This was not a pretty game. It was a a poor performance until the final 5:26 where Indiana cut into Michigan’s 22 point lead. The Hoosiers lost their third straight game, falling at Michigan 73-69.
Poor free throw shooting down the stretch allowed IU to get back into a game that Michigan should have run away with. The Hoosiers closed the game on a 25-7 run. The Wolverines wouldn’t have scored seven points if it wasn’t for IU fouling in desperation.
Michigan was miserable at the charity stripe, making just 19 of 37 attempts, a 51% clip. UM actually shot better from the field at 54%.
This game was reminiscent to IU’s loss at Northwestern earlier this year because of poor intensity, decision making and outside shooting. But the second half was much improved. The Hoosiers turned the ball over just twice in the second half after eleven first half turnovers.
Nobody stood out for Indiana. Victor Oladipo made three early dunks and led IU with 13 points. Tom Pritchard remained tenacious on the defensive glass. He snatched down rebounds and altered some shots. Jeremiah Rivers, the long senior, fouled out of the game and picked up a technical in the first half after getting into a scuffle with Zack Novak.
I still question the Hoosiers play with Verdell Jones on the floor. The Hoosiers had two wins over ranked teams without Jones, and he missed the final shot against Iowa. Today, he was just 2-7 from the field and finished with 12 points. To his credit, he made 8 of 12 free throws.
The fact that junior walk-on Daniel Moore played 15 minutes is a problem. At one point, Moore and freshman walk-on Jeff Howard were playing at the same time. Howard actually got off the bench before Bobby Capobianco…take that for what it’s worth.
This wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. This was a game Indiana needed and could have won. However a lackluster first half prohibited the Hoosiers from really getting anything going.
IU is now in a perfect situation, with a week off between games after losing three consecutive. The team has two very winnable home games to focus on, against Northwestern and Purdue.
I’d be very interested to know how many games this year a team shoots better from the field than the line.