Indiana Saves Best For Last in OT Win Over Michigan
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana was about to get blown out of its own gym for the second time in a week on Sunday, and it wasn't pretty. Michigan was knocking down one three-pointer after another, and Indiana, as they are occasionally wont to do, couldn't make a thing from deep, missing all but one of their first 10 long balls.
And then, bam.
And boom boom boom, baby.
Thanks to two three-pointers from the struggling Tamar Bates and two more from Miller Kopp and Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana came roaring back, erasing a 12-point Michigan lead. Hood-Schifino's tied the game with his three with 1:15 to go, forcing overtime. There, Indiana's seniors shined and the Hoosiers won 75-73 on Senior Night to earn a double-bye in next week's Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
Send 'em home happy, that's how the Hoosiers did it in the final home game of the season.
"You players, you have not left me yet. We still have a lot of basketball to play, still have a lot of work to put in,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said during the Senior Night ceremonies. And he is exactly right. Thanks to one perfect result after another, the Hoosiers finished second in the Big Ten, and what was a seven-way tie to start the day.
First up is the Big Ten Tournament, an event the Hoosiers have never won. And then there is the NCAA Tournament, where Indiana — and its starving fans — is hoping to make a run, something that would be a long time coming.
Players, coaches and fans were able to leave with smiles on their faces on Sunday, but for the longest time, it didn't look that it was going to be that way. And after losing by 22 points on Tuesday in the worst home loss, things were looking disastrous when Michigan started pulling away. It looked like a disastrous ending to the regular season was in play.
The Hoosiers, who only lost twice at home all year, had a big lead of its own early, and frittered it all away. Thanks to a great defensive effort out of the gate, Indiana led 23-11 after more than 14 minutes of play. But Michigan then went on a 10-0 run end the half, and a 15-5 breakout early in the second half.
Assembly Hall was silent, and needed a boost. They got it. And from some unlikely sources.
Bates, who was 6-for-32 shooting — a stunning 18.7 percent — from the field since scoring 22 points on Jan. 22 against Michigan State, hit a three to cut the lead to 54-45 with 12:14 to go. Kopp, who started the night missing his first five shots, then hit a three at the 8:13 mark to make it 60-54.
"Miller was down on himself a little bit after he missed a few shots, and I told him that big one was coming,'' said Jackson-Davis, who finished with 27 points, nine points and six assists. "And I saw him in the corner and he hit a huge one for us that we really needed.
"That kind of got his mind off of that, but it was just awesome to see. Coach Woody kind of put us in that situation, too, where he was basically telling us that the seniors are going to have to lead. He told that to us in practice. And so just going out on the court and just leading and doing what we do, obviously the other guys really helped us along, Trey, Malik, Tamar came in and did some good things as well. But just down the stretch, leaders got to lead, and that's what we did.''
Bates struck again at the 5:46 mark to make it a one-point game at 63-62, and Hoodi-Schifino finally got Indiana all the way when his three with 59 seconds to go made it 69-all.
Indiana had plenty of chances to win in regulation, but couldn't close the door. Race Thompson, who was playing his last game at Assembly Hall after six seasons, dropped off coverage and snuck in behind for a steal from Hunter Dickinson. But he drove all the way down the floor, and missed a layup with 24 seconds to go. Michigan got the final shot, but Indiana's defense stood strong, forcing a tough three-pointer from Dickinson that went wide.
In overtime, it was the seniors who took control for Indiana. Thompson scored the first points on a shot in the lane, and Jackson-Davis made two free throws to make it 73-69. Kopp hit a long jumper from the left corner just inside the arc to put Indiana head 75-69 with 2:21 to go.
The Hoosiers struggled again to close it out, though. After Dickinson — who had 24 points and 14 rebounds on the night — hit a tough three to slice the lead in half, Indiana continued to shoot themselves in the foot. Jackson-Davis had two good looks inside that didn't go and then Thompson came up with another huge steal with 12 seconds to go, but he missed both free throws.
Kopp fouled Michigan point guard Dug McDaniel on purpose with six seconds to go, and he made the first free throw but missed the second intentionally. Thompson was able to grab the rebound, and was fouled with four seconds to go.
He missed both of those free throws too, and Michigan had one last chance. The didn't get a shot off, though, when Kobe Bufkin tried to pass the ball to Dickinson, but he had already rolled away from his spot. Indiana recovered the ball as time expired.
No. 15 Indiana finished the regular season with a 21-10 record, the most wins since the 2016 team went 27-8, won a Big Ten title and two games in the NCAA Tournament
Indiana will be a No. 2 or No. 3 seed now in the next week's Big Ten Tournament in Chicago, getting the important double-bye that goes to the top-four seeds. The tournament starts Wednesday, but the Hoosiers won't play until Friday night now.
"It's very important,'' Woodson said of the double bye. "I think back to last season, we played three straight nights and that's tough physically as well as mentally. Friday, Saturday and Sunday is still a lot of basketball, but I'm happy that we're (possibly) playing three games instead of four.''
The Hoosiers really needed a win after Tuesday's decable, and it showed. They fought to the finish, even when things weren't looking good. Previous Indiana teams would have caved.
This one did not.
"That Iowa game, I won't say it's a good thing that it happened, but we learned a lot from it,'' said Thompson, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds, his 10th career double-double. "Today, everybody was trying to win this for each other. Last year on Senior Night — (when Indiana blew a late lead and lost to Rutgers) — that's something I'll never forget.''
Indiana ended the evening with its Senior Night festivities, honoring walk-ons Michael Shipp and Nathan Childress, and starters Kopp, Thompson and Jackson-Davis.
Jackson-Davis ended his speech by pointing the banners in the south end zone, and then to the five in the north end of Assembly Hall. The best is yet to come this season, he said.
'We've got to win one of those — (pointing to the Big Ten championship banners) — and then we have to get No. 6.''
That needs no explanation.
