup with 27.9 seconds left capped a 23-4 run by the Hoosiers.

Watford, who was questionable to play Saturday, led Indiana with 14 points.

Michigan blew its 22-point lead mostly through poor free-throw shooting. The Wolverines were 19-of-37 from the free-throw line, including 8-of-19 in the second half. That led one woman in the Michigan crowd behind press row to yell “Seriously?” after another set of missed free throws from Hardaway Jr. in the closing seconds.

Indiana’s free-throw shooting wasn’t much better as the Hoosiers went 13-of-22.

Michigan used a 9-4 run to open the second half — all from 3-pointers from Stu Douglass and Tim Hardaway Jr. — to take a 41-28 lead. That made Indiana coach Tom Crean call a timeout.

Out of that, Michigan continued on another 7-2 run to break open the game.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein

Tags: Wolverines

Michigan basketball players have their confidence back entering today's game against Indiana - AnnArbor.com

Posted: Feb 12, 2011 at 10:35 AM [Today]

The confidence is back.

The Michigan basketball team’s recent resurgence of four victories in five games has inspired a newfound confidence as it enters a rematch Saturday with Indiana (4 p.m., Big Ten Network).

It was a much different feeling than the last time Michigan (15-10, 5-7 Big Ten) saw Indiana (12-13, 3-9), when the Hoosiers demolished the Wolverines, 80-61, in Bloomington on Jan. 15 when Michigan was in the middle of a six-game losing streak.

“It was a rough stretch that we went through where we were coming close and just couldn’t get over the hump,” junior guard Zack Novak said. “At Michigan State we pulled out a close one, and it just gave us a lot of confidence.

“Still have a lot of work to do, but it’s good guys are feeling good about themselves and guys are just playing a lot better. Just aside from confidence, we’ve gotten a lot better as a team.”

This is suddenly a team of players who believe in each other, believe in the system and in themselves.

It was a message Michigan coach John Beilein stressed in a pre-game speech at Michigan State according to a video on JohnBeilein.com and is something that became obvious as the Wolverines came from behind to beat Penn State, 65-62, and then held on to a lead against Northwestern on Wednesday night.

“Guys are just being aggressive,” Novak said. “I don’t want to say we’re being flashy as a team because the solid teams win. Typically the solid teams win, the flashy teams don’t.

“You can be flashy and solid sometimes but a lot of times you’re better off making the solid play. It goes back to the confidence we have going now.”

Michigan basketball players have their confidence back entering today's game against Indiana - AnnArbor.com

Michigan basketball players have their confidence back entering today's game against Indiana - AnnArbor.com

Posted: Feb 12, 2011 at 10:35 AM [Today]
The confidence is back.
The Michigan basketball team’s recent resurgence of four victories in five games has inspired a newfound confidence as it enters a rematch Saturday with Indiana (4 p.m., Big Ten Network).
It was a much different feeling than the last time Michigan (15-10, 5-7 Big Ten) saw Indiana (12-13, 3-9), when the Hoosiers demolished the Wolverines, 80-61, in Bloomington on Jan. 15 when Michigan was in the middle of a six-game losing streak.
“It was a rough stretch that we went through where we were coming close and just couldn’t get over the hump,” junior guard Zack Novak said. “At Michigan State we pulled out a close one, and it just gave us a lot of confidence.
“Still have a lot of work to do, but it’s good guys are feeling good about themselves and guys are just playing a lot better. Just aside from confidence, we’ve gotten a lot better as a team.”
This is suddenly a team of players who believe in each other, believe in the system and in themselves.
It was a message Michigan coach John Beilein stressed in a pre-game speech at Michigan State according to a video on JohnBeilein.com and is something that became obvious as the Wolverines came from behind to beat Penn State, 65-62, and then held on to a lead against Northwestern on Wednesday night.
“Guys are just being aggressive,” Novak said. “I don’t want to say we’re being flashy as a team because the solid teams win. Typically the solid teams win, the flashy teams don’t.
“You can be flashy and solid sometimes but a lot of times you’re better off making the solid play. It goes back to the confidence we have going now.”
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein

Hail to the Victors Valiant

Saturday, February 12, 2011