The Wolverines beat Indiana 80-62 in their last matchup. A resounding win for the team, and definitely a marker of change for a lot of players. Hunter Dickinson’s dominance was on display as usual, but DeVante’ Jones began to display his playmaking prowess in this game. This game marked a turning point in Michigan’s season. At the time, Michigan was 8-7 with a daunting schedule ahead. Rattling off 9 wins in their final 15 games and winning against the upper tier of the Big Ten when they beat Iowa, Ohio State, Purdue, and Michigan State. DeVante’ Jones has developed himself into an offensive playmaking mastermind while Hunter Dickinson has had an easier time scoring. Michigan has displayed various strong trends that need to continue for the team to win against Indiana. I have outlined a couple offensive trends that they need to continue and a primary defensive strategy that should give them more favorable results against IU.

Offense: Ball Movement and Off Ball Adjustments

Michigan’s younger players have adjusted their games to make passing and ball movement much easier as a whole. Early in the season, poor shooting became the primary concern and forced Michigan to take tough contested shots. While poor shooting was a part of the issue, I think the spacing of the younger players, as well as the lack of proper ball movement, resulted in poor offensive performances. Making the extra pass, making yourself available, and being in the vision of the passer are all important skills at the collegiate level, but they are difficult to master at a young age. Below, I detailed a crucial shot by Kobe Bufkin at the end of the Ohio State game to show this subtle growth by each player involved.

As Eli Brooks drives baseline where I have circled him, notice the weakside once again. I talked about Caleb Houstan’s understanding of spacing and slight movements to get open earlier in the season. However, the other players did not understand the proper spacing. This has worked for Kobe Bufkin and Terrance Williams in this play. Notice how much space the three players created on the three-point line.

As Eli gets closer, Kobe and Caleb take slight steps to get into Eli’s field of vision. A lot of players swing their hands up and down if they are open, but guys need to understand how to get in the vision of the passer. Caleb moves down to the corner a bit more, and Kobe moves away a bit to maintain the spacing on the floor. This puts pressure on OSU because the wider space forces longer recovery for the defense. Ahrens, who stands next to Bufkin in this play, gets caught in between the two shooters because he has to decide who to close to first.

Once Eli makes the pass, Ahrens has a long distance to close the space between him and his Kobe Bufkin. Kobe’s slight movement left gave him way more space to shoot this shot. Furthermore, Terrance Williams moves a little bit away from Bufkin as he catches the ball to

maintain the spacing. His slight movement caused his defender to hesitate because he doesn’t want to abandon Williams.

These slight movements have been a huge improvement for guys coming off the bench. Younger players have the tendency to run towards to the ball to create for themselves. In high school, these highly-rated recruits often have the ball in their hands and have to adjust to off-ball movement in college. This growth for Kobe, Terrance, and Caleb has unlocked new levels of their game and provided them with a better foundation to be recurring pieces in Michigan’s rotation for a couple more years.

Offense: DeVante’ Jones Pick and Roll Reads

DeVante’ Jones has developed into a pick and roll nightmare for opposing defenses. His pace and patience when using the ball screen gives him time to read the defense and make the right play. Below I have detailed a situation early in the game where Michigan created movement and attacked a weak ball screen defender in Joey Brunk on Ohio State. Putting DeVante’ in more ball screens will give them more opportunities for easy baskets because of his superior vision.

This out-of-bounds situation has DeVante’ Jones catch the ball and immediately dribble towards the other side of the floor. At the same time, Moussa Diabate sets a screen for Eli Brooks in the corner. This movement has to be precise or else the team will have issues. These handoff plays early in the season would not work because the timing was off on the screen. Moussa needs to set the screen as DeVante’ turns and Eli needs to wait for the screen to come to him.

After Eli comes off the screen, he catches the ball and hands it back to DeVante’. This type of play shows the NBA influence in the Michigan offense. These handoffs allow guards to go downhill and attack the feet of the defenders. Moussa then sets a screen for DeVante’s man to further put pressure on the defenders.

This ball screen in particular stood out to me. Often as a player, I noticed it was more difficult for players to determine when to keep the ball rather than throw a pocket pass to the roll man. DeVante’ has developed his pick and roll reads to the point where he doesn’t need to have outstanding speed to beat his defenders. The pace and patience I mentioned give him time to read the subtleties of a pick and roll. Above, I have circled Joey Brunk, the big man defender. His feet and body have turned away from DeVante’ ever so slightly. Early in the season, Jones

would have forced a pass into a tight window like the one above. However, he has learned to read the body of the defenders to make the right decision. With Brunk turned away from Jones, DeVante’ continues to drive baseline and makes a tough floater.

These types of reads happen so quickly within a game, but there are multiple facets to each decision. Jones has shown he can make the correct reads and the big men benefit from it. Moussa in particular has benefitted from DeVante’s play of late because he gets easier looks at the rim. With Hunter in the lineup, he has been able to get elbow jump shots and floaters in a pick and roll with DeVante’.

Defense: Better Containment of Xavier Johnson

Trayce Jackson-Davis has been the face of Indiana basketball for the last few years now. He has been a strong threat to every team he faces. In the last game against Michigan, he struggled to get good shots. He has a harder time shooting over bigger defenders even with his superior athleticism. Michigan’s primary focus shouldn’t be on him in my opinion, because i believe Hunter can defend him one on one. Xavier Johnson, IU’s point guard, has been a catalyst in a lot of Indiana’s big games this season. Limiting his assists will make it harder for Indiana’s role players to get shots. Set shooters like Miller Kopp, and Parker Stewart rely on others to create for them. Xavier Johnson has been the primary provider for the team, and forcing him into tough situations will give Michigan a better chance.

In their first matchup, Johnson had 6 assists because he wasn’t pressured coming off the ball screen. Many people guarding him play off of him a bit because of his funky shooting form, but this allows him to operate and make cleaner passes across the court. Notice above he uses the ball screen without much pressure. Terrance Williams is too low and does not deter any sort of pass or drive.

Johnson does a great job reading the play and utilizing the ball screen coverage to his advantage. WIth Hunter stepping out on Johnson at the top of the key, Xavier understands the situation and sees how low Terrance Williams stands on the free-throw line. This read gives Johnson an easier pass because of the lack of pressure on the ball, and the space between Williams and the shooter Miller Kopp #12 for IU.

I hate to use MSU as an example, but they did a really good job of disrupting Johnson by pressuring him and forcing him into tight spaces. Johnson had 6 turnovers in this game, and Michigan State won 76-61 even with Trayce Jackson Davis scoring 17 points. The disruption of Johnson became key down the stretch since he tried to make difficult plays when faced with pressure. Michigan should follow these steps to disrupt Indiana’s primary playmaker.

Michigan State in the above image slightly influences Johnson to go into a tight spot. He stands at the top of the key with the ball. I have circled Jaden Akins as well who makes the key play in this scenario.

Once Johnson begins to drive, Akins steps into the gap and leaves Indiana’s player in the corner. This is 100% a scouting report play made by Akins. #32 Trey Galloway on Indiana does not shoot well, and Akins understands stepping into the gap will force Johnson to make a tough play. Rather than just throwing his hand at the ball, Akins puts his body in front of Johnson on the drive. Michigan needs a better gap presence like this to force turnovers and get easier baskets.

Johnson tries to force himself through three defenders to get to the rim, and Akins steals the ball. Indiana only has two strong shooters in Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp, but they often play lineups with weak shooters altogether. If Michigan can maintain a gap presence, and force Xavier Johnson to make tough quick decisions, then the Wolverines should have a much better chance against Indiana.

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