The Michigan Wolverines' basketball team defeated Indiana today by a final score of 89-65, putting on an impressive offensive display in the win (shot 57 percent for the game).
Here's how the entire game unfolded:
First Half
A floater in the lane from junior guard Eli Brooks got the Wolverines on the board first today, knotting the score at 2-2 at the 18:17 mark.
Brooks scored the first four points for his club, connecting on two free throws on the ensuing possession to give the Maize and Blue an early 4-2 lead.
A triple from freshman guard Franz Wagner at 16:36 made the score 9-7 U-M, with senior guard Zavier Simpson assisting on the play.
The two clubs' hot offensive start continued when IU junior guard Al Durham nailed a three with 15:23 left in the half to put Indiana up 12-11, and that's where the score stood at the under-16 timeout.
Both Michigan and IU were a combined 9-for-14 from the field at that point.
A three-pointer from Brooks put the Wolverines back on top, 14-12, at the 13:30 mark, with junior forward Isaiah Livers picking up the assist on the play.
Michigan's hot shooting from deep continued when Livers connected on a corner triple at 12:10 to put U-M up 17-12, and the team was 3-of-5 from deep at that point.
The U-M lead was still 17-12 at the under-12 timeout, and the club was shooting a hot 57 percent from the field at that juncture.
Michigan's torrid offensive pace continued when sophomore forward Brandon Johns drained a three from the corner with 9:26 left in the half to extend U-M's lead to 26-19.
Redshirt junior center Austin Davis ignited the Crisler crowd with his hustle and energy at the 8:33 mark when he scored on a put back off a missed Brooks triple, making the score 29-21 and forcing IU to call a timeout.
The margin was stretched to 12 (35-23) when Livers finished a driving layup with 6:22 left in the half, and the Crisler crowd erupted once again at 4:44 when Wagner connected on an easy layup following a wild scrum that resulted in numerous players diving on the floor and U-M eventually coming away with the ball.
The freshman's bucket made the score 37-25, and the Maize and Blue held a 37-27 lead at the under-4 timeout. Michigan was shooting 58 percent from the field at that point.
A three-point play by Durham cut U-M's margin to just seven (41-34) with 10 seconds remaining, and Simpson missed a hook shot as the half expired.
The Maize and Blue shot 55 percent for the first half and saw four different players score at least seven points, but also allowed the Hoosiers to connect on 50 percent of their shots.
Second Half
Wagner got the scoring started for Michigan in the second half when he drained a corner three at 18:59, making the score 44-36 after IU had cut the deficit to five.
U-M got some breathing room again when Simpson found Wagner on a beautiful pass in transition, with the freshman finishing on a layup to stretch Michigan's lead back to 10 (48-38).
Livers then gave the Wolverines their biggest lead of the day when he drained a triple at the 16:20 mark to put U-M up 51-38, killing the momentum IU had just built.
Johns put what felt like a proverbial dagger in the Hoosiers with 14:10 remaining in the game when he connected on a corner three that gave Michigan its biggest lead of the day at 58-42, forcing IU head coach Archie Miller to call a timeout.
The Maize and Blue's advantage hit 20 (62-42) after Wagner pulled down two rebounds off a Simpson miss before eventually putting in a layup, though some energy was taken out of the building when Livers left the game with injury on the possession before that.
Michigan caught the Hoosiers sleeping on an inbounds play at the 11:26 mark, with Simpson finding a wide open Johns in the corner with Indiana not even appearing to know he was there.
The sophomore subsequently hit the shot (making him of 3-of-3 from deep at that point) to put Michigan up 65-44.
U-M maintained its comfortable margin when Johns hit two free throws with 8:53 left to make the score 71-52, giving the Lansing, Mich., native 11 points.
To many people's surprise, Livers re-entered the game on the Wolverines' next possession.
A driving layup by Wagner with only 5:25 left in the game made the score 80-57, matching the Wolverines' biggest lead of the day up to that point and giving the freshman 16 points on the afternoon.
Simpson capped off his day with a layup with just 2:16 left in the game, putting his team up 84-65 and giving him 12 points on the afternoon.
Head coach Juwan Howard called a timeout after the bucket to get his starters out and the backups in, with sophomore guard Adrien Nunez, freshman guard Cole Bajema and sophomore center Colin Castleton all entering the game for the first time.
A deep triple from Bajema with only 24 seconds remaining capped off the impressive 89-65 blowout win.
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