U-M In The Midst Of Its Most Successful Stretch Against Indiana ... Ever
The Michigan Wolverines' basketball program is enjoying its most successful stretch ever against the Indiana Hoosiers, with yesterday's 89-65 destruction marking U-M's seventh consecutive victory over the traditional powerhouse.
The seven straight wins over IU is a program record for Michigan; in fact, the sixth win during the stretch (a 69-46 beatdown in Assembly Hall last year) set the new school mark, with U-M's five straight wins over IU from 1930-33 having stood as the previous best.
The current winning streak started in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Big Ten Tournament, when Kam Chatman's three-pointer at the buzzer not only knocked off the conference regular-season champion Hoosiers, but also secured Michigan's ticket to the NCAA Tournament that year.
U-M's present stretch against the Hoosiers may not mean a whole lot to the younger generation of basketball fans who are accustomed to seeing Indiana perform at nothing more than a mediocre level during their lifetimes (just one Elite Eight appearance since the start of the 1993-94 season), but the current success against the Crimson and Cream probably serves as sweet redemption for the older folks who remember the Bobby Knight days (and beyond).
IU has had its way with Michigan throughout the two programs' history, holding a 106-64 advantage in a series that dates all the way back to Jan. 18, 1918.
Despite the Indiana program having fallen on hard times in recent years (three straight NCAA Tournament-less seasons), the 1,836 all-time wins it possessed coming into the season still ranked as the 10th most in college basketball history.
Yesterday's 24-point blowout was also tied for the fourth largest margin of victory ever for U-M against IU, trailing only a 48-point beatdown in 1998, a 30-point win by former head coach John Beilein's crew at Crisler Center in 2017 and a 28-point triumph in 1986.
Beilein's clubs actually hold three of the eight biggest margins of victory ever against the Hoosiers (a 90-60 win at Crisler in 2017, a 69-45 triumph in 2010 and the aforementioned 69-46 obliteration in Bloomington last season), though Indiana oftentimes served as a thorn in the 67-year old's side.
Beilein finished with an 11-9 record against IU during his time at U-M, but sat at 5-9 before winning the final six matchups.
Nobody would have predicted Michigan's stretch of success coming in the series at the time of Indiana's last win over U-M — an 80-67 pummeling in Ann Arbor on Feb. 2, 2016, in a game that was nowhere near as close as the score would indicate (the Hoosiers led 45-24 at halftime, and went on a 28-0 run at one point).
| Date | Matchup | Result |
|---|---|---|
|
March 11, 2016 |
vs. Indiana* |
W, 72-69 |
|
Jan. 26, 2017 |
Indiana |
W, 90-60 |
|
Feb. 12, 2017 |
@ Indiana |
W, 75-63 |
|
Dec. 12, 2017 |
Indiana |
W, 69-55 |
|
Jan. 6, 2019 |
Indiana |
W, 74-63 |
|
Jan. 25, 2019 |
@ Indiana |
W, 69-46 |
|
Feb. 16, 2020 |
Indiana |
W, 89-65 |
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