Field Level Media
Jan 6, 2019
Michigan spent the first few minutes making shot after shot, while Indiana spent those minutes seeing its best players get in foul trouble.
That was pretty much the difference between No. 2 Michigan and No. 21 Indiana on Sunday.
Senior Charles Matthews and sophomore Jordan Poole each had 18 points to lead Michigan (15-0, 4-0) to a 74-63 home win over the Hoosiers in a battle of two unbeaten teams in Big 10 play.
Michigan started off the game hot, making 15 of its first 20 shots to take a 32-13 lead with 8:31 remaining in the first half.
Not helping Indiana's cause was that its two leading scorers, senior Juwan Morgan and freshman Romeo Langford, each got two fouls within the first four minutes of the game and were substituted throughout to keep them from further foul trouble.
Indiana (12-3, 3-1) managed to cut into the deficit mildly until halftime, but Michigan still took a 44-29 lead into the second half.
The Hoosiers did mount a rally in the second half, cutting Michigan's lead to 57-50 with 10:54 remaining on a basket by Langford.
But Michigan responded by scoring the next five points to take a 62-50 lead with 8:16 left.
Indiana managed to close within single digits again at 70-61 with 3:00 remaining, but that was as close as the Hoosiers would get.
Indiana entered second in the country in field-goal percentage at 52.6, but Michigan's stout defense limited the Hoosiers to 42.6 percent shooting (23 of 54) from the field.
Meanwhile, Michigan's offense was efficient despite the fact the Wolverines were off from 3-point range (4 of 16) all game.
Michigan still finished 50.0 percent from the field (29 of 58) and turned the ball over just three times.
Junior Zavier Simpson scored 12 points and freshman Ignas Brazdeikis added 10 points for Michigan.
Morgan scored a game-high 25 points and Langford added 17 points in defeat for Indiana.
--Field Level Media