Evan Jacoby is an RTC columnist and contributor. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter. Night Line will run on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s slate of games.
Indiana won another game on Thursday night over a ranked opponent, when Tom Crean’s team knocked off No. 15 Michigan, 73-71, at home in Bloomington. Christian Watford (25 points), Cody Zeller (18 points), and the rest of the Hoosiers will get all the credit for another signature victory, but it was an extremely tough effort by the visiting team that warrants even more attention. In the raucous Assembly Hall environment, Michigan trailed by 15 points but John Beilein’s team responded to the adversity with impressive poise and came back to tie the game late in the second half. While the feel-good story of Indiana’s resurgence will dominate the Big Ten storylines, and with good reason, don’t forget about the Wolverines’ resolve in this game that could be a key component to determining who the better team is by the end of the season.
There is so much to like about Tom Crean’s team, which features one of the top resumes in the entire country to date. They have wins over Kentucky and Ohio State, who were ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, at the time of the games. Those wins alone are enough to signify that Hoosier basketball is officially back. IU scores 82 points per game, ninth in the nation, with the top three-point shooting percentage in the land (45.6%), adding up to the fourth-most efficient offense in the country. But IU has done all its major damage on their electric home court, aided by die-hard fans who have waited years for the Hoosier renaissance. Assembly Hall has become the new Kohl Center of the Big Ten, as every team that’s entered its domain this year has exited with a loss. Having an explosive offense, accurate three-point shooters, and a tremendous home court advantage helps make this team one of the most exciting stories of the year.
The Hoosiers, though, need to prove they can win outside of Bloomington before they can be considered an elite team. When Indiana played in the Breslin Center at Michigan State to open conference play, they were dominated to the tune of a 15-point loss. They had an offensive efficiency of 98.5 in that game, far below their season average of 117.4. Contrast that game with Michigan’s road effort tonight in their two-point loss, where Michigan had a 107.4 efficiency that nearly matched their season average, and it’s a sign that the Wolverines, rather than the Hoosiers, may be the more consistent team, home or away.
The Wolverines were also tested in the Maui Invitational, where they accumulated neutral floor victories over Memphis and UCLA and lost a close game to the eventual tournament champion, Duke. Those games have prepared Michigan for the kind of atmosphere they encountered on Thursday night. John Beilein’s team looked to be regaining control against IU, but some big mid-range jumpers by Watford and strong post moves by Zeller kept Indiana ahead, as the duo combined to shoot an incredible 16-21 from the floor. It’s a promising result for Michigan, then, that the game was tied with three minutes to play despite allowing their opponent’s two best players to shine. Michigan got 10 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists from their freshman point guard Trey Burke, who’s consistently shown the poise reminiscent of a senior leader throughout his first season. Star guard Tim Hardaway, Jr., scored 19 points and hit several clutch second half shots after struggling early on. Zach Novak, Stu Douglass, and Evan Smotrycz all average over 1.5 three-point makes per game and space the floor perfectly for the two play-making guards. Everyone knows their role on this Michigan squad this season.
Thursday night’s matchup shows that Michigan was able to execute its game plan on the road, even after falling behind by a wide margin early. Indiana’s dream season has featured hardly any real adversity to this point, although the team didn’t respond particularly well last week when faced with such conditions in East Lansing. How the Hoosiers hold up in conference play over the next few weeks will truly determine what kind of team they are. Michigan was not phased in Bloomington, though, and despite the loss there’s reason to believe that the Wolverines will ultimately become the better team. They’ll get a chance to hold serve in Ann Arbor on February 1, which should be a game with huge Big Ten and national implications.
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While I admit the msu game was not IU' s best performance, they did come back from an 18 pt deficit and take a pretty good lead in a very hostile environment. When Sheehey comes back we are a much better team.I think IU wins that game if he would have played.